Electronic gadgets and fascination (April 22)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
One of the most interesting stories about the high-tech business is the recent one about the Apple employee who got drunk at a bar and left the prototype of the latest iPhone behind. It was later found, taken and sold.
That such a prized object could wind up left behind in a bar is funny, but also a lesson in how careless we can be with important things in this age of almost instant communication and endless playing with electronic toys.
Users of Apple’s iPad, only introduced this month, are expected to be able to choose from among some 1 million applications. As the digital world continues to unfold, it’s becoming ever more evident that its users will have the opportunity to be permanently diverted.
I see people playing with cell phones and other devices, and their concentration is almost eerie. They seem unable to put their gizmos down for more than a minute or two. Then, their hands start to twitch, and they grab the phones and begin toying with them again.
The digital world, to them, is more interesting than the actual world.
I don’t especially mind that. As long as they don’t bother me, what do I care if someone is tapping a cell phone with their thumbs and staring at its little screen?
I think my own disinterest in playing with my telephone is generational. I am old enough to remember the pleasures of face-to-face conversation, which can be a little dangerous. For example, one might get into an argument. Or, one might become interested in the talk and forget to take one’s cell phone home with him if he has a few too many drinks.
It would be ironic, I think, if the Apple employee (probably ex-employee by now) forgot the cell phone because he became interested in what someone was actually saying.
