wahlau's online hut

while leaving my room for work today, i plugged the charger to my nokia 770 - the first generation of the Nokia Internet Tablets. It came to my mind that i have not really used it since quite some time. Even during the last holiday, it was only used for mahjong. :) The last time i tried to really use it, was the time we got lost somewhere near Hamburg - and it kept crashing that i gave up searching for something there.

this brought me some thoughts... besides the software deficits, how do such small internet capable devices change or help our lives? We see the current trend coming - the netbooks. It has high potentials. Besides the low(er) prices, it offers a rather mobile platform for you and me to be connected at more places than usual. I took one along during our last holiday, and also the weekend outings. Coupled with 3G and WiFi, i have access to things online when i need them. Linux shines here - i have almost the identical platform as my desktop, and only differences i felt were the screen size and processing speed. Ok, i am biased :)

i think it comes to the needs. Often we have at least a main computer at home. It does all the computing chores. When we are on the move, we have our handphones. But they are mainly there to be reachable and for the needs to contact others. Now with 3G and WiMax coming, more and more people use simple Internet applications while they are on the move. IPhone, being one of them. But for the masses - we don't really need the "power" of Internet everywhere we go. Then i asked myself - do we really need the MIDs, Internet Tablets, UMPCs and the Netbooks?

Being connected is nice, but being offline is also a nice thing. It comes back to our needs, perhaps. For me a light second device serves more as a simple device that serves simple functionality, such as photo backup from my camera, jotting of some notes or ideas in a more centralized or organized way, play me music or movies (the xvid playback on the Eee PC 701 is pretty neat) and lastly, get online in some urgent circumstances. At times i think the mobile phones are already providing almost all these needs, in another form factor, of course. And when i look at the list i made, i can actually do without them.

I can go out for a weekend, with a small moleskine notepad. Instead of reading something online, i bring along a nice book. Instead of listening to music or movies, i can have nice chat with my wife or friends, while enjoy the surroundings (provided the weather is good). Usually the camera will not eat up the photos, so i can still backup when i get back.

and what do i get out of that? i have a lighther bag, and perhaps have quality time with others around me, and it would still be a nice memory without the technologies.

i must really think again whether should i sell those gadgets soon :)