Class, please take out your Nooks and swipe to page 45.

http://www.courant.com/business/technology/chi-barnes-noble-sees-fast-growth-with-nook-will-expand-to-9-new-countries-20121010,0,2997050.story

As this article states, “Barnes & Noble Inc. expects its digital Nook and college bookstore businesses to generate combined revenues of $3 billion this year, helped by strong e-books sales growth, and the bookseller said on Wednesday it plans to expand its digital bookstore into nine new international markets by June.”

While I hardly object to Barnes & Noble’s competitive position, I do fault the nation’s hearty approval of digital reading.  Here’s why:

First, consumers must understand that the trees we spare with the purchase of tablets and e-readers do not negate the other forms of waste associated with these devices.  We don’t have to plug paperbacks into outlets.  We power fewer machines when we produce a biography than when we assemble a Nook.  And let’s not forget that, recycling aside, a pamphlet or encyclopedia biodegrades swiftly and unremarkably while a plastic and metal tablet containing hazardous innards does not.

Second, e-books and e-textbooks cost as much as their paper counterparts.  When we purchase the digital versions, we encourage these contemptible pricing practices.

Third, a question:  Will it be okay with you if your eventual child grows up without ever opening, flicking through, cursing, highlighting, doggy-earring, starring, tucking notes into, stroking, and even sniffing a physical book?  At this thought, Faulkner would renounce us, Melville would sail away, and Shakespeare would pen another play simply to cast us as fools.

Somehow, this movement away from paper and toward digital mediums represents a grander disownment of history, of intense study, and of worthwhile knowledge.

We keep making things "easier."  Remind me...why do things need to be easier?

HP: Dethroned

http://www.courant.com/business/sns-rt-us-lenovo-hp-gartnerbre8991rf-20121010,0,3297414.story

In addition to detailing the general decline in worldwide shipments of personal computers, this article discusses HP’s stagnant sales and Lenovo’s leaping popularity.

“China's Lenovo Group Ltd edged out Silicon Valley icon Hewlett-Packard Co to become the world's No. 1 PC maker in the third quarter, according to data released by research house Gartner on Wednesday.  A rival to Gartner, IDC, still ranks HP in the lead - but by less than half a percentage point - in terms of PC shipments worldwide.  Both studies reinforce HP's struggles against rivals as new chief executive Meg Whitman tries to overhaul the stalled 73-year-old company.”

This summer, I initiated a fatiguing quest for a new laptop.  Though macs are the go-to products for most buyers, I prefer the PC layout and decided to select from the standard brand spectrum:  Toshiba, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Sony.

After purchasing and returning a Toshiba with a faulty battery, I chose the Lenovo ideapad.  Why?  Because an HP with comparable specs cost $150 more.

My saga follows.  Note my selective use of past tense:

Because I care so little for technology, I’m partial to simple machines that accomplish tasks with the fewest buttons and processes possible.  Lenovo satisfied this preference.  The keyboard and features were both minimalistic.  Indeed, while watching a brief YouTube clip, I attempted to lower the PC’s volume and found that the machine only recognized six or eight sound increments, with no pleasing options between “too soft” and “too loud.”

When adjusting brightness, the unglamorous outline of a grey sun appeared on my screen.  Moreover, webcam features and bonus software were both nonexistent.  None of these failings bothered me.

However, the exterior of the machine was poorly finished.  The edges looked to be snapped together, with a few fringes of some variety of cotton or string defiantly sticking out.  My greatest grievance, however, was the touchpad.  Beyond the lousy scroll functions and the overly responsive touch sensitivity, the pad itself was poorly fastened to the computer.  Indeed, I noticed that one corner was even detached from the body of the machine.

After owning the laptop for a month, the touchpad failed.  Though I could move the mouse, I could not click by tapping or pushing on the pad.  Back to BestBuy it went.

If we dismiss my touchpad as a dud, I will admit that, overall, the laptop functioned well.  Moreover, no other computer boasted an i5 processor for such a reasonable price ($650 range).  Though the aesthetics of the machine were unexceptional, I do understand the surging popularity of Lenovo.

