(no subject)
My brother once mocked me for complicated my life by carrying around a whole swathe of dedicated devices. At the time I think I had a laptop, an ipod, a camera and my particularly low-tech phone. His point that most of these could be replaced with some kind of smart phone. True enough.
Recently I have acquired a ebook reader which just adds to the list of dedicated devices that I have (yes it can be used to browse the internet and play music but for the most part, it's good for books). Even worse I like it. So it got me thinking about what i like in these electronic things I have and where I should really get devices with more functions.
Net result was that I would be happy with a phone that played music and had basic browsing abilities. What I like about the things that I already have is that they perform their function well. This kindle has a battery that apparently can last for up to a month and while the screen looks really low tech it's really, really good for reading off for long hours (this is coming from someone known to spend more than ten hours a day in front of a LCD). I really like my camera. I had no objection to the fact that my old camera didn't take video because what it did do was amazing still (when the stars aligned and I could pass for having some talent or at least luck).
Physics wise I don't think that smaller cameras will get to the point that they are better than SLRs. I don't think that i'd like reading on anything smaller than a paper back. e-ink screens are good for reading, but at the present terrible for motion - looks like I'm sticking to a large number of dedicated devices for a while.
Recently I have acquired a ebook reader which just adds to the list of dedicated devices that I have (yes it can be used to browse the internet and play music but for the most part, it's good for books). Even worse I like it. So it got me thinking about what i like in these electronic things I have and where I should really get devices with more functions.
Net result was that I would be happy with a phone that played music and had basic browsing abilities. What I like about the things that I already have is that they perform their function well. This kindle has a battery that apparently can last for up to a month and while the screen looks really low tech it's really, really good for reading off for long hours (this is coming from someone known to spend more than ten hours a day in front of a LCD). I really like my camera. I had no objection to the fact that my old camera didn't take video because what it did do was amazing still (when the stars aligned and I could pass for having some talent or at least luck).
Physics wise I don't think that smaller cameras will get to the point that they are better than SLRs. I don't think that i'd like reading on anything smaller than a paper back. e-ink screens are good for reading, but at the present terrible for motion - looks like I'm sticking to a large number of dedicated devices for a while.