(CNN) -- Do you have any tales from the digital frontier? What's life like in your digital world? These CNN.com readers sent us their stories and thoughts. Here's a sampling of the responses, some of which have been edited.
Celia Weaver from Chico, California
I run an international association for the tech industry and what I am seeing today is extremely concerning to me. I believe that we will soon be fighting a new kind of war; one without guns and bloodshed, but one that is fast, swift and deadly: an attack launched from anywhere in the world, quietly and discreetly and without warning. Imagine not being able to access your money, use your credit or bank cards or obtain any kind of cash whatsoever. Now imagine that the entire population of a city or even a state has been hit with the same problem. Millions of people unable to buy, sell or trade anything! Scary, but from what I've seen very plausible. This country and its citizens need to wake up and appreciate how extremely powerful technology and the Internet have become, and how in the wrong hands, how deadly it can be.
Brett Wenonah from New Jersey
Give me an iPod, a MotoRazr and a laptop and call me Mr. Joe America.
Rick Segal from Toronto, Ontario
After a very busy day in Orlando, I made my way to the airport to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. After getting to the gate, there is an announcement about a long flight delay. The team on the ground did a reasonable job getting people lined up with whatever flight connection information they could, etc. The one thing they couldn't do was tell people what the flight delay was really going to be like. ... I have my laptop computer with me that has a wireless cellular card in it. So I do three things. First, I fire up my Slingbox which connects me to my cable system so I can watch HBO. Second, I bring up the Flightcomm Website, flightcomm.com
, which allows you to track flights in real time. Now I was able to see where the plane was. Finally, I use Google Maps and hunt down the local Steak n Shake by the airport. I walk up to the counter and say, "Do you have a real time for this plane's status?" "No, sir, sorry." "Well, I do." I show him my live Flightcomm tracking page which now shows the flight airborne, 34,000 feet, with a landing time of 12:09 a.m. in Orlando. I say, "I'm going to Steak n Shake, grab a burger, some fries, and a shake, can I bring you anything?" (I felt bad for all the crap this guy was taking from angry people.) Shocked look. "Uh, sure, but I can't promise the plane won't leave without you." "Trust me," I say, "I'll track it while I'm in the cab." I head out to grab the food with my 8-hour battery in my laptop and the wireless card, etc. -- never fails or drops the connection. I hit the refresh a couple of times and still get to watch HBO on demand. I come back to airport, give the guy his food (my treat). The plane lands at, surprise, 12:09 a.m., taxiing around for whatever, offloads people, cleans up plane, etc. The next thing I hear is, "Mr. Segal up to the counter, please." Guy slips me a first class seat and says, "Sorry for the delay, thanks for the food, and can I get that Web site address again? I got into Vegas around 3a. Surprisingly, no taxi lines, no traffic, and no line up at hotel check in.
Eric Weller from Puyallup, Washington
If I had to comment on anything in the last 10 years in technology it would be the distinctive shift in the consumer electronics paradigm from revolutionary change to incremental change. The one unique device that changes the way people do everything seems to be a thing of the past. Instead now we are looking at devices that become "must buys" which are essentially the same device with only an incremental improvement in functionality, such as Wi-fi connectivity and Bluetooth capability. For example, my "obsolete" PDA from 3 years ago has exactly the same functionality that the newer versions have in every way (including Bluetooth), however the operating system is one version older than they use now. The hardware manufacturers and retailers have figured out that most of the hardware available has far outpaced the average user's ability to even comprehend, much less use efficiently all of the capabilities of that device, as well as the fact that the average American's attention span for that device lasts only so long as it's the "must-have" item. Our consumption-based habits have fueled a market no longer driven forward by technological obsolescence but instead by fashion and pop culture. At the end of the day the phone I have now performs 99.9 percent of the same functions as the one I had in 1997, and that is to carry out a phone conversation.
Deena from Mission Viejo, California
The first time the digital frontier affected my life was about 10 years ago, when my parents ate at a Midwestern restaurant before leaving for Las Vegas. The restaurant had an outbreak of Hepatitis A and was desperately trying to contact patrons. Through a series of e-mails from my siblings relaying the vital information (and the online newspaper article), I was able to track down my parents in Vegas and have them get the shots in time. It was such a relief!