With this knowledge, I offer HP only two options:  Lower prices to compete with emerging price-conscious brands or somehow offer a differentiated PC experience that is so remarkable, it merits the added cost.

And for those curious few, I am typing this blog post on my new Asus notebook.

Land Ho! Or not...

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/10/10/lytro-plenoptic-camera-gets-new-features-wider-availability

http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Scitech/660/371/lytro%20camera%20samples.jpg

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/10/19/Lytro_stacked_cropped_610x493.jpg

Before you start speculating, let me offer two hints:  This device is neither a sleek kaleidoscope nor a modern spyglass…but don’t lose interest just yet.  You can still use it to spot land and morph colors.

Dubbed the “Lytro light field camera,” this gadget boasts the impressive powers of refocusing images after capture.

As the article notes, “Lytro also has a bright fixed-aperture zoom lens, and can create a depth map from the captured image which lets it provide a limited 3D effect, as demonstrated on the company's blog.  And without the need to focus, by all accounts it's pretty speedy.”

Though the low resolution and miniscule monitor yield critical grumbles, the primary function of the device—providing post-picture clarity—is impressive.

As the designated photographer of my family and friends, I sometimes resent the obtrusive digital screen that detaches me from the goings on of various outings.  From whale watches to dinner parties, I spend too much time viewing the reproduced images of friends, relatives, and earthly spectacles, and not enough time gazing at the physical beings and happenings before me.

Unlike tablets, apps, and the majority of technologies, this device heightens man’s engagement with his immediate world.  Indeed, Lytro reduces the amount of time we must stare at screens.  Without the need to focus on an image, users can simply capture a moment and edit it later, after the company departs or the ship docks.

The price point?  To deepen your acquaintance with reality, you’ll have to shell out $400.  Money well spent?

The Downloadable Days Aren't Over

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-205_162-6588479.html

http://blastmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nintendo-logo.jpg

http://www.examiner.com/article/nintendo-3ds-to-get-downloadable-mario-kart-7-super-mario-3d-land-and-more

A couple of years ago, Nintendo released its newest handheld gaming device.  Called the 3DS, the gadget boasts “a “parallax barrier” LCD screen, whose pixels are aligned so your left and right eyes see different portions of the image.  It's as if two sets of thin blinds were laid over the screen so each eye sees its own version. Combined in the brain, the two versions become a 3-D image.”

Essentially, gamers enjoy 3D realities without the clunky inconvenience of goggles or glasses.  The device’s clever, precedent-setting technology demands only $170.

Recently, the corporation announced a variety of popular games that will become available for download in the coming months, including Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D, and Zelda II.  Apparently, Nintendo is embracing the ease of downloadable content.

From Netflix to Nintendo, we seem to have abandoned the traditional means of viewing movies and games.  Goodbye discs and cartridges.  We consumers favor minimalism.  If it’s downloadable, it’s preferable.  Fewer items to force into our bulging television stands.

Downloadable content aside…

I must admit that, when I learned about the 3DS, I began to wonder if product developers are truly considering their consumers.  Are they assessing us accurately?

Think about it.  Do people who purchase handheld technologies really yearn for the 3D experience?  With such a small screen, the 3D display hardly immerses gamers in the virtual world.  So what’s the point?

Will none admit that some technologies needn’t be developed further?  Needn’t accommodate the latest and greatest?  Needn’t feature fourteen 3D screens?  Will we ever reach a plateau?

Please, can we reach a plateau?

One Giant Knee-Bend for Mankind

http://www.gizmag.com/pizzicato-knee-joint-energy-harvester/22933/

Get ready for brilliance.  Scientists at the United Kingdom’s Cranfield University, University of Liverpool, and University of Salford have developed a device that converts knee movement into electricity.

Please excuse this long and technical quotation:

“Known as the pizzicato knee-joint energy harvester, the device fits onto the outside of the knee.  It is circular, and consists of a central hub equipped with four protruding arms, surrounded by an outer ring bearing 72 plectra (a plectrum is a plucking tool, such as a guitar pick).  The ring rotates about a quarter of a turn with every bend of the knee, causing the plectra to pluck the arms.  This causes the arms to vibrate (not unlike a guitar string), and it’s those vibrations that are used to generate electrical energy.”

