As technology advances at an overwhelming rate, many of us feel left behind. Sure, we can send and receive e-mail but, like the brave souls in a 12-step group, we’re forced to admit something like this:
“My name is Pat, and I’ve never burned a CD in my life. In fact, I still have a dial-up Internet connection. I’m not a photographer, so I don’t even know how to download the pictures from a digital camera–not that I even have one.”
It’s a little comforting to know that I’m not alone. A recent survey by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence discovered that about 40 percent of Americans had never even heard of digital video recorders, for Pete’s sake.
But some of us are on the quicksand side of a digital divide. The Pew Internet and American Life Project has come right out and said it: “There is clearly a technology elite in the United States–the 31 percent of the population who are high-end technology adopters.”
As you might expect, most of the “tech elite” are Gen Xers or younger. But a couple of Pew’s recent studies say I shouldn’t take too much solace in that. For instance:
– 48 million adults in the U.S. have broadband at home.
– A full 44 percent of U.S. Internet users have actually contributed content, like publishing their thoughts or posting photographs; 13 percent even have their own Web sites.
For backward folks like the rest of us, there are places like Digital Bootcamp (www.digitalbootcamp.com), an outfit in Chicago’s West Town that offers immersion classes with cool names such as Weekend Warriors and Beyond Basic Training. They even issue dog tags at the end of the course. But are the instructors any good or just savvy marketers?
I’m about to find out.
In a one-day crash course, I will be clicked and dragged into the digital age, learning how to build a rudimentary Web site in one day.
My fellow soldiers appear a little more battle-ready. Brian Wiles, 30, is a lanky photographer (weddings and commercial accounts) who knows loads about Photoshop, “but anything that has to do with the Web, zero,” he says. He’s taking the class so he can communicate his needs better to the designer who has set up his Web site, www.bwphotographic.com. He has brought his wireless laptop.
The other student, Huong Ngo, 24, is a bit of a ringer. She’s a promising young visual artist (www.huongngo.com) whose recent show was written up in another part of the Tribune–is it legal for someone just out of the School of the Art Institute to be so successful? She also designs Web sites on the side. She’s in training to become a part-time instructor for Digital Bootcamp and, thus, is sitting in on lots of classes.
A bit intimidated
At 42, having never explored much beyond the word-processing software of most computers, I’m a little intimidated by these two.
“I think the younger generation is just used to the way that computer programmers are talking to us,” says Ngo, a self-taught expert.
Our drill instructor, long-haired and dressed head to toe in black, is Damian Van Horn. He looks less like a computer wizard than a rock musician. (I find out later that he’s both, fronting the band Death of a Salesman with his brother Otto and his partner, Absynth. See his techno skills at www.deathofasalesman.co.uk.)
He definitely sees a “digital divide” in society, he says, but adds that it’s not strictly a generation gap.
“There’s also fear of technology,” he notes. “And there’s also a cost factor. If you’re low-income, it’s not very easy to introduce yourself all of a sudden to technology, because computers can be expensive. There is a big divide and that’s unfortunate.”
In the classroom I learn–thankfully–that the software that exists today offers numerous shortcuts rather than the brackets and strange language I remember from MS-DOS.
The program we’re using is a nifty thing loaded with shortcuts called Dreamweaver, which may mean nothing to Wiles and Ngo but, the first time I hear it, makes my brain start replaying Gary Wright’s goofy ’70s song over and over (“Ooh, dream weaver, I believe you can get me through the night. . . . “).
Shortcuts are part and parcel of the computer industry, says Bootcamp president Mike Carruth, who founded and ran the locally based Mac University until the dot-com bust overwhelmed his company too.
In fact, after class, he tells me I’m so far behind the curve that there is technology I can skip because it’s becoming outmoded.
Like zip drives.
“We used to do little seminars on how to catalog your zip disks,” Carruth remembers. Now, CD burners and DVD burners let you store infinitely more info than a zip disk.
Although I chose this Web class over others that seemed too simplistic, like The Absolute Basics of E-mail, I’m feeling a bit over my head–like carrying on a conversation in a foreign language when all I can do is count to three.
We’re following all of Van Horn’s instructions, but I’m not sure how much I’m retaining. Ngo suggests it’s because I lack a plan for what I’m going to do with all of my new knowledge.
What’s the point?
“What I would do is find a reason to learn anything,” she says. “It’s just like anything else–if you don’t have a good reason to do it, you’ll give up in a day.”
So I need a plan; I’m thinking I could put together a Web site showcasing two or three generations of family photos. OK, what’s next?
