by Jason Snell
‘The gadgets already solved it’
This week in my More Color column at Macworld, I explain why I sometimes foolishly seek high-tech solutions to simple problems:
I can’t remember when I first found myself attracted to technological toys. Was it the first video game I saw, or the first computer keyboard I typed on? No, even earlier than that I was fascinated with typewriters, the manual one I got as a kid and the IBM Selectric with the spinning typeball in my father’s office.
The point is, I’ve always enjoyed technology. You name it: it’s a joy to solve a problem with software or scripting or a web service or a cleverly applied bit of hardware. But in the past few months I’ve been reminded that sometimes it’s a good idea to realize that just because you can use clever new technology to solve a problem, it may not be the best solution available.