PRELUDE
This post was intended to be a long dissertation on all the flaws in my new “smart phone” and the android platform on which it was developed. You might even be interested in that knowledge from me. But let me switch gears from discussions of geeky stuff like platforms and code to reality.
The reality is that the world we knew 15 or even 10 or perhaps even 2 years ago is nothing more than mere nostalgic wanderings and musings.
GEEK
As I sit in Tokyo sipping a latte at Excelsior Cafe, labouriously typing out a blog on my 4-inch cell phone touchpanel screen, I can’t help but wonder what new idea or thought pattern will take root and modify our lives forever.
Shouldn’t I just enjoy, sit back and relax?
BOOKS?
For one thing, I wonder how much longer we will expect our books and news stories to remain fixed linear devices for transmitting a single story. Archaic.
When books can be instantly accessed via content providers like Kindle, you should also be ale to read different versions on the fly. For example, why not have a menu item to select the audence level? Adult, Preteen, &Youth are just three of the levels I would have liked when I read Postsingular. A great scifi book for my kids to read with some interesting ideas bout offline memory storage for humans BUT I wish I could just “turn off” a few explicit portions about cross-dressing sexual SM behavior that really adds nothing.
RANDOM ROUTING
Why must a book always follow the same pattern?
TOUCHSCREENS
Why is it so hard to type with one finger? Two thumbs is a little faster but no less frustrating. Time to get Bluetooth wireless keyboard…
MOVING ON
And so today’s great idea or thought is tomorrow’s reality and next week’s old news. Hard to keep up. Don’t blink.
Lunch is over time to move on. Back to email jail.
Dylan
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After spending all day on a computer, the last thing I want to do is read something on a computer! I love, LOVE the feel, smell, and sound of books. Real ones, especially with pictures (I’m biased, of course!) My oldest books are the most cherished. Dog eared, stained, filled with memories of who I was when I first read some of those stories.
I still don’t have a smartphone, though, so I can’t comment on texting or other of those new-fangled features!
Hi Nickie, I love my paper books too. I have shelves and shelves of them. I even take them out for (all too short) reading sessions.
But I must admit, I am a junkie. When I get on the train, my electronic gadgets keep me entertained. And as I started reading more and more books on my phone, I started longing for a new kind of book…When new medium comes along, you get to experiment with new ways presenting your material to the world. I hope you’ll join me in the quest for more unique electronic presentations….even as we continue to make paper products!
Sure! Hopefully I’ll be getting a newfangled Droid or something by the end of summer. It’ll make posting easier, too!