Computers and Techie stuff

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Are most people with aspergers into computers and stuff?

I am awating assessment but hate techie things. I prefer intellectual or artistic pursuits perferrably by hand where possible so that I don't have to spend a lot of time sitting at a computer. I can use a computer obviously but I dislike them, they bore me.

I also hate gadgets...I won't buy a kindle. I still prefer to read books, writen on paper and which i can hold in my hand, sniff (I do like the way they smell, not to mention the pure leather book mark I own to read them with...oh the smell of leather! sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff) and turn the page. I like to feel the paper between my fingers.

PS I only sniff in private. I wouldn't want to freak people out at the local library.

I don't sniff computers, they don't smell as good.

Anyone else similar? Or are you all a techie crowd?

I'm a techie and love paper based books too. I love the smell of bookshops and the aroma of new books. Even old musty antique book shops have a certain aromatic appeal. I'm also a computer programmer of thirty years. I've recently taken to downloading the Kindle app on my tablet computer (and on the PC) and it does have some benefits and downsides compared to paper based books.

One thing I like about the kindle app is that it has a dictionary feature. I'm practising my French by reading French novels and simply holding my finger on a word brings up its definition (in French - but I can read French well enough that this usually helps me sufficiently).

Paper based books are great for taking with me when I'm likely to be sitting around e.g. in hospital waiting rooms.

I work in IT and have a degree in computer science. The field came easy. I didn't have a problem with it initially. Now I don't care for it. It's not what I thought it would be.


I love books. I know that feeling when you sniff a brand new book, or the smell of old leather and old books. There are some used book stores I've gone to that smell of books.

As for stuff outside of computers, I'm into arts & crafts: Writing, Pyrographing, digital art(fractal, abstract, ascii), drawing(abstract, geometry), photography, jewelry, costuming and prop making, floral arrangments.

I do like the using a computer for some of my art. I write on my laptop, and generate fractal images. It's more from a utility point of view.

I'm not a techie at all. I like surfing the net, and I use Word a bit, but I take no interest in computers themselves or how they work or anything like that.
I have very limited interest in gadgets. I have two cell phones, both are Siemens (C25 and one of the nest models, can't recall if it was C35 or C45). The first is 15 years old, the second only barely newer. I take no interest in newer phones. I just need something I can make calls with and send SMS.
I have NDS and 3DS but I only use them the same way I did my Gameboy. I couldn't care less about the camera or the other possible uses, I just play games on them.

I'm no more into art and crafts than I am tech. Some paintings look good, but I don't care one bit about styles and artists.


I am equally much into books (real books, no interest in e-books) and video games, very into both, but also very particular about both.


It would be very interesting to know how common the stereotype really is.

I use computers and technology a lot. I use Apple products, except for my phone, which is Android. I like paper books and e-books.

Big time techie.

I am somewhat computer-literate, but not an expert by any means.

I don't fit many of the stereotypes of Aspies.

I am a big techie too. But I am more into hardware then software. I like messing around with things like Ardunio, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, PIC micro controllers, FPGA's and analog circuits. Am not really into things like JavaScript or web development.

I know more about tech than most of my friends, but it's pretty mediocre compared to a lot of people out there. I struggle with a lot of the advanced things.

I'm kind of balanced. I'm the type that can draw on a computer just as easily as drawing traditionally, and I get satisfying results with either medium. I cringe when I see people using Apple products... New books are one of the few things that brings a smile to my face, and the smell of any book is therapeutic to me.

This is actually a pretty common stereotype. I'd like to look into that.

IT and offensive security used to be my special interest but it has fallen off over the years

Big time techie, electronics engineer, got my first computer in 1977 but I love books. I'm still buying them even though the bookshelves are full, only this weekend I bought a big thick volume of pictures of New York.

I am my employers highest technical authority...

So i'd fit that particular stereotype well.

I have loved computers ever since I knew they existed. I grew up in a time when there were no computers, or rather, they existed - just not in my world.
My first knowledge of computers was when I saw them as a kid when I used to watch Battlestar Galactica. It was love at first sight.

Even though I was a kid and we weren't rich, I still managed to get my first computer around 1980.
It was a TRS-80 hand held:

That's what I learned basic on.

When I was in high school, they had an Apple ][c. I was over the moon.

My next computer used the television as the monitor and I saved and restored the programs I wrote on a standard audio cassette and tape recorded.

Then there was the XT stage. Then there was the AT stage. Around this time was when I first started repairing computers.
I had 286's, 386's, then the 486's. When I had my 486 DX2 66, I thought I was the ant's pants. This was about the time I started getting into UNIX (FreeBSD & OpenBSD)
Then the Pentiums came.
This is roughly the time my Special Interest in Sun Microsystems started.

I can program in many, many different languages but I prefer to program in C/C++ and VB.
I love TCP/IP and love UNIX socket programming.

When Oracle killed Sun Microsystems 1 day after my birthday in 2010 (and ended my ~15yr Special Interest in Sun Microsystems), I spiraled into a major depression and began drinking heavily. I had to spend time in hospital for depression and alcoholism. It ripped a huge hole in my life.

I don't actually work in IT, (it has just always been a hobby) but once work found out I could program and had great ideas on how to streamline operations, they've put me to good use!

So yes, I guess you could say I'm into computers.

I'd much rather spend the night with my computer than with people. Computers just make sense.

And they smell good sniff sniff sniff

Last edited by ImAnAspie on 28 May 2014, 12:46 am, edited 2 times in total.

I'm a techie inasmuch that I can get around my Mac and iOS adequately enough--I also know how to find out answers to what I don't know. Outside of that limited scope, I am nearly illiterate on new versions of windows beyond clicking on basic icons on the screen.

I've tried reading on a eReader many times: phone, iPad, Kindle Fire, etc and have always really disliked it. I got the newest Kindle--the Paperwhite, and it's actually a really nice device. Like you said though, it still can't beat the experience of reading an actual paper-based book. I absolutely love the tactile sensation of feeling the paper on my finger tips--it's a completely stimulating experience to me. I also like to see how far I've read as I see the pages pass from the right to left. But most importantly, I love to smell the books as well. MMMMMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMMMMmmmmmm. My wife calls me a weirdo, but I will sit down and smell a book for a long time. An aged book is like fine wine, and glossy paper is an abomination. Until a Kindle can match the weight, feeling, and pump out book odors, I'll always prefer the actual thing.

I work as a coder, but I have some very non-techie interests. I opted for the job I did simply because (a) I enjoyed it, (b) I was good at, and (c) it was easy and left me free to spend time on my other interests. As this job has become less and less appealing over the last few years, I've been contemplating switching to a non-computer field.

i am more into food