Friday , March 29 2024
People have grown a little too close to their gadgets.

One Gadget Too Many

Some people really have too much time on their iPad-clutching hands.

Of all the things one could busy oneself with, the New York Times picked this:

Does the iPad Have One Button Too Many?

The question it raises is, does the Times technology desk have one screw too few?

The funny twist described in the article is that the iPad has only one button. Yet that button seems, well, crude on the slick face of the tablet. And it takes up space that could otherwise be used by the screen.

I know, I know.

And yes, I’m well aware of the irony of my wasting time commenting on such time-wasting stuff. But after all, this time it’s the Times wasting our time. To coin a phrase.

Want to complain about your iPad? Complain about what it can’t do, or doesn’t do well. At least that might help some poor soul decide if he should buy one.

But no. Instead we get:

“Eliminating the home button would also make the iPad look that much slicker.” And “the bezeled edge seems a bit overkill.” (I thought “overkill” was a noun, but never mind that.)P1040910-view

To get slightly serious for a moment, this sort of commentary shows how scarily close people have grown to their gadgets. It’s all very well to laugh at people stumbling into fountains while texting, or at Philadelphia’s April Fool’s Day “distracted walker” lane, but when we’ve come to the point where supposedly serious commentators are whining about things that aren’t even problems, it’s time to leave the gadgets at home and go climb a mountain.

Up there, we can contemplate questions that matter. Like whether Japan had one nuclear power plant too many. Whether the world has had one war too many. And maybe whether the press has one tech columnist too many.

About Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to Music, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

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