joshuafurhlinger
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This is the Modem World: There are no 'Classic Gadgets' and here's why
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. She was parked on Palos Verdes Boulevard. I was chugging up the hill on my road bike, trying to get some much-needed exercise on an early Saturday morning. The cool mist was still rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, and combined with the early morning horizontal light, it created little beads of moisture on her white finish like a can of beer on a hot summer's day. I romanticize, yes, but she was a Lotus Esprit, my favorite car of all time, in perfect condition. I'm not sure why the Esprit is my favorite, but it certainly has something to do with James Bond and a die-cast toy version I had in the '80s. Either way, I love the car, and it, to me, is a classic design. It broke design barriers in the '70s when other cars of the time -- ones that we consider classics -- were huge and angry. This one was sleek and futuristic; small, but big on the eyes. I drew it over and over again on school notebooks. I tried to improve the design by coming up with my own version called the Aerovette. But nothing was as perfect as the white 1977 Esprit.
This is the Modem World: Please don't personalize me. I know who I am
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. Here's the thing: I know who I am. I don't need Facebook or Google or Microsoft or Apple or anyone else to collect data and tell me what I'm interested in. I'm pretty sure I know what I like and don't like. I'm also pretty sure I know my friends, and if I am looking for a recommendation on something, I'll hit particular ones up based on what I know of who knows what. Know what I'm saying? This week Facebook announced its new search technology that a lot of us knew was coming. The premise is, if I may minimize, that what my friends like is probably good for me. I can see how scientists may think that this is plausible, but in reality, this can't be further from reality.
