The article on High Tech Gadgets was obviously written before the Nintendo Wii. The first time I played a Wii, I wondered why it hadn't been invented already. It is so basic, yet so much fun. The first time I played a game of tennis, it lasted for two hours and I didn't even notice. I was sore the next day! I would definitely jump on board with a virtual reality body suit, too. Or games to play that get me to run without thinking about it.
This article brings up an interesting question that seems particulalry relevant with business marketing and advertising. Why is it exactly that new technologies don't catch on? Norman proposes some interesting and seemingly accurate theories as to why, but I would like to argue that we are beginning to move away from gadget-mania.
Norman is right: we are drowning in gadgets. But that seems to be changing now with the consolidation of new technologies into single devices such as cell phones, which now allow users to browse the Internet, send e-mails, listen to music, play games and, yes, talk on the phone.
I agree that we are a materalistic society, but it seems this problem was more severe back in the early 90s. I think that with increasing environmental awareness, as well as people beginning to hate having 10 different devices with single functions rather than one device that performs them all, that we are moving in the opposite direction of having SEPARATE gadgets for everything. Maybe we are now in the age of consolidation of gadgets? It's not that we don't like them, but we're getting tired of having garage sales. As for buying batteries and backing up files... Who cares? It's not that big of a deal!
As for the other article, it isn't certainly scary to think that we don't know how to fix the devices that rule our lives so completely, but I think it's a waste of time to talk about people's frustrations with technology. Sure, let's address the problem in terms of a solution but technology and gadgets aren't going away anytime soon.
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