A New Plan for Old Tech (and other items I should get rid of)

The Pebble watch. In the fall of 2012, I supported the Pebble watch Kickstarter campaign for what promised to be one of the first “smart” watches. I believe I received my Pebble in January of 2013, when I was knee-deep in a project at Health and Human Services. I remember feeling pretty cool when my phone would ring, and I could see on my watch who was calling me. I could answer the call from my wristwatch, or decline it. I would also get text messages on the watch from the phone, which was also cool. I could use it to control the music on my phone, which at first seemed cool but later not so much. Probably the most memorable episode with the Pebble was when I was at HHS, and my colleague (name removed) asked to borrow my phone to make a call, as she had left hers at home. I said sure and gave her my personal iPhone. (I had a work iPhone as well during those days.)

A bit later, while I was in a meeting, my Pebble watch buzzed me a few times, that someone was attempting to call my personal phone. I had already forgotten that I had given the phone to my colleague and a part of my brain possibly thought she had called out on the phone or had completed the call, not thinking that someone would be calling her back on my number; so at least twice, I  declined the incoming call by hitting one of the buttons on my Pebble. As I recall, I figured out what I was doing and stopped declining the call, but the moment had landed. It was annoying for her and embarrassing for me, but we had a laugh over the incident of the “smart” watch.

Ultimately the watch proved okay for daily use and I used it for a couple of years, even going through a couple of bands. The watch still works today but I have not used it in years. It sits before me in a yellow plastic baggie, like a tagged piece of evidence in the case against technology. The watch I ultimately settled on and wear regularly after trying the Pebble and so many others (but not the Apple watch, and that is another story) is a plain, analogue Timex Expedition. The Pebble cost me $150 or so (can’t remember the exact amount) and this Timex was about $43.00. Between the Pebble and the Timex, I think I spent quite a bit more money on several so-called smart watches, including a Garmin and another one that quote never needed a charge unquote because it charged up via your arm movements.

The Garmin was kind of good for exercise and tracking but clunky. The other one worked well for a while but then stopped working. I got rid of both of them. But I kept the Pebble and I tried to give it away several times, but it is now like a piece of floating space junk, a sad and quaint bit of technology that nobody really wants any more. Should I keep it or toss it? I have decided to compromise I will toss it after I have written its story. And now that I have, goodbye Mr. Pebble.