There's a reason that this picture just doesn't look right. Who has the strength or capacity to turn a mammoth computer into a portable friend? No one. Computers once tied us in place with their heavy CPU's and giant monitors. And therefore, the laptop was born.
Laptops have become a beautiful part of our culture. Teenagers tote them to coffeeshops, college students use them in class, adults can work at home using the same tools they did when they were at their jobs. The revolutionary idea of portability changed our world forever...as well as our wallets.
A nice laptop is a luxury. Popular ones can go anywhere from 700 to 1500 dollars. A very basic one will have you shelling out at least 350 or so. The extremely popular MacBook is 1300. They grow smaller and smaller and still have more and more capacity. Just like every other gadget out there. iPods have more room than some computers and you can hold them in the palm of your hand. And the thinner they get, the better they are and the more money you have to shell out to have one. Our new motto has become in America: smaller is better!
Which is why the desktop is beginning its slow procession towards death. It's clunky, outdated appearance and performance just doesn't suit us any longer. But it's price might. Take this: a pretty nice Apple desktop, including keyboard and mouse, will only set you back 150 bucks. It's got 10 GB internal drive and a 56k modem. It ain't the ritz, but it'll get you from a to b.
But as soon as the laptop emerged it began its takeover. In 2005, 54% of PC users had a laptop. Over the past few years the laptop has revolutionized how we do business, how we connect to each other, how we work. The laptop has unplugged us and allowed our virtual worlds to move freely. With the invention and utilization of wi-fi and long lasting batteries, we can constantly be on the move and still be plugged in...but is that such a good thing?
Laptops have made it easier for us to connect to the internet anywhere. So now, instead of having a reserved computer time, or even a place, we're always online. In places that were once social, we are drawing ourselves away. Kids use laptops in class and surf the internet. College students are more often on Facebook than writing notes for class. Their convenience and power are tempting, but in this laptop takeover, what are we losing?
The real question is: what have we already lost?
No comments:
Post a Comment