First of all, sorry for the lame post about the Microsoft Origami project. It was so poor I deleted it all together and thought I'd start a fresh, more structured post.
Let me start by saying that I am a gadget nut. I love gadgets, and they cause an unhealthy but welcome drain on my savings. The one proviso I have for any gadget is that is must be useful and easy to use. Digital cameras, mobile phones and iPods all fall easily into this category.
But recently I've been having doubts about where some of these so-called gadgets are trying to lead us. The Microsoft Origami project is an example that got my temperature rising last week. Particularly when I saw the media proclaim it as 'Microsoft's iPod Killer'. Have you seen the size of that thing?! I wish the press would excerise some common sense when reporting these stories.
That aside, the purpose of the Origami project is so vague as to cause me some concern. What is it? Why do I need it? Microsoft claim that you can use it to email, surf the web, write documents, watch videos, listen to music, and browse your photo albums ... which is nice. Isn't it basically a PC then? It's a PC, but you've made it smaller? And in all honesty, once you add the keyboard and removable DVD drive, you've not made it THAT small, have you?
But the fact that Microsoft is touting this device as somthing that merges a PC and a PDA, and even aims to take on the PSP and the iPod, you have to ask yourself, 'Do I really need an All-In-One super gadget?'. I mean, do you really need to carry ALL your photographs around with you ALL the time? Sure, I like the feature on my Windows Smartphone to send a recieve emails, but I'd never have it replace Apple Mail, or MS Outlook. Is all this stuff really necessary?
And who the heck decided that the future was 'being able to watch full length feature films in the palm of your hand'? I enjoy going to the cinema, and for the times I can't get there, I've built a home entertainment system that attempts to replicate the scale of the cinema. The idea of paying to watch a film on a PSP or iPod doesn't appeal to me at all. Yes technically it's possible, but how useful is it?
It's all about your lifestyle. About fitting these things in. A truly useful gadget is one that requires very little effort to do this. The iPod is a great example. It's clean, simple and unobtrusive. I already had my music collection. I was already using iTunes. I knew what kind of music I liked, so the iPod just helped me listen to it more often, and in more places.
On the other hand, carrying 25'000 photos around and watching full length movies on a device the size of your wallet ... why? When did that become our most pressing demand?
We're always going to need our desktop PCs. They'll always be more powerful, and therefore more enjoyable to use. They'll always have bigger screens, which give you the space to organise your work. With that in mind, why should we have our hearts set on creating a true mobile 'Everything' gadget?
For this reason I can see why Apple have been so tentative with the development of the video iPod and associated services. For the same reason I can also understand why Microsoft have released the Origami project on us. In most cases Apple seems to wait to evidence of demand before producing something. Microsoft seems to think they can create that demand. "Build it, and they will come!" ... well, it looks like I'm finally getting tired of being told what my life is lacking. I like my life the way it is, and I want gadgets that can make me enjoy it more often.
It's all very well me saying this now, but I know that Steve Jobs' reality distortion field is out to get me at least one more time :o)
