Boutique Technology

New Store in Town - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor

ZONED OUT

I’m in about the 6th week of my “allergy from Hell”. My nose runs like a faucet and there is little I can do. I’ve tried every OTC medicine as well as prescription Flonase. The meds knock me out somewhat, so today’s entry may be lacking in quality.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

I like having TV’s in my kitchen and bathroom. I actually do enjoy watching there – both rooms call for a small TV. In the previous age of CRT TV’s I had no problem getting a 9” or 13” TV to suit my needs. Those sets have expired and I’m back looking for replacements. Flat screens inexplicably start at 19” – only Fry’s offers a smaller one from an off-brand. Maybe there’s a technical reason for it.. I may join the ranks of on-line Amazon shoppers in my quest for flat and small. We don’t need a curved, 3-D 70” Samsung Home Theater for every environment.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Cold meds have affected my mind such that I can’t really do the story I wanted to do. I was going to examine “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause” from a metaphysical standpoint. In my zonked state, I think I would do a disservice to Virginia, Santa and the Baltimore Sun if I tried that. I will proceed to a “fluff” commercial piece instead. I won’t have to spell metaphysical..

FINALLY, THE MICROSOFT STORE

I went to North Park Mall last week to replace a watch battery. First item of note – the crowd was ridiculous. People were parking in the church parking across the street. People, Black Friday is a ways off – chill out for a week! But one cool thing I noticed was the new Microsoft Store not far from the Apple Store. Apple began opening its own stores @ 15 years ago. They have become iconic, super-slick centers of hipness where creative people of means will drop a cool $2K on a MacBook Pro. Just the people-watching is fun. Steve Jobs is said to have obsessed over the marble and wood used in his stores – as much as he did on the Mac OS interface. Steve’s attention to detail paid off.. the young hipsters in blue Apple tee shirts now preside over a surreal space where people fight to spend top dollar on the latest gizmos.

Microsoft has awakened to the situation.. Technology is no longer just for ham radio operators and dweebs. Technology has become universal, accessible and essential. It has also grown into a dimension hated by engineers but loved by marketers – that of fashion trendiness. A device should be functional but it really needs to be beautiful and stylin’ at the same time. Ignore this dictum and you will be making the AMC Pacer of tablets – or the Studebaker of cell phones. I like Microsoft, I like Apple too. I don’t look upon it as a religion and I enjoy products from both companies. I’m typing this article on an ASUS Windows 8, but checking my emails on an iPhone 5C. Hey people, it’s called balance!  The Microsoft Store doesn’t much try to forge a new style – they read Apple’s playbook. The store is bright, white, modern and minimalist. The sales clerks tend towards young and attractive 20-somethings – and they wear matching red tees.

The tables are piled with excellent loss-leader deals (unlocked Windows phone for $99, HP mini tablet for $99). They also have a giant Xbox area where you can play games on a 10 foot screen. Let me reach into my box of aphorisms: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it’s better late than never. I can’t predict how the market will go, but I think Microsoft might’ve caught the right wave. If Kate Spade and Ralph Lauren aren’t designing cases for your gizmos – you’re at risk of dying from technical virtuosity and nerdiness.

CONCLUSION

I’m hyped up from my skinny peppermint mocha with 3 shots of espresso. I probably need to walk it off and contemplate these deep thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to my regular two readers -- let’s hope that my allergy has lifted in time for my next blog entry.

© 2014 Snillor Productions