November 29, 2006
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Jason Bovberg
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Feature Articles
Bringing Family Together
I have two young daughters, ages 2 and 6, and we live at least a thousand miles from the nearest grandparent. This distance, unfortunately, has brought a surprising amount of stress to the lives of the poor grandparents, who long for closer relationships with their grandchildren. The telephone just hasn't been an adequate tool for sustaining meaningful, loving relationships.
Earlier this year, one of the grandparents took the plunge and purchased a MacBook, with its included iChat functionality and iSight camera, and—lucky me!—picked up a second one for our home. Ever since, we've been engaging in twice-weekly video conversations, and Grandma and Grandpa can now enjoy reading bedtime stories to their granddaughters or just chime in to talk about my 6-year-old's day at school. We recently involved the MacBook in our Thanksgiving dinner, as well as the costume-preparation minutes before embarking on Halloween trick-or-treating. The grandparents felt totally involved. Hey, it ain't the same as a hug, but it can be pretty close! Think of it as a digital embrace.
This technology, to me, is what the connected home is all about. I find myself increasingly drawn into the world of the MacBook, experimenting with its renowned photo- and video-manipulation tools. I'm amazed by the sheer array of personal, family-oriented technologies that can suck up my time! Truly, technology is cramming itself into the home, and our holidays will be all the richer for it.
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I agree completely, Jason (Bringing Family Together), but you don't need a Macbook to do this. Just keeping in touch with my son at uni (3hrs drive away) and my nephew (an 8hr flight away) via MSN chat (written or video) is great. With more families spread out around the country - or the world - IP-AV technology has kept us as close together as possible in the circumstances. And even if you don't have a PC (or there is not one at the 'other end' i.e. with grandparents) the new generation of Voice-over-IP phones which enable phone calls over IP (the internet) at a really affordable rate are a real boon for many. THAT'S what technology is for, in my view - to make life better.
Big Al -November 30, 2006
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