Depression… May 26, 2008

I live in a constant vortex of despair and misery, where my life is a complex labyrinth of eternal pain and sorrow, intertwining into a universal, space time continuum of sadness, due to the ever-changing pendulum of intellectual thought focused on the betterment of human society, by creating certain machines and devices to revolutionize how people live their square lives of similarity, all because it is programmed into our human psyche, buried deep in the depths and folds of our minds, that controls our everyday behavior, forcing us so to conform to the rest, ridding us of our stupid and erratic behavior and all of this is because we feel that it is our purpose in life to improve our quality of life…I will never be truly happy with technology.

As I have stated before, I am a passionate gadget aficionado. As I sat in the car the other day, I began to think and came to a conclusion. I will never truly be happy with my technology. I will never be happy with the gadgets I have or the computer I use. I don’t have the money to own the pick of the crop, so I want the better version of the device I own. Even if, for some reason, I amassed a large fortune, I would only be happy until a new device came out.

The ever-changing technological world keeps me always wanting more or better. A phone with Bluetooth and WiFi could always use a GPS, or that phone could use a projector or THAT phone could always use a TV, or a teleporter, or some other new technology invented. I will never get to see the perfect wonder-device, because perfect is an unattainable idea, and it will probably just remain a theory. Not that I really need any of those extra features, but isn’t that what technology’s business platform is centered off of? Do we really need a phone that takes email, and pictures, and tells the time (OoOo Ahhhhh?) It seems as if the goal is to cram as many purposes into one device as possible and I love it. Seemingly, so does everybody else who buys the newest HTC TyTn II or the Iphone.

I have come to terms with my endless pain and suffering, all geeks have. That’s just part of the game. We are happy for a little while, until the newest device comes out. Maybe that’s why I’m so addicted, always searching for that one perfect device. That’s how many of us either end up wasting our money, living in a family member’s basement (no offense poor, defenseless geek, but you need to get a life or come to terms with yourself and expect insults), or creating the wonder-devices themselves. It’s an uneasy balance of desire and creation, where the winners are rich and successful, and the losers come out on the bottom, literally (I hear that basements can get moldy or sometimes they even flood.)

Oooo Shiny O_o May 4, 2008

I am obsessed with shiny new things. I own many gadgets. I just love them. Darn! I have to stop loving inanimate objects. I am constantly on the Internet looking up new gadgets, playing with the ones I own or buying new ones. I save up my money to buy either new musical instruments or new gadgets *drools*. I think about it a lot. Why am I so engulfed by this gadget world of wonders? There is no wonder gadget out there, and the gadgets of today are far from perfect, but for some reason I don’t give up.

After much thought about why in the world I am so obsessed with these small pieces of technology, I have narrowed it down to three different things.

Somehow I believe that gadgets will somehow give me superpowers, magic. Who needs infinite knowledge when you have the Internet at your fingertips? Who needs a photographic memory (why wasn’t I born cool) when you have a camera on you at all times? Who needs the ability to tell whomever, whenever, what you are thinking when you have a phone? Technology must in some way fill the void that I have due to the absence of magic. Yes, there is some magic in this world, but I’m talking invisibility cloak, Harry Potter magic here. It reminds of the gadgets that Q makes James Bond in the movies. They seem to give James Bond super-human ability. James Bond was saved a number of times due to his AMAZING cell phone or REALLY COOL watch.

Another possibility as to why I might be so obsessed with shiny new gadgets, is that they somehow fill a void. Not to sound very cliché and emo, but I am in constant search for something that is just mine. Something that I can carry with me everywhere, keep my thoughts, and will be, somehow, special. That sounds all pretty creepy and, well, I don’t know, but it’s true. None of them have worked. I guess I do like my phone a lot, and I do keep a few thoughts, songs and things on it, but it just doesn’t do the job. I expect too much from my gadgets. I want them to be perfect and even though I realize that we, as a human race, will never achieve that perfection, I still buy these gadgets hoping that they will lead me there.

I still go to look on websites such as engadget.com and cnet.com to search for the next big thing. I will probably buy it, it will be mad kick’n, but it probably won’t do both of the purposes I dreamt it will (magic and that other thing) and yet I still buy it. I’ll then probably buy another device after it and so on. It’s an endless cycle that I choose to participate in. Why? I have no idea. I even acknowledge it and yet I can’t get myself to morf into a non-gadget lover. Oh well, I’m going to continue to want, and probably buy, gadgets. I can’t stop. They’re too cool. Quick! I need an intervention!

