The Marginal Value of Technology
mmm...gadgety
I’m contemplating buying myself a pair of Bluetooth headphones. As with most gadgety purchases I have to ask myself, “Will this make my life better?” I think it will.
For me this is a not a simple yes or no question, though, it borders on the existential. I’m caught between loving technology and despising its stranglehold on our lives. Every time the nerd in me gets giddy over something, say…terabyte broadband internet for instance, the Luddite in me tells me to “get my ass outside and live a little, dammit!” However, that luddite nature has never had to work in a coal mine or plow a field with a team of oxen or ride a horse more than once. Plainly my Luddite nature is an all-talk pussy.
All joking aside, the question is a serious one to me. Will this moderately priced, attractive and useful device make my life better or just more complicated? Just for reference, here’s some examples of some things already in (or out of) my life compared to this standard…
- My Phone. The G1 has the FREAKING INTERNET ON IT HOW SWEET IS THAT!? OMG! SRSLY! Honestly, my phone is awesome. There are some design flaws that I’ll touch on later in this very post and the battery life is pretty weak, but having the internet at my thumbtips is lifechangingly awesome.
Does it make my life better? I’ll say yes.
More complicated? An extra monthly cost and a pretty high timewaste rating aside, the G1 actually ends up making my life less complicated. It’s an mp3 player, research library and organizational tool in one moderately clunky package that I’d be hauling around anyways because it’s my phone. - My Bike. The bicycle is not nascent technology, but my aluminum soldier has all sorts of cutting edge gadgetry from reflective tape and a speedometer that I’ve put on after market to the pure-love that is Shimano 105 components with index shifting. Also, there’s a lot of gear to keep me from getting soaking wet and/or freezing to death while commuting.
Does it make my life better? Cycling makes me happy. It’s good for my body, my attitude and my tree-hugging-heart.
More complicated? Yes, but in a way that Luddites everywhere can appreciate. I might have to plan my trips and buy specialty clothing, but at the end of the day I’m not riding around in a dinosaur-burning metal and glass box. - My computer. At this point, having a PC with internet service is a borderline necessity for most of us. It is beyond ubiquity now. I consider a working computer a home appliance, perhaps not as important as the stove or the fridge, but given the choice between owning a computer and owning a dishwasher I wouldn’t even think a minute. And I hate doing dishes.
Does it make my life better? Mostly. School would be hard and the internet is really useful.
More complicated? The internet is the cause and solution to all of life’s little problems. Computers at the best of times are cranky, inconsistent machines prone to intermittent problems and time-consuming workarounds. Add that I don’t use anything from Microsoft or Apple and you have a recipe for a time vacuum. - My old Palm T|X. Man I thought that thing was sweet. It was going to make me organized! It was going to make my life easier! It’ll replace my mp3 player! Wifi in my pocket! None of this was true. I never had it with me. It was bulky and awkward, the headphone jack shorted-out halfway and I never got it fixed. I was able to check baseball scores from my bedside on the “mobile web” and the sudoku app was killer.
Does it make my life better? If paying $250 for glorified pocket sudoku is wrong, I don’t want to be wrong.
More complicated? Yes, nothing has been more complicated than trying to convince my wife that any gadget purpose is worthwhile when she can just pull out “but didn’t you think that about your palm-thingy?” It’s like a local version of Godwin’s Law: If Heather and I talk about a prospective purchase long enough, eventually she’ll bring up my Palm Pilot.
So, we were talking about headphones at some point weren’t we? Anyways, my rationale for these is pretty simple, here goes.
What makes me think “Bluetooth Headphones” will make my life better?
- Wires suck. Whether biking or bussing, my messenger bag weighs a pretty penny. Whenever I put the bag on or take it off over wired headphones I pull them out or they tug against my ears. I know it sounds like I’m being a little bitch, but do this 5 times over the course of a public transit commute and you get a little bitter about it. Also, I have no idea how it happens, but headphones must run around a maypole while I’m not looking or something because I’m constantly not just untangling my headphones, but undoing countless unintended knots as well.
Sounds like a problem easily solved by a bluetooth headset. Bonus: Not having to wire myself under my jacket to hide my hideous earbuds with the phone mic on them. - The G1′s glaring design flaw. Okay, go find my friend Danny and ask him about the headphone jack or lack thereof on the G1. Go make a pot of coffee. Go to Papa Murphy’s and buy a pizza, go home and bake it. After you eat it go back to Danny and listen to the last 1/2 hour of his rant about the G1′s single mini-usb port. It’s pretty bad, I’ll admit. You can’t charge it and use headphones at the same time. It requires an adapter to use your own headphones, and apparently the adapters are prone to breakage. I have the actual headphones that plug in from the old model and they’re large and ungainly.
Imagine not only charging my phone and using headphones at the same time on my phone, but imagine me walking around unfettered within a short distance of my phone. Not unforeseeable that the next time Danny gears up for his rant I can reply calmly that they must have had a headset like mine in mind when they made their terrible design mistake. (I don’t understand why more commercials don’t use this setup, it’s effective.) - Hello, Oregon’s hands-free law, meet my sweet bluetooth headset.
- Hello computer, glad to know you have bluetooth operability, I’ll be sure to not carry my other set of headphones with me all the time.
Well, I’m convinced. What do you guys think?
Tags: Technology