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All the rage these days is about the Digital Smart Home. All of your electronics, appliances, lights, etc. are supposed to be able to communicate with each other and you, as the grand master of it all, can program it so that you can say, get on the wireless web with your cellphone and make your home stereo play your favorite MP3 streamed from your computer while the oven preheats so that you can put a pizza in when you get home from work. That may be a little over the top and at least a few years in the future, but there is a push to do relatively simpler things such as allow you to stream music from your computer to all the rooms in your house.
All that may sound pretty neat to you, but I just end up asking "Why?" Why do we need to need to have music streamed from our computer to every room in the house? I can't think how it would ever be worthy of my time, money, or energy to do this. John Dvorak of PC magazine is one of my favorite tech pundits. He recently stated in his column:
"These are all pursuits of the idle rich. The idea that I can tell my PVR (personal video recorder) to record a movie while I'm driving around in the Benz has little to do with normal reality. This has everything to do with people having too much money and being unable to figure out what to do with it."
I would wholeheartedly agree. There is a point at which a technical project (unless you're rich with a lot of time on your hands) is just not worth doing because of the sacrifice it takes for so little return on your investment of time and money. This has lead me to formulate The Geeky Jock Law of Diminishing Returns on Technology:
The amount of time, money, and energy required to make technology do something you want is inversely proportional to the amount satisfaction it brings you if...
a) The result is not significantly better that what is currently available to you
or
b) You do not often utilize the result
Let me explain by giving an example. With the widespread adoption of home wireless networking, people want to wirelessly stream the thousands of tracks of music on their computers to their home stereos. That's where home media adapters come in. These devices physically connect to your stereo and have a wireless card that can stream music from your computer. They cost at least a couple hundred dollars. I've read dozens of user reviews on devices from many manufacturers. If you're lucky enough get your media adapter recognized on your network, you then have to use special software on your computer to organize the music in a way the adapter can retrieve it. Then you have to deal with a clunky interface on your TV controlled by a poorly designed remote that is frustrating to use because it takes the adapter a second or two to process each button push. Then, the adapter tends to freeze up after every few songs.
Initially, it sounded like a good idea. But, one has to look at the cost. There is the cost of the player (hundreds of dollars), the cost of rearranging the music on your computer, the cost of your time trying to get it setup, and finally the cost of the headaches it causes you when you try to use it. Sure, theoretically you now have your whole collection of music at your fingertips (I stress theoretically). But, this result is not significantly better than what is currently available. You could take 10 minutes and burn hundreds of your favorite MP3s to a couple CDs and play it in your DVD player (they all do this). You could move the computer into the room where you most often listen to music. For the same price (probably less) you could buy a hard drive-based MP3 player that would also hold all of your music and you could take it with you wherever you go. You'd simply plug it into your stereo with a Y-adapter that costs $5 at Radio Shack. Or, you could simply put a CD in the CD player.
The benefit the home media adapter provides is not something you would often utilize either. Sure it has the wow factor that may impress a couple of your friends. Even if you're a real music afficianado, how often would you actually use it? I know that for me, it wouldn't be that much. When I'm at home after work, a lot of the time I like to have some peace and quiet. Even when I do feel like listening to music, my wife is in the mood for some peace and quiet. Do you see where I'm going with this?
Also notice that simple, affordable technology fits into the law. Isn't it true that some of the things that we love the most are simple, affordable, and just plain do the job? Finding these types of products is the real challenge and that is what GeekyJock.com is all about.
Before you decide to spend your hard-earned money and valuable time on a high-tech product, you may want to consider the Geeky Jock Law of Diminishing Returns on Technology.
I'd love to read your comments and experiences with this issue.
