Tech — love it or leave it?

CES is hereonce again, and the tech world is busy trying to show us, and eventually sellto us, those gizmos and apps that we never knew we needed. Bendy smartphones,‘experience’ toilets, smarter speakers, and machines to create your own flavouredyoghurt or brew your craft ales.

The list is endless, but all this tech is only as good asthe person using it — and sometimes that person is still the better option.

For example, I have a thing about satnavs. I nevercompletely trust them to get me to wherever I want to go. Last week I was goingto see an ex-Wildfire colleague in an area that I knew a bit about, but not theins and outs of the local one-way systems. So I decided to put the postcodeinto the car’s system to ensure I got there smoothly.

Fortunately, I checked my route on Google Maps before I left,otherwise I think I might have ended up in Poole harbour. “Turn right” itshouted at me when I knew I should have gone left. “Hard right at the nextjunction” but it was a roundabout. “Take the third exit” which would have sentme back towards London rather than my destination.

I love the promise of a new tomorrow that events like CESpromise us and I really do look forward to the big steps in consumer tech thatthey bring. However, there is a need to remember that sometimes the old wayscan be just as good — and keep the brain going.