Obviously I'm disappointed for the financial loss, but it was interesting. I'm traveling with four gadgets: my Nexus One, my Kindle, my Galaxy Tab 10.1, and my laptop (Dell Inspirion 17, though it hardly seems worth mentioning by brand). I made sure I had my phone - it sits prominently on my desk, and it's the one thing I use on a daily basis. My Kindle was in my backpack, where it usually sits unless it's being charged. And my laptop - it's so big and my only full computer, so I'm damn sure to not leave that behind.*
But my tablet? Sure, it was fun to whip out on the plane ride over, but I have hardly used it while my laptop was out and available. I hadn't used it in a couple of days, and I had completely forgotten about it. What does that say about its niche in my life? Even while I was at home I had it replace my laptop as my kitchen gadget, but where I could look up any recipe on any website on a 17" screen, I now had to make due with a very stretched out Food Network app that was a little difficult to search while I was in the thick of it.
When I was in five year-old kindergarten I brought my Sega Game Gear to school and promptly got it stolen from my backpack. Tears were shed (and not just because I never figured out how to beat Sonic the Hedgehog 2). Now that my second portable electronic device has been ripped from my hands, though I'm not nearly as torn up about it. Where does that leave me? $600 poorer, for starters, but as much as I used to tell people just how much tablets really were content consumption devices, I didn't realize it until I owned one myself.
- I watched videos on it.
- I surfed the web on it.
- I played games on it.
...And I think I want something more out of my devices.
My biggest fear was the vulnerability of my personal information, but I rectified it by activating Google's Two Factor Authentication. Any device that isn't explicitly granted access will not be allowed to access my Google Account, and you can revoke access from your computer at any time. I recommend all Google users do the same.
I put my name and phone number on the lock screen. If it was just a serious case of me misplacing it, I might get a call. Otherwise, I hope they enjoy playing Fruit Ninja and watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Taxi for six hours, because the battery's not going to last much longer than that and I have the power cable.**
*Incidentally, my laptop cost just about as much as my tablet.
**Turns out this is a benefit to having a proprietary cable design.
But my tablet? Sure, it was fun to whip out on the plane ride over, but I have hardly used it while my laptop was out and available. I hadn't used it in a couple of days, and I had completely forgotten about it. What does that say about its niche in my life? Even while I was at home I had it replace my laptop as my kitchen gadget, but where I could look up any recipe on any website on a 17" screen, I now had to make due with a very stretched out Food Network app that was a little difficult to search while I was in the thick of it.
When I was in five year-old kindergarten I brought my Sega Game Gear to school and promptly got it stolen from my backpack. Tears were shed (and not just because I never figured out how to beat Sonic the Hedgehog 2). Now that my second portable electronic device has been ripped from my hands, though I'm not nearly as torn up about it. Where does that leave me? $600 poorer, for starters, but as much as I used to tell people just how much tablets really were content consumption devices, I didn't realize it until I owned one myself.
- I watched videos on it.
- I surfed the web on it.
- I played games on it.
...And I think I want something more out of my devices.
My biggest fear was the vulnerability of my personal information, but I rectified it by activating Google's Two Factor Authentication. Any device that isn't explicitly granted access will not be allowed to access my Google Account, and you can revoke access from your computer at any time. I recommend all Google users do the same.
I put my name and phone number on the lock screen. If it was just a serious case of me misplacing it, I might get a call. Otherwise, I hope they enjoy playing Fruit Ninja and watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Taxi for six hours, because the battery's not going to last much longer than that and I have the power cable.**
*Incidentally, my laptop cost just about as much as my tablet.
**Turns out this is a benefit to having a proprietary cable design.