Graham from Austin, Texas
I used to shun the digital revolution. My first "cell phone" was a Nokia bag-phone, the size of a small suitcase, that I bought in 1996. I believe the rates were about $2 per minute. I got my first CD player in 1995. I still have cassettes and get teased for it. It wasn't until after I got married in 2004 that my wife helped me into the digital world. She brought the first computer into our house. Even though I am a technical writer and have worked for two of the largest tech companies in the world, I refused to use a computer outside work. Now we have a desktop and a laptop. I now have the latest Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. I have a 30GB video mp3 player, and I don't know how I'd make it through a work day without 10,000 songs at my disposal. I have satellite radio in my truck, as well as mp3 hookups on my truck stereo. The only thing I have analog are my watches. For now.
Carol Stolicker from Grand Blanc, Michigan
Our cell phone died and we traded it in. The one we got in return had a lot of names and phone numbers still stored in it. We aren't into text messaging, and my husband won't even attempt to learn how to pick up voice mail. We waited for our son to come for a visit and had him delete the unwanted names and numbers from our phone. I'm wondering what would have happened if the phone had gotten to someone with bad intentions.
Kevin Nardelle from Metairie, Louisiana
I believe my world is highly disrupted by the technology we all embrace. As technology advances every day, so do our problems; technology will be the downfall, and we will be once again thrown into a stone age. We need to embrace the technology while at the same time remember how to live without it in the event something like a solar flare or electromagnetic pulse destroys our electrical infrastructure. Considering our power requirements are being put to the ultimate test, any failure can be deadly. With everything on computer and our communications all digital, we are highly vulnerable and can be easily set back hundreds of years with the failure of our electricity and electrical infrastructure, either manmade or natural. We are doomed if we don't consider alternatives and remember how we once lived on this planet without the benefit of electricity.
Hugh Sung from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I'm a classical pianist on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. For the past three years, I've been using Tablet PCs exclusively to read my music digitally and turn pages with a programmable footswitch. This setup has completely revolutionized the way I function as a professional musician, both in performance and in pedagogy. My entire library, comprising hundreds of volumes with thousands of pages of music, is now stored on my Tablet PC's hard drive instead of in stacks of boxes shelved along a huge wall outside my studio. I can annotate my scores with digital ink that works just like pen and paper -- better, in fact, since the digital ink is non-destructive and completely editable. I no longer have to find or rely on human page turners during recital performances, as I am able to turn all of my own pages with the tap of a foot. I'm now starting to incorporate visual projections with my performances, where image and video triggers can be projected and activated in sync with my music from a second Tablet PC and foot switch. In public teaching sessions (we call these "master classes" in classical music-speak), music scores can be projected onto a screen while I highlight and write comments on sections of the music that invite discussion from both the student and the audience. I blog about my experiences combining music with technology on my Web site at musicmeetstech.com as an effort to help other musicians adopt technology to enhance their art and lifestyle.
Dan Jensen from Washington, D.C.
I feel like a 21st century cowboy, only instead of a rope in my hand and a gun on my hip, I've got headphone cords from my mp3 player and a BlackBerry on my belt! But it doesn't stop there. In addition to those two important devices, I carry a personal cell phone because, ironically, my BlackBerry won't do text messages! So I use my phone to type and my BlackBerry (with keyboard) to make calls. Oh, I also like to take pictures with my phone. It's all very confusing. Sure, I could get an "all in one" device. But those only end up being close approximations of the best in each field. Right now, I love my Zen Vision:M mp3 player for the audio/video quality and storage, and my BlackBerry for sending emails on the go, and my phone for being slim (it's a RAZR) so that I don't encroach on my limited clothing real estate -- my pockets!
Jarrod Clabaugh from Mansfield, Ohio
As someone who has all the toys -- a PDA, an iPod, an Internet-ready mobile, a Bluetooth headset and a wireless laptop -- I found myself in awe the other day. I was sitting in my car at a light and I reached over to select a new song on my iPod; it was then that I realized I had left it at my office. I thought, "Not a problem, I'll just call someone." I looked up and my mobile clip was empty. I thought, "I can play music through my laptop." However, my laptop was charging at its station in my home office. I drove in silence. Upon pulling in my driveway, I realized I could have turned the radio on at any time. Oh how technology transforms us into dumber, more dependent creatures.
Phyllis Gallo from New York
No cell phone, no Blackberry, no DVD player, no iPod. Long distance from Verizon, no caller ID (except at work). Some people are amazed. I'm doing just fine. Although I can see the day when I'll get a cell phone. Being in Washington, D.C., brought the point home. Walked forever from the State Department over to K Street via Georgetown University -- not a pay phone anywhere. I finally had to duck down into the Metro to call a friend to confirm a meeting for drinks. Truth be told, I've been in other situations when I could have used a cell phone.
