Multimedia Computing Paradigm Shift Defined
There’s been alot of fanfare about Nokia’s calling their recent S60 devices "multimedia computers." Even I tried to replace my laptop with my N73, and ended up with a more task-oriented approach, with some being successful and others being disasters. However, one thing I DID realize is that replacing your computer isn’t what Nokia is talking about…
I think Nokia is talking about multimedia computers with a different
definition of "computers." People like myself have created entire
online lives - and I’m not talking about Second Life. I’m talking about
contacts and relationships that have been built 100% digitally. Online
relationships. With social networking activity rising through MySpace,
Facebook, and Jaiku, more and more people are conducting more and more
of their lives through the internet, and I think Nokia realizes this.
However, the problem is that typically, this also requires alot of
sitting indoors in front of a rectangular screen and a few rows of
keys. There’s no physical interactivity, nor physical enjoyment. You’re
just, well, sitting there. You don’t get to *experience* anything. Part
of the reason that Second Life has success is because it allows that
experience layer.
My friend Ken Camp (whom I’ve never met in person) is going on a second weekend of something he and others refer to as "casual computing."
And I think it’s the exact thing that Nokia intends with their
"multimedia computers." Enabling a richer life experience. Ken is able
to stay connected with the relationships he’s built online without
being chained in front of his computer (or even burdened with lugging a
laptop around all weekend).
It’s technological freedom, and I love it. One of my personal goals in
the next 5 years is to have a job that I can do from anywhere, and I
think Nokia and Ken are quickly enabling and discovering that. I’m a
firm believer that technology should enhance and enrich real life as
opposed to replacing it.
What do you think? Are you a casual computer? Have you ever tried it?
I like this furthered definition of computing. From how my brain is working thru it, this seems more or less how many causal users would rather “do” computing than how the fringe users do.
“It’s technological freedom, and I love it. One of my personal goals in the next 5 years is to have a job that I can do from anywhere, and I think Nokia and Ken are quickly enabling and discovering that. I’m a firm believer that technology should enhance and enrich real life as opposed to replacing it.”
It’s funny. I am in a position now of moving and looking for a new job as I am unemployed. I just prayed a bit ago that God would show me something that points towards what I want to do; reading that quoted piece all but says it. I still just wonder how that can happen from there (on my end) and overall how computing will be adjusted in the minds of this computing culture to enable such freedom.
You’ve got it. There’s a need to fill the gap between the digital world and the real world, and Nokia gets that. Look at that simple app they developed a few years ago? The one that lets you find other people nearby who are using the same application over Bluetooth? The name escapes me. . .
I personally can’t find the time for such a double life. The brief amount of time I do spend reading up on s60 and posting in forums already feels like it digs into my REAL life, but if they were one in the same, it wouldn’t be an issue. I think on some level, we’re all looking for that Tron-like universe where everything clicks flawlessly with technology and people that we don’t have to separate the two.
Try replacing it with a QWERTY device. The only thing I bring with me outside the house, regardless where I go, is my E61i. My laptop sits on the desk and gets used as a second desktop when I play games, since I really have no need nor desire to bring that huge thing around with me. I don’t know if it would be as convenient if I still had an N73, because no keyboard is obviously a big issue if you need to type stuff, but it works great with the E61i.
I am with you there with QWERTY Elfguy; I travel with my Treo 680 more than with my N95, but enjoy “living” off of both.
Heaven forbit that the perfect mix of both of those mobiles comes, then I’ll have no excuses