[citation][nom]solymnar[/nom]This was a fun read...despite having to stomach an excess of apple products (what can I say, I'm not into paying $5 for starbucks coffee either...which has proven inferior to McDonalds coffee in taste tests...) while its not a fair nor universally true statement I can't help but see most people loaded to the gills with apple products as burying their insecurities with status symbols.Most gadgets seem to be a pretty big waste of money to me. That said I love my panasonic lumix tz5 camera and Sandisk sansa e260. And have a ti-89 calculator. They take care of everything I would do away from an actual computer. Any other gadget I've encountered either1)Isn't reliable2)Is too expensive3)Is a pita to use4)Sacrifices too much preformanceExample:I've got a fancy phone, sure it can do a lot of stuff...but I don't care what phone you have. Even with a full keypad surfing the net, sending email, watching videos, playing music etc. is pretty weak compared to using a real computer, or a good media player like my sansa...which has MUCH greater battery life than my phone could ever dream of in continual use. Since most of us have a computer at home, and work or access to a computer lab at least...why subject yourself to excess headache for the sake of cute novelties that are ultimately poor substitutes.To each their own obviously and early adopters like Rachel fund these things so that eventually they become useful and cost effective or are pushed aside by items with real functionality. Like the plethora of devices over the years to do DVR or interface your computer with your TV and stereo...when all you have to do is get another PC and...network it...I've done that since 1997...and its only gotten easier.I often feel some people are just in love with the "idea" of being able to write an email from anywhere, etc...practical or not.[/citation]
Solymnar,
You make a very good point. For example--the Treo 650--clearly it was a rudimentary, early product, in retrospect. But I bought it, thus...sort of...paving the way for the smart phone market that eventually led to better Blackberrys and iPhones. However, at the time, the Treo felt necessary to me--I would have had a hard time giving it up. Even though it (and my iPhone, too) didn't replace a real computing experience, it afforded me a convenience that I cherish to this day. Every one of these gadgets that I wrote about (with the exception of the BagelDrive and the Roomba) and extremely practical to my life.
Rachel
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