Apple Will Rule the World April 18, 2008

        Apple will eventually rule the world…really, whether it is through the Macs that litter the home and workspace of many or through the Ipods that occupy the pockets of thousands. They are constantly coming out with new products that take the technology world, turn it upside down and completely revolutionizing it. The apple Ipod was the device that started the entire MP3 craze. It was the device that put an MP3 player into technophiles and noobs alike. Recently they have introduced another technology that has skyrocketed in popularity…the Apple Iphone/Ipod touch.

            Who knows if its popularity is do to Apples repeated process of putting out wonderful products? It has set given itself a good reputation. With the Ipod Touch/Iphone it is no different. Not many people can say that they aren’t pretty damn cool. They are shiny, and with their multi-touch screens they are pretty slick. But all things considered Apple made a mistake not letting people jailbreak their new toys. What did Apple have against people using their products for more than was allowed? Don’t people have freedom?

            If I ever got an Ipod Touch the very first thing that I would do would be to free it of it’s Apple blocked shell, allowing to put the amazing software circulating the web on it. There is software out there such as a music-making application, games, and even an IM client. It takes your 7 application Ipod and makes it 15 applications. I look at what they allow the Ipod to do and my shiny new gadget trigger in my head goes off. As if the Ipod touch and Iphone aren’t cool enough, jail breaking them, sends them over the edge.

Apple made a big mistake not allowing 3^rd party software from the get-go.

            That is one of the main reasons why I chose the very buggy windows mobile phone over the Iphone. That, the $400 dollar price tag, absence of any substantial amount of memory and the bugginess. Online forums were littered and still are with loads of Iphone and Ipod touch help questions. That is expected with any new first-generation product, but that doesn’t mean I want it any more. The Iphone doesn’t allow for much freedom when it comes to what you want to put on it…unless it’s jail broken. I do not think that the Ipod touch or Iphone at the moment is worth owning unless you jail break it. It turns it into a Windows Mobile device of sorts…but a lot cooler.

All in all…I like the new Ipods that Apple has introduced. They are slick and cool and exactly what I expect from Apple. Am I disappointed Apple doesn’t allow completely open-source, third party-software, freedom…yes…I am…but who wouldn’t be. Apple is a company, just like all of the others in some respects. They are a company that wants to make money and sell their products to make money. Would I buy an Ipod touch? Yes, I probably will join the rest of America in its Apple Ipod craze (I own a 30 GB Ipod), but I’m waiting for generation two.

 

Is the Kindle the Next Wonderchild? April 16, 2008

Technology is constantly evolving…every single day. Do you even remember a CD, or a tape, or a record! Well, it depends on your generation, but these old technologies are slowly beginning to fade. How many times do you find yourself going to the store and buying a CD? It’s the nature of our materialistic, technological world of today. What new technology will completely revolutionize the world tomorrow? Who knows, but in my opinion the Amazon Kindle is NOT the next miracle device to pull an Apple Ipod.

I constantly frequent the website www.Engadget.com and that is where I first saw the Amazon Kindle. Now I’m not really one for beautiful gadgets (I own the chunky phone that is the HTC TyTn), but I personally don’t think the Kindle is the most beautiful gadget out there. Amazon could have at least tried a little harder to make the Kindle look a little more…non-generic. There are no highlighting lines. I just don’t find it that aesthetically pleasing. It sort of just blends in with the number of devices out there. Now, I’ve never actually seen one of these devices on person, but from the pictures the screen looks pretty dull, just adding to the overall blandness of the device.

There are a few things about the Kindle that I DO think are very cool. I have to say the E-ink “electronic paper” that the Kindle is sporting is pretty darn cool. I have never actually seen it in real life, but it appears to be fairly crisp. To receive the papers automatically all the time for free is also a very cool feature. What disappoints me is the $0.99 a month fee for automatically getting to read blogs and the like, but at $12.00 a year, that’s not all that bad. I would maybe even consider buying one of these if it weren’t for the $400 price tag. There are a few more things I think could be cool about the Kindle, but I’d have to see it in real life to actually judge whether or not I like or don’t like it.

What really bothers me about Amazon’s new device is the pricing and how poorly executed their entrance into the e-book world was. For $399.99, the Kindle is anything but cheap and I just can’t see myself spending $400 for something I could almost get for free at the nearest public library. I am a gadget geek and I do appreciate gadgets that supposedly make our lives easier, but I don’t think the Kindle is worth $400 for half the functions my phone can do. Why spend $400 dollars for something that you can buy for only $270, the Sony e-reader. Now I have to say Sony’s e-reader does lack some of the sparkle that the kindle has, but I do not think that that sparkle is worth $130 more. More so even if you wanted one, you wouldn’t even be able to get one. Amazon has done an extremely poor job in stocking their shelves with the device. People have waited up to six weeks for one. And overall do I really think it was worth their wait…no…I don’t.