“Second,” Ngo adds, “figure out what you like that is already out there that would fulfill your purpose. If you say, `I need a Web site for my artwork,’ find some Web sites that artists are using to show their work.
“Third, figure out how they do it. Fourth, download the program that would be appropriate to do that. Download a free trial of the program and go through the tutorial.”
It’s sounds as though she has been down this road herself.
“Through the years of not having money,” she says, laughing, “I’ve learned the most economical way to do everything.”
As the class proceeds, Van Horn warns us not to get too carried away with fancy fonts, because computer users with less sophisticated systems will see their computers translate the info into more basic typeface.
As the class wraps up, Van Horn challenges us to redo our Web page with the coding language itself and without the crib sheet that is Dreamweaver. We probably get a B or a C on that project.
Not bad, I think. We’ve learned some basics of HTML. Maybe learning how to burn a CD or download a picture is within my reach. At least I have the confidence now to try.
Ngo’s page runs rings around mine and Wiles’, but then, she made it less with HTML than with something a little fancier called CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
CSS is beginning to supplant HTML, Van Horn notes.
So I ask, “Will HTML go the way of the dinosaur?”
“HTML is here to stay for a while but is transforming into hybrids,” he says. “So HTML will change.”
Looks like I’ll be coming back for more classes.
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Skip the manual and go for some hands-on learning
Computers can be intimidating for many people. But Digital Bootcamp president Mike Carruth says it doesn’t have to be that way.
You might think a longtime pro like Carruth would advise computer neophytes to actually read their owner’s manual. You’d be wrong.
“Traditionally, reading the manuals for beginners is a debilitating, tedious experience, and I usually advise against it,” he said.
So should you take a class like those offered by Carruth’s company and its competitors? Yes–but not right away.
“I would recommend taking a class–but only after getting some hands-on time with the computer and developing some questions,” he said.
If you really want to learn, he said, figure out what the gaps are in your knowledge. And make a commitment to practice, practice, practice.
“In my 13 years’ experience in the training field,” he said, “I can say that students who bring questions to class and are committed to making time to practice and apply what they learned immediately after the class will see dramatic benefits from a class.”
If you’re a little more advanced than that, Carruth says the Web offers lots of free training tools.
“People trying to learn Web programming,” he said, “will find a massive vault of knowledge at sites like Webmonkey [webmonkey.com] and experts-exchange [experts-exchange.com].”
Digital Bootcamp lets students retake a class for free if, after practicing at home, they think it will help the lessons sink in.
Once you start to understand computers, Carruth added, “the world is at your fingertips.”
Digital Bootcamp is at 1400 W. Hubbard St., Suite 210. 312-633-3000. Computer classes are offered by local community colleges and at places such as New Horizons (773-693-6000) and Discovery Center (773-348-8120).
— Patrick Kampert
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Technology you can’t live without
– ELECTRONIC BILL PAYMENT Not convinced? PayTrust, for example, will scan all your bills and send you e-mail alerts when it’s time to pay up. At the end of the year, you’re sent a CD with all your bills scanned and organized into folders.
– ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING With Peapod, your bill might be 20 percent higher than if you shopped yourself, but time is money.
– TiVo New legislation will make it legal to share TV shows with other users.
– iPODs AND MP3s Music is more customized and portable than ever.
– VOIP The telecom giants don’t like VOIP, or voice over Internet protocol. The Internet phone service is cheaper and you don’t have to be in front of the computer to use it.
– CELL PHONES Phones with cameras are the prelude to phones with PDA and MP3 players.
– BROADBAND Web developers are targeting the high-end user, and slower computers have a hard time with many sites.
– WIRELESS CARDS The cards let you access the Web and your e-mail just about anywhere.
Source: Mike Carruth, Digital Bootcamp
Technology you can skip
On the cover of Q we listed technology you need to adopt if you haven’t already done so. Here’s what Mike Carruth of Digital Bootcamp says you can shrug off.
– “Stand-alone” personal digital assistants, or PDAs. Many technologies–cell phone, PDA and MP3 player–soon will unite into one unit.
– Mini-discs and CDs. Save your money. iPods and MP3s are taking over.
– Land-based phone. Cell phones rule; many young people don’t even have a land-based phone.
– Personal computers that plug into a wall. Wireless computers will be/are now becoming the standard.
– FAX machines. Most of the world is going to PDF and e-mail to transport documents.
– Satellite radio. It’s a great idea, but reception problems and price are big barriers to the masses.
— P.K.
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On the radio
Kathy & Judy are wondering if they’re hopelessly behind when it comes to technology. Tune your radio to WGN-AM 720 between 9 a.m. and noon Monday, or download the discussion on your MP3.
