I’ve come to the realization recently that I’m not that concerned about a hard drive failure. I’ve suffered a few of these in the past, with considerable disruption to my productivity and progress on projects. But now a vast majority of my content lives online, even in draft form, so keeping a lock on my backups isn’t as crucial.
I certainly don’t want to go through any of the issues of a computer crash, including the cash outlay for the hard drive, so I still backup regularly. The constant ritual of the backup process has become automatic and seamless with Apple’s Time Machine. My external Hard Drive just hums when it’s writing, and a small clock icon spins very subtly on my desktop. I’ve had no reason yet to delve onto my external drive for backups, but I’m reassured that I could resurrect most of my life without it.
The realization that I’m not tethered to a single machine or device is slowly sinking in. I’ve had a laptop for a long time, and have lugged one every time that I travel. Now that I don’t need my machine, but just a string of passwords to access all my tools, I’m planning on exploring my options with a mobile device. I think I could really appreciate an iPhone, and would love to see if I could write and blog solely from this small device.
One of the annoying issues with such a device is the screen size, but now there may be a solution to that problem. A new miniature projector is getting ready to hit the market. It’s called the Pico Pocket Projector by Optoma, and it can project an image from your phone, ipod or camera directly on a wall surface. It’s retailing on Amazon for $399, and I think it’s intriguing.
I imagine using it in the car for my boys to project music videos and movies off of their iPods. I could see using one on the plane for movie watching that you can share. It can project slide presentations for the impromptu demo or discussion. And of course it would be great alongside an iPod for extending the screen while typing or interacting with software. It’s a little pricy, but it’s definitely on my wish list.