Eric Martinson from Wheaton, Illinois
Complicated. Chaotic. When is someone going to do a study on how even e-mail has gone from making the workplace more efficient to doing just the opposite? Who can keep up anymore? And this coming from a true tech junkie!
John Babu from Fairfield, Connecticut
The digital world, huh? Well, my digital world is this: I sit in front of a computer for eight hours, and spend an hour on my cell phone waiting for it to get reception so I can have a five minute conversation. I go to my friend's house and he's so ADD about his music that we never listen to an actual song on his iPod, more or less he just scrolls through listening to 10 second clips because the presence of technology has made us into bees, buzzing from one thing to another, never taking our time. Oh yeah, sometimes I have to walk through a throng of elementary kids playing on their own cell phones, portable DVD players and video game handhelds. My digital world is hell on Earth and I fully intend on combating it till the end of time.
Dave Winfield from Quincy, Illinois
For now (my digital world is) my cell phone, PC and dial-up Internet connection for instant access and communication when current political and world events unfold.
James Brown from Boston, Massachusetts
I jumped onto the HDTV bandwagon a few years ago, bought an HDTV with an HD tuner built in. I get HDTV off the air. The picture is spectacular if you have good reception. If you don't have a good signal, you get a lot of picture/audio drops very similar to what you get with satellite TV with bad weather. This makes watching programs difficult. At least with analog, you can still watch a fuzzy picture! Currently, I only get good off-the-air HD reception from a handful of stations. On certain days, it is hit-or-miss even with some major network channels. Once the stations all move everything to digital, I believe many people will be forced to pay for cable television programming since off-the-air digital programming will be flaky at best.
Andrew from Houston, Texas
Started with MS-DOS when I was 9 years old (1989). From there, got into every form of tech. Programming in Basic to what video card would work best on a 486-DX. Seventeen years later and computers and the Internet are my life blood.
David Lehman from Brighton, England
We are incredibly fortunate to have advanced technology these days. If we can begin to utilize this in more productive and creative ways, then we are using it properly. If, however, we use it for the sole aim of profiteering, as most do, what do we have? Just more of the same. It would be a far more interesting, comfortable and enjoyable planet if we used our technology to improve ourselves instead of killing each other.
Ryan O'Connor from Aloha, Oregon
Every day I rely on my electronic devices. All aspects of my job and workplace revolve around the most current equipment being used to create wireless solutions of tomorrow. Even when I traveled to Mt. Rainier to get away from the digital world I found myself bound to the best hiking equipment money could buy -- R&D creations. The digital world cannot be escaped. It should be the goal of government to set a level of digital awareness and proficiency. From here, training and familiarity needs to be implemented and encouraged. Government should invest big money into the technology infrastructure in every state to prepare the new generations for the future. It should also be noted that the focus of this investment needs to be on those born after 1980. These individuals are the taxpayers of tomorrow. No sense investing in those who will not carry the economic burdens down the road. If the government invests today, the results will change the future of America forever.
Peggy Hannah from Sparks, Nevada
Took your poll and one of the digital items that you missed was a Global Positioning System receiver (GPSr). My husband and I both have one, and while we mostly use them for the growing "sport" of Geocaching, we use them on trips as well. Along that line: I had read an article about Geocaching the same day that my husband had read about it online. We were talking about it and found that we had read the same basic article and it sounded interesting to us. We signed up and bought our first GPSr that week. We were hooked after finding our first cache, and our 5-year-old thought it was "the best, funnest thing ever!" It was something we could do as a family that got us out from the boob tube and into our community. I told my techno-geek, tri-athlete best friend about it one evening, and she didn't sound too enthusiastic. The next day, I got an e-mail from her saying that she got online to look at it and was hooked too. She got a GPSr the next week, and we've all been Caching together ever since! What's cool is that it uses technology for those of us who are wired, and it gets us out where we're hiking, four-wheeling (in some cases), and walking longer distances than we normally would. We laughingly call it "exercise for the technically enabled!"
Mike McComber from Seattle, Washington
Why are we being forced to use an old ID system that does not work? Can we switch to a biometric system for bank cards, Social Security number, driver's license, ID? It is the only way to prove you are you. A fingerprint reader can be purchased for $40, but we are forced to use a broken system providing people with our personal information in an archaic form which can be stolen. Insurance companies now sell ID theft insurance. You can pay to check your credit score. This all seems very backwards to me. The sooner we get a biometric ID system in place, these issues and many others will be solved, and the better off we will be. Yes, we have to limit access to the information created by such a system. But remember, the current system is way too accessible as well.
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