14 May 2015

Today's topic: 2015 Camera Bag: Chapter 2:
Putting the 'smart' in smart phone

'I didn't know it could do that.'

Half the fun of having a smart phone is learning what it can do. Methods heretofore held sacrosanct become suspect… not because we didn't know what we were doing, but because we didn't know there was another way and in many instances there was no other way.

I had a friend who was for lack of a better turn of phrase, a 'compulsive note taker' and while I must admit he had some fantastic ideas, I wonder how many of them would've been lost to more mundane thoughts that cropped up all day long, like the one I'm having now about lunch as in 'What's for?' He carried pieces of neatly folded paper that he tucked away in his wallet and of course always possessed some sort of writing implement wherever he went. I miss my friend, he died at an early age, but were he with us today I have no doubt he would be saving his ideas on a smart phone.

I don't pretend to understand smart phone evolution, nor will I chronicle how they morphed into the devices many of us carry or wear everyday, not when http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone says more than you probably want or need to know on the subject. My focus is on the here and now, picking up on current technology with a view to appreciating the possibilities.

Part of smart phone capability awareness (SPCA) is deciding what to do with all the stuff it replaces. I'm still new to the phenomena, having joined the ranks of pocketable device addicts (PDA) in November of last year but I can see where a number of things can be either repurposed or removed from my reality entirely. That half used pack of mini Post-it notes will likely outlive me even though I was convinced when I bought it that having 12 bite-sized pads of 1 3/8" x 1 7/8" Post-it notes, 100 sheets per pad for a total of 1,200 sheets, was the way to go because you save money when you buy in bulk, even when the 'bulk' is small by comparison.

By comparison, it looks as though four of my Post-it note pads occupy the same area as my iPhone… and that's while it's in its OtterBox Commuter case. Out of the case the phone is very slim. One pad of Post-it notes = area of iPhone out of case. I don't know how many memos I can fit into 16 GB but I bet it is more than even Sheldon (The Big Bang Theory) can compute with any degree of accuracy, given all the potential variables. I fear my remaining pads of Post-it notes will become dusty relics.

Smart phones challenge our stick-to-itiveness manifold ways that are in no way like 'a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces.' Re-adherable? Seriously? How about describing the adhesive strip as reusable, repositionable, temporary? But re-adherable?

This ongoing exploration into the realm of what puts the 'smart' in smart phone has just begun. In the meantime I'm still gathering data for how these mini-marvels continue to amaze. Do you have a smart phone 'Aha!' moment? Your very own, 'I didn't know it could do that' moment? Please share it by clicking on the Click And Tell cartoon above.

Until next time...

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< 2015 Camera Bag
Once upon a time everything was big. Even little things, ordinarily impossible to see things like molecules were a big thing when we first got to see them... Read More

2015 Camera Bag 3 >
Looks like an ordinary case for glasses and it was until I repurposed it for my iPhone's accessories. I call it my 2015 Camera Bag. Have a look at what's inside... Read More