Saturday technology dump.

First let me start out by saying - I've been noticing a really interesting thing lately. Little tiny children sporting iphones and netbooks. I'm going to call them technology toddlers. (patent pending!) And I've been seeing it a lot.

Mind you, these are not children who are playing with their parents phones. They are children who are actually using the technology. Presumably playing games.

It used to be when you handed a three year old a phone, you'd wind up with some strange calls to Bermuda because all they would do was push the buttons and stick it in their mouths. I seem to have this vague memory of the early days of Apple using the imagery of a toddler using a computer. If I think of the search criteria I'll try to find the video. In an odd way, it has quite the "full circle" feeling". Steve Jobs predicted very young children would be using computers, and now they are actually using iphones. Which are basically tiny computers.

I'd been seeing the phone thing pretty often, and it didn't really click in my head until a few weeks ago I was waiting for a table in a restaurant. I like to people watch. A little girl was there and sporting a netbook. I remember turning to Mr S. and saying "Oh my gawd Mr S.". Look at how the netbook is exactly the right size for a tiny child". All I could do was stare at her. Which in retrospect might have seemed creepy. But, you have to understand - it was the future I was looking at. Not the child. The realization of the quest. It actually took my breath away.

I think it was then it hit me the netbook was going to be more than a passing trend. Sure, cost basis is the attractive thing in the depressed economy. This also makes it attractive to placate tiny children with. If they screw it up, you aren't out that much money. It's brilliant honestly.

So today when I saw a woman was pushing a stroller with a child, my immediate reaction was "Mr S.! Is that kid using an iphone"? Never mind they cost a couple of hundred bucks. These kids are actually engaging with whatever apps were on the phone. I just find it really interesting.

I also did a bit of technology browsing today. I say browsing because most of the things I really want will not be released for a couple of more months. However, I also did a bit of market research. Mr S.'s business is in a technology that has extremely intense competition. For this reason I often feel very vulnerable with the economy acting the way it is.

And, lately there isn't anything more interesting than standing in the isle in which these things are sold and watching consumers. At first it was to see if they were buying stuff from the place he works. But then, it became much more fascinating to just watch them try to decide. Body behaviour is interesting I tell you.

From what I saw today - generally malls are still in trouble. However, people are still spending on multimedia. Verizon was oddly packed. Fry's seemed to be doing decent business.

I made my way to San Jose Camera in San Jose for a shutter release cable, and it looked like every other time I'd been in there.

So - cameras, phones, cheap computers and peripherals still seem to be moving.