smart phones

So I got a Droid. I was going to write about the device, but instead I wrote a whole post on the nature of smart phones. I'll save my intended writeup for next time.

So this is the first smart phone I've ever gotten. I was hesitant about getting one at first, and always have been. Despite the fact that I'm a programmer and a major techie, I've slowly become a grognard when it comes to the latest and greatest. I can work around a computer like no one's business, and figure out new and strange devices within minutes, but I don't actually jump for them myself. Furthermore, I find myself gravitating more towards simplicity. I go for straight white desktops in place of wallpaper, only install the most basic programs I need, and keep the flashy stuff down to a minimum. I had a college professor who had trimmed his PC so much that he had no desktop of any sort. He'd work on the command line, and when he needed a program, X.org would simply draw it up somewhere on the massive black void of his screen. I thought it was silly then, and now I kind of want to do the same. This is pretty much the opposite of what you get with a smart phone.

The other problem I have is that I spend so much time on a computer on any given day, and I was afraid of what the "always on" nature of a smart phone would do to me. Our modern times are fast paced, and we are constantly bombarded with information every day. It is suggested that we try to find ways "disconnect" for a little while, and indeed, I always tend to feel better whenever I am away from the Internet for days or weeks at a time. Again, this is the opposite of what you get with a smart phone.

But now I am starting to think that it may be the cure, rather than a curse. Despite being on a PC at work all day, I often come home and turn on my personal desktop. People will start to chat on IM, or I'd get mesmerized by the random corners of the Internet, and before I know it, the night has gone by and I have to go to bed. I miss out on playing games, watching TV, and spending time with the roomates. I initially tried to fix this with a netbook that I could use while loafing on the couch, but the battery has not proven to have the endurance I expected, and the power cable is constantly tripped over. Not to mention that I usually end up typing away on it like I would on my desktop upstairs. I might have a physical presence in the living room when using the netbook, but mentally I am still off in cyberspace.

This is where I put myself into another person's shoes and realize that I'm nuts. I imagine that most people would wonder why this is even a problem for me. After a long day's work, shouldn't I be too lazy and tired to constantly run up and down the stairs to check my PC? The answer is that yes, I am tired, but apparently not lazy enough. I'll make the trek up and down the staircase multiple times a night. It's like there's a magnetic field between me and the PC that draws me in every time I manage to break away.

This is the problem with trying to "disconnect" - you can't do it if you're addicted. And I'm most certainly addicted to the Internet in some capacity. In those situations when I do break free and do feel better, I am always in some place where there is no ready access to a computer, or where there is a particularly slow one that I don't feel like using. But at home, I have a PC that is fast enough, and working exactly the way I want it to. I can get the information I crave without trouble, and in that case the addiction is strong enough to make me job around the house all night.

So how does having internet at the tip of my fingers make this any better? Simply put, the technology is nice, but it lacks the speed and customization of my PC. If I need a specific bit of information, I can get to it, but random surfing, and even checking up on news sites is too slow and cumbersome to be worth it. I won't want to constantly check my emails or IM's or websites on it, and that's fine, because the phone will let me know when they come in. I'll "connect" my mind to the 'net only as much as I need to, rather than how much I think I need to to stay current on what's going on. And that works, because I don't need to check a lot of stuff. I don't have stocks to look at, or multiple inboxes to track. The important online aspects of my life are slim, and the phone will give them to me, while keeping me away from the junk that I can lose hours to, but which are rarely worth the time. It puts my addiction into a controlled environment, and I hope it will help me curb it.

Additionally, a lot of the little gizmos and features that are common among smart phones may prove quite useful. Shopping lists, to-do lists and the like are all things I need to have, but never bother with. My handwriting is poor, I tend to forget pads and pens, etc. Now I can have these things in a device I won't leave the house without, and they won't take up any extra space. On a related note, I might be more willing to create an online calendar that goes with me, rather than being something that I have to go to a PC to access. Plus, I can add calendar items right when I think about them, rather than having to remember to add them later when I'm home.

And that's the other thing. While a smart phone can easily be used to as a time waster, I'm not worried. My addiction is of the sort that I don't reliably get that weird feeling that comes from being "disconnected". That only happens when I'm on the 'net and see that things are happening. If I check a news site once, I'll keep checking it to see what changes. But if I never start, I'll forget it even exists. And my addiction is triggered by web surfing, not social networking sites. The same power that makes the useful things like to-do lists easier to access also applies to stuff like Facebook and Twitter. But I'm not giong to start tweeting now that it is more convenient, because I still don't have interest in it. I'm a weird sort that thinks it is quite easy to stop checking Facebook statuses, but give me a fanboy debate about videogames, and I'll be captivated all day. Neither situation is better than the other, but mine gels well with the smart phone concept.