I've been gushing about the Pre for a couple of months now and this blog has become a casualty of my infatuation with it. The killer confluence of having no job but having a phone capable of web browsing and twittering has led to heavy use of the phone rather than the laptop (which, sadly, is also brand new but doesn't quite fit in my pocket as well as the Pre does). This got me thinking about my habits and why I'm quick to pick up first iterations of some things and yet so reticent to switch for others. Let me explain.
When it comes to phones, I will get the first iteration of a handset without waiting to see the initial reviews as long as I perceive the device being capable of inching me ever closer to my idealized version of the "one device to rule them all", Hitchhiker's Guide-like pocket media device. Software is a whole different matter: I jumped on the BumpTop bandwagon to try it out even though it is in beta, but only went to Windows Vista from XP because my new machines came with it preinstalled and putting XP back on them would be more pain than it was worth. You'd think that a technophile like myself would have the latest and greatest everything, but that's really not the case. If something works and it ain't broke, there's really no need to go replacing it and potentially setting myself up for the frustrations and quirks that new things generally possess the first time around until the early adopters help work out the kinks.
I think that it really boils down to the sexy factor of the device (yes, gadgets can be sexy). If a device fits into my idea of how I want to live and/or be perceived, then I tend to be more willing to accept potential design issues, irritations, and potentially high cost in order to have it; if the thing has some neat bells and whistles but doesn't really have any compelling features or reasons to switch (e.g. Vista vs. XP), then I am much more likely to keep the old and only switch to the new when forced. For example, if I internally see myself as some sort of hacker or coder where a laptop is the tool of the trade (as often happens after reading a William Gibson novel or watching Hackers), a new laptop or a new operating system that comes closer to matching my internal visualization is going to grab my attention. On the other hand, if I see myself as one of the digerati that wants to have access to information anytime, anywhere, the specific device itself fades into the woodwork and the dimensions of a device that will allow that always-on connectivity comes to the fore - hence, my current fascination with the Pre. My current persona is more interested in consuming information and communicating in short text bursts, quick photos with snarky commentary, or old-fashioned vocal conversation than in typing out long, well-constructed trains of thought about single subjects. This perception then results in a laptop sitting at home gathering dust and a smartphone on or about my person at all times which needs to be charged twice a day.
I'm generally not a patient person and when I am confronted with my own idiosyncratic behavior - a willingness to accept a half-baked device as "good" because it has some new functions that I desire greatly, in this case - it causes me to pause and take a look around. Perhaps that explains why I can get tired of new things so quickly; it probably explains why others get bored so easily too. My internal persona of who I perceive myself to be changes often enough that it impacts my spending habits for gadgetry and paraphernalia to support my current perception and when something new catches my attention, the previous acoutrements fall by the wayside to make room for something new. I fully expect that once I get another job, my laptop will surge back to prominence and my Pre will be relegated to my pocket for the majority of the day, to be used only in the short bursts of time that I'm away from my computer rather than to be the focal point of my online communications and information gathering activities.
Then it will become the search for the next latest thing and the cycle will start all over again. Which leads me to the point of this thought process: how does one become content with what one has and not get caught up in this lifetime battle to become the ever-changing persona they perceive themselves to be on any given day by constantly desiring to get the latest and greatest material goods to support that persona? That's the question I'm currently pondering these days.
What do y'all have to say about that?
