4. Myvu personal media viewer
The CIO of Reddog Technology, Nathan Aherne, suggests a way to love your iPhone even more, with a piece of kit he nominates as his favourite piece of personal technology -- the Myvu personal media viewers. Also known as iPod video glasses, the futuristic, wearable video monitors transform most small screen devices into a big screen experience.
“I can watch a movie on my iPhone and look like a cyborg all at the same time,” says Aherne, clearly immune to claims the Myvu glasses make users look like Max Headroom. Or worse.
5. Personal video recorder
Continuing the theme that plainness is next to godliness, we’ll say thanks to David Eddy, Head of IT at Lincoln Indicators, for reminding us there are ways to halt the influence of those evil schedulers and advertisers intent on ruining our enjoyment of television.
“I like all tech but for its simplicity and convenience, one of my favourites has to be the cheap Topfield PVR I picked up at Dick Smith,” says Eddy, his fingers twitching over the remote.
“Being able to record multiple TV channels at the same time means watching TV on your own terms. I even bought my mother one and she absolutely loves it. To me, this highlights the inevitable trend towards media consumption being controlled by consumers rather than providers.”
6. On demand television
Stuart Inskip, CIO of social networking specialists Cognitive Development, is only too happy to open another front in the battle against old media by nominating On Demand TV as his favourite piece of personal technology.
“Watching what you want, when you want is Nirvana for a viewer, and the engagement it will provide between programme makers and the audience will be as revolutionary as the introduction of sound to moving pictures,” Inskip says.
7. Blackberry
Just when you thought one of the more obvious darlings of personal technology wasn’t even going to earn a mention, the once ubiquitous Blackberry makes a belated appearance courtesy of Marc White, Head of IT at Bravura Solutions.
White is just one of about 27 million Blackberry devotees around the world. In fiscal year 2008 the parent company, Research In Motion, sold more than six million units. If they were locusts, the World Health Organisation might declare a plague.
Says White: “Yes, they’re intrusive and they do lead to working when you should be spending quality time with your family, but in the long run they’re actually a huge timesaver. I often get more done on my journey to work than I do at my desk! Just remember to switch to LED notifications of new mail otherwise the need to just check becomes too great.”
Ah yes, the spectre of compulsion. Perhaps it’s instructive to finish our peek at personal technology on this note. Whether you use your favourite gadget to stay in touch with the world, to make sense of it or to shut yourself from it, there’s really no point developing an obsession with something that has a silicon chip as its heart. But eating, or the other thing? Now that’s a different story altogether.
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