Presently, the device can harvest two hundred milliwatts of power.  More startlingly, researchers forecast an eventual capacity that can power a GPS tracking system.

Though the device is currently targeted at overladen soldiers who lug hefty batteries in hostile places and harsh climates, I foresee the grander implications of this technology.  If such a product were commercialized and sold to consumers, we could literally power our own lives.

The word “amazing” is overused and has therefore lost its potency.  However, if the term were only uttered in response to scenes and situations that authentically “amaze,” I assure you it would cross my lips right now.

With the excess of cell phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers, and other gadgets, we plug more items into our sockets than in years past.  Moreover, we overcharge devices and waste further electricity.  With energy harvesters like this one, we could, as a population, do a little damage control.

Though I appear to be a technology-scorner, I am, at this moment, disproving the generalization.  This is the kind of technology I appreciate.  This is the kind of technology the world needs.  The invention features no screens, no apps, and requires no bedazzled cases.  It simply and efficiently achieves its straightforward goals of function and responsibility.  No flourishes, no adornments, no campaigns.  This is prudent, society-advancing, revolutionary technology that proves the greatness of man and affirms our status as evolved beings who rightfully and purposefully inhabit this planet.

The In-Between iPad

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/03/ipad-mini-competitors/

Though an absurd quantity of Americans possess at least one and possibly twenty Apple products, the company has elected to expand its market by introducing a 7.85 inch tablet.  Surprise, surprise.

With this smaller product, Apple will compete with similarly mini tablets including the seven inch Kindle fire, the seven and nine inch Nook tablets, the seven inch Google tablet, and the seven inch Samsung Galaxy tablet.  These devices range in price from $159 to $500.

My first reaction pertains to the usefulness of this product.  The 7.85 inch size is a compromise between the 4.87 inch iPhone and the 9.5 inch iPad.  The new tablet will be too large for pocket transportation but, arguably, too small for legitimate, daily convenience.  An appealing price point, however, will likely override any customer misgivings.

 Though I question the practicality of this device, I do not underestimate the enormous sales Apple will enjoy with its release.  My current theory is that consumers purchase such tablets as the Nook and Kindle Fire to avoid the high prices of Apple products.  If Apple releases this new iPad at a price that competes with popular small-size tablets, buyers will likely opt for the tested Apple technology.

Moreover, Apple loyalists will purchase this mini iPad within months of its release, even if they already own a normal-size iPad.  How do I know this?  Somehow, Apple lovers always manage to justify/ find a use for each new Apple product.  They simply worship Apple and employ no restraint when the company’s latest sleek creations reach markets.  Cost and utility are immaterial to the allegiance of Apple fanatics.

Overall, Apple’s new tablet will be big…even though it’s small.

A Birthday Post and Present

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/facebook-lets-users-buy-real-things-for-friends/?ref=technology&pagewanted=print

In an effort to diversify its revenue sources, Facebook is presenting users with an easy gifting process.  Indeed, those who partake of the social network need only select an item and recipient, type a greeting, and pay.  Offerings range from cupcakes to sunglasses and seemingly span from $35 to $95.  If this project is profitable, Facebook intends to launch a full virtual storefront.

 I have yet to decide if Facebook’s expansion to tangible, paid-for items will prosper.  Here’s the debate:

Facebook’s advantage is that it advertises the likely forgotten birthdays of friends.  Providing an immediate and convenient solution to flustered users as they ashamedly and belatedly recall their friends’ special day is a brilliant idea.

But…  Will this gesture look thoughtful or generic?  Will the gift selection ever expand enough to appeal to gift-givers?  To birthday boys and girls?  Will Facebookers who are accustomed to online deals pay retail prices for presents?

The likely outcome:  If one friend utilizes this service, others will imitate and the trend will take.  After all, the procedure offers ease and immediacy, two attributes expected by Americans.  However, that one friend must initiate this new Facebook feature or it will remain a mysterious service that lacks credibility, and that is greeted with snickers by Facebookers who refuse to overpay for unremarkable merchandise that indirectly funds the social network.