Maybe I should cancel my satellite tv subscription

I dunno - do we really need (or want?) all those distractions while playing with our trains?

Maybe technology overload? 

Before I retired I was a Senior System Analyst for a Fortune 10 company.  I loved my job and gave it 110% when I was there. But my train room is devoid of computers, ipad or phone, DCS or TMCC. My trains run pure conventional and I have a turntable that plays vinyl disks that provide music. It's all the tech I want. If you want to multi task in the train room on your iPad....more power to ya....for me....it's my get away where I don't have to program anything. 

Dave,

You might have to explain the turntable and vinyl record thing for the benefit of some of our younger members. 

Ed

Gee, just think. Without leaving the train room and using an overpriced iFruit one can run a train around in a circle, share with everybody on Facebook the fact that you are actually running a train in a circle, enlighten other folks on Twitter and bother what remaining friends you might have with a barrage of e-mail bragging about how great the iFruit App is and how technically savvy you are by mastering it.. And lest we not forget that on top of all of this is streaming the latest episode of Hillbilly Nose Picking from the History Channel and then the two hour finale of Championship Dumpster Diving from the Discovery Channel.  All the while the train is still running in the same circle.  Wow isn’t iFruits and technology great?

Bob - That was good !

Ed

Very good, Bob, and there's a whole lot of truth in those observations.  

I often feel that we--as a society and even as train enthusiasts--have already gone way too far with this technological "stuff" to the point where it controls our lives far more than we do.  Those who are captivated by this technology won't admit to their addiction, of course, but just look around you these days and you will readily see the effect.  Go anywhere--market, restaurants, events of any type, and even into most homes--and the direction we're heading is obvious.

In the hobby I see attempts to justify this ever-increasing technological emphasis as a way to lure younger folks into participating.  I don't necessarily think that will work because these individuals are often enough so immersed in technology that they lack the manual skills and creative incentives needed to do anything beyond finding their way around a touchpad.

We are quickly losing sight of the time when this was a hobby focused on a fascination with railroading and the creation of a world in miniature involving hands-on application of real-world skills and talents that expand individual creativity.  We are quickly becoming the slaves to technology that we once only read about in science fiction books.  Like I said...just look around you in your own "real" world.

Allen,

Excellent response, you are so right about this. How can we teach those skills to future generations if there is no interest? I love the technology. but I also love building my layout, doing the scenery, wiring, buildings and track work. 

According to what I have heard, many younger folks are eschewing some of todays technologicial wonders, and going for good old fashioned solutions such as record albums and film photography.

Bob and Allan, excellent views. I have been giving a lot of thought to the iPad control since York. My house is loaded with the latest technology. I will most likely buy and use the new technology but it does change things.

A few weeks ago I ran conventional for the first time in a long time. I had a blast. The simplicity was very relaxing and the hands on feel of a throttle was great. A good bit of my train time goes into keeping the electronics working and updated. 

After talking to my 27 year old son who just got his masters degree and makes a ton of money he made me realize the electronics don't draw him to my trains. The details do. When he visits he wants to look and run them and give building ideas. He says he can play electronic games that are off the charts but does not see a draw to using them with trains. So I have mixed feelings if electronics will bring younger members. I'm not explaining this as clearly as I see it in my head, sorry...hard to put in words. 

Me and the wife dropped cable TV back in 2007 and haven't looked back.  There is nothing on the TV that  I miss watching, and the few channels I did watch, like the History Channel and Discovery were going to crap back then.   Yes we do have Netflix on all the TV's but we really only watch about an hour of TV a day.  I do miss live sports and really was frustrated with the MLB playoffs this year being on TBS but now that our Tigers are in the WS it is on National TV!

As for the technology for the trains, bring it on!   No I do not think we need an iPad app to run the trains, but if one is offered I would get it and try it out.  What I want is more simple command control.  1 remote that controls TMCC, Legacy, and DCS the same.  Lionel and MTH needs to put their heads together for the betterment of the hobby and design 1 remote that is easy to use and controls everything the same.  Yes I know I can use my DCS remote to control TMCC stuff but I loose all that great Legacy control.  

Stop the software technology patent wars.  It is not needed in our hobby or in the rest of the technology world.  

And doing all that while walking on a exercise machine, drinking bottled water, and wearing a safety helmet.

