So it has been established that faster than we can blink, Apple puts out a new iPhone. Well, actually two: There's an iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch display and -- for those of us of a certain age who grouse that "they're making the danged pictures/type too small these days" -- the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a 5.5-inch display. As is always the case when a new iPhone comes out, the buyers are lined up around the block to make the iPhone their new MyPhone.
Of course it's not just Apple leading us down the Super Waterslide of 21st-century technology. Seems any "new" home computer, laptop or tablet we bought on Thursday is obsolete by Tuesday.
Dizzying, compared to how we as humans grow and age. But like the iPhone, we all go through our lives as different versions of ourselves, ideally gathering more bells, whistles and memory (maturity and wisdom) as each new version emerges.
With some help from adult-life stages drawn from online excerpts from Your Soul at Work by Nicholas W. Weiler and Stephen C. Schoonover (Hiddenspring, $18, yoursoulatwork.com), here's my look at the versions we go through:
Version 1.0:
Rejects previous compatibility with more established models as it struggles to establish itself as a viable unit. Seems to get the best reception in locales such as bars and parties. Is subject to pick inconvenient times to lose motivation to work. Changes programs frequently. May be a financial drain on itself or anything interfacing with it. May become involved with companion gadgets that seem compatible at first, but then cause it to crash repeatedly.
Version 2.0:
Seems even more flaky than Version 1.0. Rejects the programs and software of the 1.0 stage, but crashes more frequently than 1.0 as it encounters "ghosts in the machine" when it tries to interface with new programs ... or for no discernible reason.
Version 3.0:
This version is more reliable, seeming to "settle down" and work more consistently. This version is the most popular because it has found a companion unit and software with which it works well. If there are any freezes or crashes, they're obscured by the purr and hum of its productivity.
Version 4.0:
Once again, we've got a version that's on the unreliable side, operating completely opposite of Version 3.0. It may take on a flashy look and accessories to appear state-of-the-art, but it also acts like a wheezy old grouch -- working sometimes at rapid speed and other times slowing down to a turtle's pace and rejecting companion units and software with which it was once compatible. It seems to suffer an "existential meltdown," to borrow the term from that Geico insurance commercial featuring the cave dude seeing his therapist.
Version 5.0:
This version is even better than 3.0 was. The scary new glitches that popped up in Version 4.0 have been smoothed out. People are, so to speak, lining up around the block to obtain and draw from this version. And because this version cares so much about making the world a better place for its utilizers, it is happy to give.
Version 6.0:
This version knows it's the final one. It wants to make a name for itself -- and be remembered -- by passing its inner workings on in order to keep the same mistakes from popping up not only in later versions, but in similar models.
Longtime readers know I lag behind in, or do without, most of the state-of-the-art gadgets du jour. As the iPhone 6 makes headlines, I'm still trying to figure out the iPhone 4 I obtained about a year ago ... and I'm still fascinated with Siri! Likewise, we can sometimes become stuck/trapped in an old version of ourselves because of real or perceived obstacles. But companies like Apple don't give up on their products despite the glitches. And as someone whose versions have seemed slow in coming -- or seem to revert to earlier versions at times -- I'm glad one Manufacturer in particular has that same mindset.
All email versions welcome:
hwilliams@arkansasonline.com
Style on 09/21/2014