Re: [NTLK] Converge

From: Sonya Hipper (sonyalynn_at_earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Oct 14 2005 - 11:40:07 PDT


Having disagreed with Ed previously on Apple in the Jobs II era, I =20
must now agree with him wholeheartedly. Give me a set of best-of-=20
breed devices that do the one thing they're supposed to do very well, =20=

and that talk to one another over Bluetooth (or, as time marches on, =20
whatever replaces it)!

If my standalone digicam just did BT, along with my phone (S-E =20
S710a...love it! Just not as a camera or web browser...), Newt (or =20
Einstein-ified Neo-Newt *bats lashes at Paul and Nicholas*), and =20
laptop (PBG4 867 12") when I'm carrying it, I would be able to do =20
stuff like "photo-blogging" and do it MUCH more easily (and likely =20
faster and BETTER) than someone with, say, a Treo and its crappy =20
camera, tiny screen, and icky thumb-keyboard input (but which is very =20=

bulky and feels weird as a phone).

It was just such discussion that really got me thinking about the =20
convergence vs. communication technology model debate a while back, =20
as a friend was crowing about her Treo and being able to "photo-blog".

Death (or at least market marginalization :P ) to the convergence =20
devices! Long live the PAN (Personal Area Network)! :-)

-Sonya

PS: Well, at least until we can all readily afford rigs like Steve =20
Mann's WearComp... http://wearcam.org/ieeeis/ieeeis_intro.pdf (intro =20
article on Wearable Computing)

Ed wrote:

> The past is riddled with the corps's of converged cellphone/pda =20
> devices going as far back as the AT&T EO. I still have my EO 440 =20
> with the Analog phone attachment...While I'm sure I can reactivate =20
> the phone module (it's a re-packaged OKI 900 cellphone with a data =20
> plug and handset), I'm sure I'll get raised eyebrows when I give =20
> them the ESN to activate...and then probably only the 50 year old =20
> guy in the back will be the only one who remembers how to do that.
>
> Anyone remember the IBM Simon made by Mitsubishi? This wonderful =20
> marvel was a PDA/Cellphone device that did everything quite =20
> well...unfortunatly, only SBC was allowed to sell it...so they shot =20=

> themselves in the foot before it ever launched!
>
> And there was the Nokia il7000. The first fold open cellphone with =20
> a full keyboard and screen...Nokia is still trying to push that =20
> concept!
>
> In every case, the failure part has been two fold
> 1) the phone technology has been overshadowed by newer and sleeker =20
> devices
> 2) proprietary systems...the inability for these devices to offer =20
> an upgrade path...If you had a Simon, and wanted something more, =20
> where would you have gone?
>
> My personal vision is the exact oposite of conversion...fully =20
> diversification! Multiple devices that only do a single task. =20
> YET!!! they all communicate seemlessly to each other and share =20
> common data...kinda the same way the Newton soups work...Have an =20
> address book device....have a cellphone...have an email =20
> reader...all seperate devices that allows a single dumb reader to =20
> request data from all of the above for the feeling of =20
> convergence..This was the original vision of Bluetooth...have a PDA =20=

> and a cellphone, but you don't have the phone number in your =20
> PDA...connect to the pda to get that phone number...That, to me, is =20=

> the future...complete divergence..single task devices that are =20
> autonomous and offer hooks to authenticated
> devices...

=3D=3D
     "I urge you all today, especially today during these
times of chaos and war, to love yourself without reservations
and to love each other without restraint. Unless you're into
leather. And then, by all means, use restraints."
                                                 =97Margaret Cho

Sonya Hipper
sonyalynn_at_earthlink.net
AIM: SonyaLynn
Yahoo: thesonyalynn

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