Gadget Freak
I am, without a doubt, a gadget freak. I must have gadgets as part of my ‘minimalist design’ decor – half of which are virtually useless and serve no other purpose except for a twisted sense of retail therapy-related satisfaction. And so, it was to my delight that today’s Independent came with a supplement that advertised ‘The 50 best pocket-sized gadgets’. And out of the fifty, here are which made in onto my wanted list.
1. Olympus MJU 300 Digital Camera
Because: Digital cameras are a must. The Konica conventional camera that I have has a knack for misjudging the lighting, and thus gives me dark pictures, despite the use of the flash. I do have an SLR back home in Malaysia, but that is mostly for family use these days rather than my personal camera. And so, if I were to upgrade, it makes sense that I upgrade to a digital. This particular model has 3.2 megapixels ; just the right standard for me.
Cost: £350
Why I will never end up buying it: Because I can’t afford it.
2. Gameboy Advance SP
Because: It is way better than the Gameboy Advance which I have back home in Malaysia – it has it’s own backlight, for one – which allows the playing of darker-themed games – and I don’t mean in concept, but in graphical and colour usage. It also folds, just like the first Nintendo Game and Watch series in the 1980′s [I had a Donkey Kong one]; and it’s backward compatible, meaning it can play all the previous Game Boy edition games.
Cost: £90
Why I will never end up buying it: Because at the end of the day, the only game I religiously play on these handheld consoles is Tetris. And rather than splurging and paying £90 for what will technically be my Brick Game console, I might as well buy one for £1 at our local Poundland shop.
3. Victorinox Cybertool 34.
Because: Check this: A multi-bladed pocket knife, with can openers, cork-screw, screwdriver, bit wrench, hex socket, write stripper and tweezers. Not only can I repair my computer with it, I can also work on my eyebrows. Brilliant! Men would read: macho gadget. I read: all-in-one defence system for those nights walking back from the office all alone. Imagine the damage that can be done using a corkscrew AND a penknife used at once. Future stalkers, beware!
Cost: £49.95
Why I will never end up buying it: Because I will be adding it to my birthday wishlist.
4. Sony NW-MS70 Network Walkman
Because: It is small, weighs only 54g but stores 256MB of music; approximately 11 albums worth of sound; and space for another 256MB via memory sticks. The ultimate portable music machine.
Cost: £280
Why I will never end up buying it: Because, at this point, I don’t know whether it can play mp3s or not. And I don’t have a very good history with small gadgets that are light and reside in pockets. The term ‘toilet bowl’ comes to mind. Oh, and MD players are cheaper than this.
5. Thinking Putty
Because: It looks cute. It is allegedly therapeutic. It makes no sense. It can be ‘snapped, stretched and moulded’. Perfect as a stress reliever – during the three years that is my PhD, it will probably be squeezed out of proportion.
Cost: £8.95
Why I will never end up buying it: Oh I will. I so will be buying this one!
6. MP3 Key Drive
Because: It is a USB storage gadget and an MP3 player all in one. Comes in two variants – 64Mb, which can hold about one CD’s worth of tracks, or 128Mb, which logically holds twice as much. And it’s the size of a keychain. Cool, huh?
Cost: 64Mb: £59.99; 128Mb: £89.99
Why I will never end up buying it: Because I’ll end up owning an MD player which can do all of that and more.
I find that somewhat atrocious. Among the member states are Saudi Arabia and Brunei – two of the richest nations in the world. In these days where money speaks loudest, it seems abhorrent that they, Saudi Arabia especially, have kept mostly silent about all this. Indeed where is the solidarity that they proclaim, when member nations such as Kuwait and Turkey allow US troops access to Iraq. Countries like Egypt tread on careful ground when it comes to the anti-war stance : they receive approximately US$2bn in aid from the United States annually. Indeed, it was US aid that was used to bribe Turkey into allowing the US troops to be based there – to their credit Turkey rejected this, but still allow overfly rights. In virtually any other situation, we call offering money to sway a decision bribery. Only the Americans and Israelis can get away with calling it ‘aid’.