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A PSA : Small is Sexy
When it comes to technology bigger is not always better.
When the size of a technology is made smaller it can be reapplied and enjoyed in other locations and different ways by the end user. Take books for example. A heavy leather bound large type edition of a book contains the same information as a much less expensive paperback edition. They way it currently stands desk top computers are much like the huge volumes of reference books that you will find in a library. They contain huge amounts of information but their lack of portability restricts their usefulness in the real world. Encyclopedia Britannica does not sell a lot of physical dead tree editions any more.
Two weeks ago like most nerds and dorks in the world I plunked down twenty bucks for a physical dead tree edition of Harry Potter Book 5 : Order of the Phoenix. I have been reading it casually and am almost done with it. Two days after I got my physical copy of it I downloaded a unauthorized PDF version of a P2P file sharing network. I alternate between reading the printed book and the electronic copy. Both have the same text but the dead tree edition take up a good chunk of my backpack while the PDF version only takes four megs on my note book PCs hard drive. Access to digital information is almost as important as the digital information itself.
Note: To all the 11 year old hackers kids who are reading this article because you are looking to download a copy of the book instead of paying for it GROW UP!
My friend Peter emailed me a link to an editorial about how notebooks should not replace desktop computers. I disagree with this. I got replaced my desktop computer with a notebook system and the only regret that I have is that I did not get a smaller notebook or a sub-notebook PC. The author of the editorial argued that notebook computers were more prone to theft and data loss due to hard drive failure and substandard backups. First of all it is possible to steal my laptop but it is very unlikely because I do not leave it out of my site and personal being when I am out in the public. I am more likely to have my car or bicycle stolen than my laptop PC. I do not have statistics but I am willing to bet that there are more car thefts in Seattle than notebook PC thefts. I have an external 80-gig USB 2.0 hard drive that I use for storing of less used files and to back up my currently used files on my notebook. The author of the editorial claimed that the PC notebook needed a system like Apple's iDisk where a user can sync files with a personal online storage space This is treating a notebook PC like a big PDA and is not really applicable. A $200 PDA or a RAID would be a better choice if you were that hellbent of syncing portable data. I have CD-RW capabilities in my notebook optical drive and when I have a large project or group of files that I want to back up I will simply burn a CD and archive it in a shoe box I keep in my closet. I could survive the loss of my notebook and it's hard drive should I ever have to. Knock on wood.
Desktop PC's are still as location orientated as the micro-computing workstation and mainframes of yesteryear. The data and your access to it is tied to a single physical location. Just like the big reference books in the library that no one can check out. In the book Insanely Great an old Steve Job slogan is documented from early 1985 while he was still the head of Apple before that wanker John Scully gave him his walking papers.
"Mac in a book in five years"
The future of computing is not chained to a basement or cubical but is personal and constantly accessible. That is why I am glad to have a notebook PC. I plan of buying notebook PC's for the rest of my life. I drank the Kool-Aid and it tasted good. I rode my bike to the shopping complex and am typing this out in the local non-Starbucks coffee shop. On my way home I am going to swing my the public library and sit outside on their lawn and upload this to my website before heading home. That appeals to me more than staying virtually chained to my desk at home.
I actually wish that I had one of the super sexy mini notebooks that Sony sells in Japan. These guys have a nine inch screen and a form factor the size of a typical hard back book. But they deliver almost a perfect computing experience and WiFi connectivity. Fujitsu just brought out one of their mini-notebooks to the US. These things have a nine inch wide screen and is the summit of ultra-portable computing and in my mind that translated into ultra personal computing. The power of a standard PC but the portability of a PDA.
I both own a Microsoft Xbox and a Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP. I find my self using my Gameboy Advance SP much more than the Xbox because it is small sexy and extremely portable. I know that the Xbox is more than a hundred time as powerful but I can't play Halo on the ferry or in a coffee shop. My Gameboy Advance SP takes up almost no space in my backpack and it provides a good gaming experience where ever and whenever. Promoguy pointed out to me the very sexy Gameboy Advance SP ads that Nintendo is running in Europe to market the Gameboy Advance SP to adults. Guess what? It is working. The sales for the Gameboy Advance is among the highest in history and in the Japanese market Nintendo has out sold behemoth Sony and their Playstation 2 for Japanese games sold in 2003. Xbox minimally registers on the Japanese sales charts. Sony is currently working on their Playstation Portable game system or the PSP. I have a good idea what the Playstation 3 is going to be like. It is going to be a similar user experience as the Playstation 2 and PSOne but the PSP promises to be a much more personal, portable user experience. Trust me I am probably going to get a Playstation 3 but I am more curious about the PSP.
Growing up in the 80s my family has owned a Volkswagen Microbus and a VW Beetle Classic. It is the VW Beetle that I have the fondest memories of. It was extremely agile, reliable, got wonderful millage and could park just about anywhere. It was fast enough to get around on the highway and large enough for most everyday tasks. It was simple enough a design that most maintenance was possible to the average driver. I am still a bit bitter that they gave it to my brother and he sold it. If it was mine I would still drive it everyday. The first car that I owned was a 1980 Honda civic and it reinforced my love of the simple smaller and ultimately more personal form factor of designs. I have been reading about The Smart Car and have been lusting after it. This is an simplified automobile designed for one driver and one passenger and it gets close to 60 miles to the gallon. I don't see myself getting an Suburban Assault Vehicle to haul around a plethora of rug-rats to and from soccer practice ( That is football to all you non-Yanks ). If the the USA reduced our oil consumption 15% we would not need to import any oil from anywhere. I am not trying to debate the politics of the flow of oil and power but I just want to point out that I would get so many chicks if I had a Smart Car. Foshizzle!
The moral of the story is that bigger is not always better and that small is sexy. But if you guys are really small just get good at oral sex. This has been a public service announcement from 8BitJoystick and WiFi.
Jake at July 12, 2003 
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Comments
however i still prefer to read from a book or mag instead reading such from the screen. ok i don't own a notebook. and a book or mag is more portable than my pc. also i feel a book or manual is more practical as paper as on the screen because you just have it right in your hands. i think this is the pro for using a book.
Posted by: dr_colossus of dataleak at July 13, 2003 4:44 AM
Well searching for a word or a phrase in a digital text document is a lot easier than a physical book. Cut and past is a lot more convienent.
Posted by: Jake at July 13, 2003 11:42 AM
i love being free from the tyranny of the desktop.
Posted by: pete at July 13, 2003 12:02 PM
Amen to that. Portability rocks. I have the same notebook as you do Jake, the M5305. I actually sometimes rotate the screen contents 90° left or right and hold the computer vertically in my arms like a book to read big documents. Sure, it's not very comfortable, but it does show more text and it does impress people...
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2003 12:35 PM
Yeah people were doing that is the Sony Mini Notebook websits.
http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-U101/feat2_master.html
I love the aspect ratio of a wide screen notebook.
Posted by: Jake at July 13, 2003 1:00 PM
1980 Honda civic rules!
(I have one too) :)
Posted by: Jakob at April 28, 2004 11:38 AM
right on brother...!small is withought doubt the sexiest when it comes to most of things due to its attribute.note books are really awesome and more dependable than any other unreliable physical form of things (eg paper,prone to be torn,etc etc).yeah bro...civics rox!its a pity i never got the chance to go to my driving test!:-D
Posted by: mizunderstood at April 2, 2007 11:18 AM