The important thing is not to lose sight of how far we have come, how superior this will be to the old fashioned way when all you could do was: push the lever forward, watch the train go/pull the lever back and see it stop.

Isn't progress grand?

One day to come the lights will go out and the cow patty techies will not have any training to exist in the real world.  But we will have safer roads if the cow patty's don't work.

I do accept cell phones.

Al

I haven't had cable TV since I moved back here to Ohio more than five years ago.  It's available and the house is fully wired for it, but the olny money the cable firm gets from me is for this high-speed computer connection (which is already costly enough).  

I haven't missed cable TV one bit, even when they contact me periodically with enticements for an exceptionally low rate.  Just don't need it.  I get 10 or more channels over the air, and even that is more than enough.

My cell phone is one of the "dumb" ones.  I don't need to be "connected" to everything at every moment of my life, although many people I know sure seem to have that need (and it is a need, not just a desire, because they have become dependent on 24/7 electronic communication with the world around them).  Half the time I don't even have my cell phone with me, especially when I'm out at some social occasion.  I like talking with people face-to-face in such cases, and if some situation arises, callers can always leave a voice mail message.

Pete

Nice turntable Pete!

I with all of you. I live in a house with a wife and 3 daughters and we have not had any local channels or cable in 4 years. Do not miss it - there was nothing on anyway. Besides you can get all the information you need from the internet.

Joe

I think you hit the nail on the head Lee.  The app is there if you want to use it.

If you don't like it, don't use it.

I wonder if the same conversation took place when electronics were first put

into engines ? "DON'T NEED IT, DON'T WANT IT"

Manufactures make both systems in current engines. Conventional though Legacy.

Buy what you like. Vote with your wallet. If no one would buy legacy engines, they

would not make them.

I find it interesting that there was all the conversation because the new J did not

do everything, But a simple control method has people upset.

The hobby never sises to be interesting....

Don't get me wrong...there's nothing inherently wrong with the many technological innovations that surround us.  But there IS something wrong when this technology separates us from the real world we live in.  Whether it's sitting around a table conversing with family or friends, out in some social environment, or just playing with the trains, we REALLY need to keep things more in perspective.

We cancelled our cable TV last year and save $65 a month.

I can watch whatever I want off the internet, as my blueray player has a wireless feature that allows anything on the internet to be shown on any TV in my house.

In fact, most channels have their own website where you can watch episodes etc.

There is NO reason to have cable or satellite TV, as its all infomercials and shopping networks. Even the good channels have too many commercials.

So why pay when you can get all that for free?

For me $65 a month adds up to more train money!

 Which ultimately leads to:

My view is that the flood of electronics into the hobby has it's contradictions, the theory being making enjoyment of the hobby more effortless with more options while making it more complicated and prone to obsolescence. The concept of adding more electronic devices between myself and operating is best exemplified by the appearance of cruise control. I like the concept of using a throttle handle like the prototype to ease into curves, and play with how much time I can make up on a straight away, or backing into a spur. I like simply flipping a switch to halt an opposing train..no addresses, no special considerations for a good carrier signal. I use the hobby and it's simplicity to get away from the synthetic age, and not go deeper down that immersion into information overload. The fact that for many the control systems are on a par with the trains themselves, as well as their issues and advantages takes up a lot of space in the hobby versus the actual trains. Trains in some cases seem like the means outshines the ends. The variety of control options outnumbers any new models which seems to be the same models issued over and over again in version 4 or 7. Thats progress.

If you want to play with trains on your iPad, why not just purchase one of the many RR simulators out there? Design your own layout, easy redesign your own layout. Be the engineer from in the cab. Do it all, all from the comfort of your Lazy Boy recliner! Save you mony as well, no need to but all those trains!

PS...I hate video/computer games ever since the first versions of Pong and Breakout showed up!

One of the most rewarding days I have had recently was when we met our daughter and her 3 boys (all under 3) and our son at a restaurant for dinner. It was nice just sitting there having a good meal and talking. Our daughter is a stay at home mom who recently went back to school to become a nurse and our son is a high school teacher. No TV blaring in the background. no distractions and surprisingly both my kids somehow managed not to spend the entire time texting on their cell phones. Our grandsons were well behaved considering their ages. After we left I commented to my wife how nice an experience it was.

In this day and age, that is rather amazing.  Go into any restaurant nowadays and you'll usually see at least one party at any given table engaged in texting or otherwise immersed in the digital world.