Technological Savant?
I've discovered that I have a superpower. It's almost infallible and has never let me down. Whenever there is an opportunity to buy some new technological toy, I can, with only the slightest furrowing of my magnificent brow, select the one that will inevitably be consigned to the ash heaps of history. This came to mind when I decided I ought to write a post about the Kindle 2.
Once again, my own special superpower has left me holding a piece of technology that is sure to be another obscure footnote in some History of Technology course a decade or two from now. And that soon to scrapped piece of technological wizardry is the Sony E-book reader. Sure it's esthetically more pleasing and cheaper and a delight to use. But it's obvious now that the Kindle is going to eat Sony for lunch and probably not going to even leave a few crumbs behind. This is just the latest in a long line of bad bets I've made on electronic devices over the years.
It started back in the dawn of the computer age when bought that Apple IIe, absolutely sure that those newfangled PC's were just a fad. Sure the Apple was a fine product and at the time a bit cheaper but it was soon crushed by the mighty IBM/Microsoft steamroller.
Next, there came the VCR revolution. Yes I purchased the Betamax. It was technologically the superior product which didn't mean diddly when I couldn't find any tapes to rent for it. On the scrap heap.
Palm Pilot? I loved my Palm Pilot and thought it would be my constant companion for years and years to come. Didn't see the smart phones coming. Somewhere a roach is making its home in the cracked casing of the discarded Palm.
I finally broke down and bought an SLR cause I wanted a cool camera with which I could take really excellent pictures. I was envisioning a second career as a budding Ansel Adams or Joe Rosenthal. Just my luck a few months later the first digital cameras hit the market.
DVD players? Actually Mary bought our first one for my Christmas gift so apparently my superpowers even affect those around me. I was rather excited and after hooking it up I raced down to the nearest Blockbuster to rent some discs. Turned out they weren't stocking DVD's as they weren't convinced they'd really catch on. No problem, I'd just go and hit one of the little independent video stores - surely they were more forward thinking. No, wait. Whatever small chains Blockbuster hadn't bought out they had driven out of business. There were no independent stores left closer than a 50 minute drive. Fortunately some months later Hollywood Video blew into town and DVD's could now be rented. It was that point we discovered that approximately 10-20% of all DVD's on the market wouldn't play on our particular brand because it was before they had tightened standards sufficiently to insure that minor variations in the discs would not prevent them from playing. Back to the dump.
iPod? Can you really believe it - I actually bought a product early on in its product cycle that turned out to be a mega hit. Until last year, when I found my iPod had been obsoleted. The power port in the original, old fashioned iPod I had purchased several years ago was not the same size as the newer power port on all the current Ipods and this would not fit in the now ubiquitous iPod docks popping up in hotel rooms across the country. So yet again, I had made the wrong call.
I think, if I really wanted I could market my skills to the consumer electronics business and offer to evaluate products. If I give something two thumbs up or an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10, then you'll know your product is doomed and you can save money by stopping development now. Since it's superpower I'll have to get the requisite tights and cape. I'm thinking something in Emergency Tape Yellow.
