Berto Gonzales has been working hard all his life. A 57-year-old plant manager, he’s proud of his career advancement and is glad to be able to afford a nice house for himself and his wife – one that’s big enough to put up his five adult children and his grandchildren when they come for a visit. Berto is fluent in English and uses it at work and in town, but prefers Spanish and speaks it with his close friends and family.
“My children are dragging me into the Internet age, whether I want to go or not!”
Smartphone (Android operating system): Berto uses his smartphone primarily for calling friends and family, and occasionally for texting. He has a monthly family plan that allows him to place calls, send texts, and access data – he finds that he gets decent reception both at home and at work, but not necessarily when he’s driving in rural parts of the state, especially when there are a lot of trees.
Tablet: Berto’s kids got him a tablet designed for seniors that is set up in Spanish. It’s easier to read than the phone and since his kids downloaded all the important apps for him (even some he doesn’t want) it’s all set.
Berto’s kids set up wifi in the house – they use it when they visit, and he uses it for his phone and tablet.
I'm not good at texting, and I don’t understand why everyone seems to like it so much. It takes more time for me to type a text message than it does for me to call someone. I can’t understand what my kids mean when they use text shortcuts -- like “K” for “Qué” My fingers are too fat to type! I can never remember how to dictate to the phone, but I like the idea of just talking instead of typing.
Berto has a reputation of being a hard worker who’s always on time and who never calls in sick. He’s also got a good sense of humor and gets along well with both his supervisors (who all speak only English) and his employees (who mostly all speak Spanish). Berto knows that the internet is the future, but he’s just not interested in spending lots of money on devices that are difficult to use. Who needs the frustration? To make his kids happy, though, and because they’ve shown him how, he doesn’t mind using Skype to call them. Some years, though, he wishes they wouldn’t all go in on a Christmas present for him that involves technology – but every year it seems to be some gadget or device or software or something that they think he can’t live without.
• has the extended cable package so that he can get Spanish-language TV stations
• thinks TV is trustworthy, but believes that politicians don't tell the truth
• also enjoys watching soccer games on TV, but that’s about it