I’ve been playing with some new lighting techniques (learned at Z2 Photo) and figure I’d give it a try while creating an inventory of some of the tools in the “2XL Makerspace” (also known as “my basement workshop.”)
These tools belonged to my dad, and they still work quite well. I find it interesting that many of the tools we use today (computers, phones, and even software) will not be used by our children when they are our age. By that I mean, the actual tools we use. If you’ve got a PowerBook now, you’ll probably replace it in a few years, and then replace that, and replace that, and on and on… in comparison, the jig saw and the drill press were the exact same ones my dad used over 25 years ago to make things.
Maybe the cycle is just sped up… I just gave my kids the old 20″ iMac because I replaced it with a MacPro. Of course in a few years that iMac will seem slow and outdated, or it will break, or die, or somehow become useless. The lifecycle of our tools for digital work seems so short… My youngest daughter asked if she can have my DSLR when I get a new one. Is it normal for her to think I will get a newer (better, faster) camera at some point? I’m sure I will… but I’m also sure that in 10 years she’ll be able to buy a newer (better, faster) camera for half of what I paid for mine.
Is this the price of progress, or is it just the difference between tools that create things in the physical world vs. tools that create things in the digital world?
