Please Enjoy the Music While Your Party is Reached.

I am currently in the middle of writing a post about a video game character, and it is taking some time to get my thoughts sorted out.

In light of my post on how much I dislike the never ending technology debates (Apple vs. Samsung in particular), I thought I would share this new commercial. (Please note that I am not promoting or advertising Microsoft; I just thought the commercial idea was clever!)

<3
The Absurd Curvy Nerd

Apples to Oranges: Tired of the Squabbling.

Mr. Nerd dislikes Apple.  He doesn't like how much their products cost, specific things about their operating system, their marketing techniques, what he calls their "sue-happy" business model, or that you have to jailbreak their phones to unlock them.

Another person I know loves Apple.  She says their products are easy to use, good for photo and video editing and other media-related work, and she has found them extremely reliable.  Also, yes, they do look nice, and that is a valid reason if it's not the only reason.

Who is right?  This might sound like sacrilege to many a nerd, but you know what?  I don't actually care.

"Now let's both say we're sorry and shake hands like grown-ups."

Both of them have different technology needs and preferences.  You can compare specs all you want; some people just find using certain cell phones, tablets, etc. more enjoyable.  Yes, there is a subset of Apple fans taking their enthusiasm to excessive levels, but I know some Samsung users who cling just as tightly to their devices as "anti-Apple" symbols.  What people often fail to realize is that these are mindsets; they don't directly correspond to product quality.

I don't use Apple products almost solely because of the cost (and because Mr. Nerd and I share most of our devices, so it makes sense to purchase what he will enjoy using as well).   If someone said "But it's worth the money," I'd have to disagree just because I've never had any problems with my non-Apple phones, mp3 players, and laptops, have liked using them, and don't see the point of paying more.  I'm certain that a few people on both sides of the "Apple vs. Non-Apple" debate would somehow make this statement into a long argument about how I'm not a "tech person" and explain in detail how whichever product they use is actually best, which I find rather amusing.  I'm not claiming to have loads of experience, but I know when my laptop/phone/other is doing what I need and want it to do.  So I usually don't buy Apple for those reasons.  If other people have had a bad experience with other brands or simply prefer Apple and have the money to spend, more power to them.  

(www.spreadshirt.com)

Remember; everyone could still be lugging cassette players around.

As consumers, shouldn't we worry about what technology fits our individual lifestyles best rather than what logo is stamped on it?  Does this have to be so divisive?  You don't have to be an "Apple person" or a "Samsung person" or an "Android person" or a "Linux person" or dedicate yourself to any single brand name or operating system if you don't want to.  Why don't we just say "No" to putting people in crazy, neat little boxes according to what brand of phone they use?

I say go ahead- be a rebel; buy an iPhone and a Samsung computer... or don't buy either and get whatever appeals to you!  I'm not saying that we all need to gather around a campfire and sing "Kumbaya" together and never disagree, but can't we stop the petty fighting for one moment?

In the end, in the immortal words of Gus Portokalos, "We all different, but in the end, we all fruit."

Delay in Post/ Technology & Me

Hello everyone!  Due to the craziness surrounding the couple weeks before Thanksgiving, I will have to postpone my post on body image and WOT until next weekend.  I would like it to be well-thought-out and insightful and have not had the time to do enough preparation for it yet.  In the meantime, I promised an entry on my love/hate relationship with technology.

"Er... I don't think you don't understand.  Technology hates me."

No one believes me when I say this for the first time.  They smile and nod in what they believe is a reassuring way that really tacitly implies, "Of course, dear.  We'll pretend like your technical ineptitude is really the fault of the machine if it makes you feel better."  Weeks later, those same people will grudgingly acknowledge that I know what I'm doing (for the most part; I'm no skilled programmer or anything), but they won't allow me near their electronics, because they fear The Girl Who Curses Technology.  Batteries dying long before they are supposed to, hard drive failures, BSOD, that ever-so-helpful internet message: We're sorry. Something went wrong; when it comes to computers, phones and tablets, I am Murphy's Law.  I spent a day sending text messages reading C!n yOU r#!$ %hI@ m#@@!g#??? because my phone somehow decided that the a, s, d, e, t and h keys were !, @, $, #, and % respectively, and apparently all other vowels needed to be capitalized.  

Yet, despite this, I have a smart phone and laptop and genuinely enjoy using them.  Yes, they allow me to communicate with others quickly and efficiently, and yes, they allow me endless sessions of Angry Birds (suggestion: don't play this in public.  Angry mutters of "Die, pigs, die!" don't go over well in a lot of places.), but mostly, I am amazed by how intricate the hardware is and how detailed the software can get.  For example: processors are now getting so small that electrons move discretely across transistors instead of continuously, an effect known as quantum tunneling, which basically means that they are running into the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle when trying to make transistors smaller; still, Intel is hoping to get them down to 5nm in the not-too-distant future (that's 50 atoms wide.  Yes, atoms.  It seems the race is on to keep proving Moore's Law.)   1080p TV's are rapidly becoming less impressive. The new Nexus 10, boasting the highest resolution of any tablet, sold out within 24 hours (Mr. Nerd will be insufferable when he gets his tomorrow... I think he was camped out in front of the computer). There are apps that will recognize song titles and writers when a phone is simply held up to a singer- that's cool. Scaling programs for all these differently sized screens turns out to be a lot more complicated than it might seem- that's interesting.  The Windows 8 operating system came out- that's... er...

In short, technology is fascinating.  Does it really matter that whenever I touch a device a string of 0's and 1's form the signal "Error: Does Not Compute"?  Should that prevent me from marveling at and enjoying the advances of modern science?  

I really don't think so.