Lost in gadgets! The paradox of choice…..

It is a much awaited Sunday morning. Some respite from a really strenuous week at work. I will do ‘nothing’. Absolutely nothing. That is the idea. I want my mind to relax. I want it to recuperate so that it can work effectively in the coming week(s). At least that is the idea. But hold on! Is that possible? Hmmm…. possible but seems daunting!

But why?

• I had bought a home theater system more than a year ago, and I am guilty of not using it enough. I think I have just tuned it 15-20 times to listen to a song to its full potential.
• I have to catch-up on news as well. The Tata-Sky is beaming with 20 news channels. Although, all of them are showing the same news. So what? I still have to catch-up. ‘Isko laga dala, to life……ka baj gaya baja, I guess’.
• I just opened my laptop. And I only have 4,268 unread articles in my RSS feeds. And this is when I had marked all my feeds as ‘read’ about 8 days ago. Has the world turned upside down in a week?
• The software on my iPod touch has become old. I have to update it. And then, I haven’t browsed through Apple’s app-store for about a month now. That is like ages. I am already feeling iOld !
• I had bought a Bluetooth 2.1 stereo headset a few months ago. And again, I am guilty of not using it. Bluetooth 3.0 is already out there. My stereo headset has become old without even going through its childhood!
• Opps! I had to compare some iPad reading applications and see if they offer a good reading experience. Good that the iPad is discharged.  It got discharged because I was catching up on documentaries from Top Documentary Films last night.  The problem is all the documentaries seem to be a must watch! Anyways, at least I can’t think of using it for a couple of hours.
• I just connected my Kindle to Wi-Fi, and I got my Instapaper weekly archive. There are only 41 articles of about 15 pages each, which I have marked as important to catch-up on. And then there are 3 books which I am currently reading. About 100 of them are waiting to be transferred from my PC to the Kindle.
• My wife is not here. Otherwise I would have to update some applications on her android phone. It has been a month I guess, since I have installed a new app. on her device. Although, she may not use them that often. So what, I still have to catch-up on the android apps.
• My wireless mouse has just run out of battery as I am typing this. I need to get an AAA battery so that it can work again. Or AA? Hmmm… let me check. Ok it is AA. Confirmed.
• The digital photo frame has to be updated with the recent photographs. I have to configure it with wifi so that photos can be updated frequently. I hate wires.
• The 18X mega zoom digital camera is just lying around. I haven’t really done decent photography for a while now. That’s bad.

My Nokia E series phone has given up because I have squeezed it to the last of the electrons! It can no more sustain the load of a new application. It is a different thing altogether that Nokia itself has run out of steam. Good for me. I am so relieved that I do not have an iPhone or an Android phone. I will not buy one for a while. Smart phones seem to be making people dumb. Long live Nokia!

Good that I have been able to resist the lure for a gaming console. Otherwise, it would have been a headache to catch up on various games. But sooner or later I will have to because they have become completely wireless. And that is what I was waiting for.

I hope you get my problem by now. I am sure you must be on the same boat, give or take a few gadgets. Too much of choice has actually made it difficult to cope with. Wherever I go, these gadgets follow. Or rather they await! They are literally ruling us.

Following are some interesting observations I have made over the last couple of years:

• I’ve spent more time discovering and browsing for new apps. from these app-stores than actually using them!
• I’ve spent more time browsing for books for my Kindle than reading them!
• I’ve spent more time looking for *interesting* websites and feeds than actually reading them!

Don’t take the above too literally, but I guess you get the idea. There’s just too much of everything.

I am waiting for the time when there would be just 3 important gadgets:

1. The Smart phone.
2. The Smart phone.
3. The Smart phone.

Yes! That’s it! The phones will be equipped with everything. A beaming projector so that you can quickly create a home theater experience (I know some phones already have, but these are still primitive). It will double up as a gaming console. It is already a super camera. Basically, it will solve over 90% of the requirements.

Now let’s get back to the Sunday morning. I won’t really get lost in all this today. I am determined. I’ve put everything down. I am just going to continue reading “The Physics of the Impossible”. I have to start the chapter on “Parallel Universes”. It is going to be fun. I have always been fascinated with the Universe since my childhood. This will make me feel a little relaxed for sure 😉

And yes, in the swarm of gadgets, the Kindle has a special place. Because I can only read on it! No non-sense. I want it to remain like that only.

Which gadget makes you relax?