Archive for August 17th, 2010


Gadget Man part 2

Part 2 of these unexpected posts is being written in the passenger seat of my car, a Prius (theoretically another gadget), now en-route to have weekly dinner with old friends who just spent two weeks camping in the middle-ages. NO GADGETS!

The environment is perfect for using the iPad for what it can do. This furthers the wonder of the class divide created by the environments of a tool’s usability.

I thought either of these posts might be about why I love gadgets and hoe I got into them and yadda yadda yadda. But that really seems unnecessary because the interest and opportunity is probably obvious if not entire classist unto itself.

This is of course both the advantage and disadvantage to living with and loving an activist because it gives you a more discerning eye upon not what you have or don’t have but why.

I sit here contemplating the book “Snow Crash.” The lower class live in storage areas but still have access to the fun if admittedly inferior pieces of technology. I contemplate a scene from “Devil Wears Prada” where the explanation of how clothes move from designers to Target.

I don’t like the classist system. Granted, I’m also one of those who went from spoiled rich kid, to welfare, to 6 figure salary on my own. Did one effect the other? Maybe.

So… Two empty posts that weren’t really thought out at all as an experiment to make some posts with my iPad.

More with substance soon.

Gadget man

This rather haphazard attempt to post is being done on my bus while I am en-route home from work. It is being typed on an iPad that is running a WordPress program that is using a Verizon MiFi unit.

The process is painful to say the least.

The iPad is not a composition device on the best of days. Riding on city public transityy through urban zones does not lend to an even remotely good day for content creation. I do have an external keyboard, but I think that using it would further drive home the point this post was designed for.

On my early morning inbound route a nice old woman refers to me as “Gadget Man.” This is fair because on any morning i can be seen using my iPhone, iPad, or depending on my work crunch, a full 17″ MacBook Pro for development purposes.

Accomplishing work on the bus however is a daunting process. Especially if I end up on the later post 4:30 busses. Simply stated, personal space is not something you can depend on. Depending on your single serving fiend you may find yourself unable to scratch your nose, let alone type. Privacy is also shot as people are curious about the fascinating magic you are creating. The fascination often manifests most pleasantly in people seeing you as a gadget sales representative. You will be asked for advice on purchasing these treasures.

On top of this is the simple fact that you likely standout with a neon sign over you (another gadget) that reads, “This one is carrying expensive and stealable equipment. So there is the desire to not stand out or be seen, while at the same time the desire to be doing work or fiddling some respite of entertainment.

Of course there are those who may wonder why I would do such a silly thing as bringing such a high tech gadget onto a bus. Nobody else does it. Well nobody uses this specific gadget yet. The number of iPhones, blackberries, music players, etc are staggering. (for fairness I just got off my bus and am now walking.)

What will be the future of gadgets in the real world. Is there an even more subtle class division being created by the tools of modern trade?

This I’d like to revisit in about 5 and 10 years.