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Web Roundup
By Rosie Perera | September 3, 2011 at 1:22 am
Here are a few things that have caught my attention around the Web recently:
- Tablet computers: Fun in the bathroom? by Doug Gross. In a recent survey by Staples of tablet-using professionals, 35% of respondents admitted to using their tablets in the bathroom. I confess that I have. Would you? It’s not much different from reading a book or magazine on the toilet, and I keep a stack of print-based reading material beside mine. Don’t you?
- Team bonding suffers in tech age by Adrian Dater. When professional athletes travel to a game nowadays, whereas that used to be a time of fraternizing with their teammates, they are now often isolated from each other by their personal technology: headphones, smartphones, and tablets. Team cohesiveness suffers. It isn’t necessarily all bad, as going online might give players a mental break from the stress of the game. But there’s a risk of strategic secrets being given away via Twitter, or even by guys calling their friends on the opposing team, which has happened.
- Oh no! My Internet is down by James Kindall. In the wake of Hurricane Irene, millions of Americans were left without power, in some cases for several days. The author shares his humorous poem about rediscovering the joys of relating to people face-to-face.
- Replacement Therapy: Why our gadgets can’t wear out fast enough by Rob Walker. Planned obsolescence used to drive us up the wall. Now we can’t wait for our digital devices to break so we can get the latest greatest model with cool new features. I am one of those who usually will not buy a new tech toy to replace an older one until the older one has reached the end of its useful life (not merely by being outdated, but really causing me trouble by not working well anymore). I’ve hung onto slow computers way past their expiration date. I still use my old cell phone that I got in 2002. I admit that I have been lusting after an Android phone for some time, but as long as my trusty LG still makes calls, lets me send text messages in a pinch, and the battery still takes a charge (I doubt they even make the batteries for these things anymore — I’ve already bought a replacement one twice), I’m going to keep using it. I think the discipline of getting by with technology that most others would find obsolete is good for developing patience and contentment. I’m sure that once I get an Android phone (which I will eventually) I will find all kinds of reasons why I can’t believe I was able to survive without it. But I am surviving without it pretty nicely at the moment.
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