Although the drive to miniaturization sometimes seems The point of diminishing returns is different for Over the years, we have had many bad experiences related So now, when we are swept away by techno-lust, we always The test is not limited to the laundry room dangers. For On the other hand, we believe we have selected our next Plus, in keeping with our Zorro and nilist inspired Finally got a look at an iPod Nano in the Apple Store in the Galleria Mall in Cambridge. Surprised at how tiny it actually is, in real life. Way too small, in fact, for a lifestyle as chaotic and broad … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/enano.jpg\")
Finally
\n got a look at an iPod
\n Nano<\/a> in the Apple Store
\n in the Galleria Mall in Cambridge. Surprised at how tiny it actually
\n is, in real life. Way too<\/i> small, in fact, for a lifestyle as chaotic
\n and broad brush as the Dowbrigade’s.<\/p>\n
\n inevitable and unstoppable, technologists and interface designers have
\n for some time recognized that in every product category lifecycle there
\n is a point of diminishing returns, so to speak, in diminishing dimensions.
\n This affects a wide variety of devices, from cell phones, to cameras,
\n to music players and computers.<\/p>\n
\n every device and every user. It depends on user’s finger size,
\n manual dexterity, visual acuity, the complexity of the device and the
\n complexity of its interface. In the case of the Dowbrigade, there
\n is one more factor – the shirt pocket slippage test.<\/p>\n
\n to our shirt pockets. In our personal world of pockets, the shirt
\n pocket is the Bermuda Triangle of storage. A great number of these experiences
\n also involved washing machines. Entire editions of the Dowbrigade wardrobe
\n have been permanently tinted pink or purple thanks to pens left in said
\n shirt pockets. Two telephones, a calculator, and a pen flashlight have
\n similarly taken the final plunge. Not to mention several small
\n bags of herbal remedies, assorted capsules and tablets, and a variety
\n of dry white powders.<\/p>\n
\n run prospective purchases through the shirt-pocket laundry test: Arriving
\n home, late at night, in the dark, tired and hungry and moderately intoxicated,
\n could you possibly slough off your shirt without noticing the device
\n in the shirt pocket? If the answer is yes it is almost a mathematical
\n certainty that sooner or later it will come to pass. The Nano absolutely
\n fails this test. Perhaps not impossibly small, but impractically so.<\/p>\n
\n anyone who carries their devices around on their body at all times, especially
\n if they travel, the danger of dropping, forgetting or having your devices
\n stolen is ever present. If the device does not have sufficient
\n size or weight to immediately notice when that size or weight is absent,
\n it WILL be lost, probably sooner rather than later. No, no Nano.<\/p>\n
\n digital camera. The previous model, an HP 310, with 3.1 megapixels,
\n has done yeoman work over the past 3 years, recording dozens of classes,
\n several international road trips, and news events which eventually reached
\n the Dowbrigade News, but it is time to retool on the digital photography
\n front. For one thing, the flash in the old 310 no longer works, rendering it a daylight-only
\n camera, and for another it is so impossibly clunky and bulky, especially
\n when compared to the credit-card-sized marvels we have been seeing lately
\n in the pockets (often shirt pockets) of our Japanese and Korean students that we have twice now kept it in our pocket (pants, not shirt) out of techno-shame and embarassment.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/coolpix790.jpg\")
In
\n fact, these new credit card cameras fail the shirt-pocket laundry test. However,
\n today at the camera store we saw the Nikon
\n Coolpix 790<\/a>. With 7 megapixels, it has the power to produce publication-ready
\n photos today’s citizen journalist needs. At the same time, it has
\n the pre-sets and automated controls to hand-hold the non-expert, without sacrificing the adjustable controls to manually manipulate the settings
\n if you have the time and inclination.<\/p>\n
\n fashion sense, we love its stylish black metal body much more than the
\n oh-so-common trashy brushed aluminum. Best Buy has them for $399, but
\n they seem to be available on the web for low $300’s. We plan
\n to keep researching, but if we don’t find out anything bad, will probably
\n pick up the 790<\/a> later this month.
\n After all, it fits in our shirt pocket, but noticeably so….<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"