Its an achievement in itself that she already had one, used it, and liked it. The thing about technology these days is that it’s accessible and desperate to please, iPod being the pinnacle of such servitude. So, after much persuading, she decided to get an iPod touch instead of an iPod classic.

After a few lessons, she loves it. The first day I told her everything that it did, and she said very little. The next day, she pretty much asked me to tell her all those things again, but she was catching on this time. The second time I explained Pandora, she understood and became increasingly interested. “This is like the time you took pictures of my shoes.” she says.

I should explain: my mother’s qualifying act of life getting better though the use of technology is grounded upon one birthday when, as a present, I took pictures of every pair of shoes she had, printed those off and tapped them to the front of shoeboxes, so she could see all the shoes she had without opening the boxes. To her, this use of digital photography was the first step towards worthwhile modern technology. She is a avid watcher of classic TV shows, she still buys VHS tapes but now she also has an iPod touch and is excited about Pandora.

I showed her Tunein radio and Netflix, that she can check her email and view store ads, that she can manage her bank account and take pictures, that the pictures she takes can be instantly uploaded and printed. And now, she is finally beginning to see what all the fuss is about.