I was sitting out side letting the rain wash over me. The raindrops beating a rhythm that is as ancient as time itself. I was wondering what else could have made this a perfect experience. At that point of time my room mate asked me, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could listen to some music?”

I had to admit that the thought was rather tempting in it’s entirety. Things could be better if only you knew how to make them better. It would enhance the perfection if there were some lovely music to accompany the rhythm of the rain.

But then as every one knows, water and electronic gadgets just don’t mix, at least not in their present avatar. That’s when roomie and I drew up a wish list of added features that we want incorporated into our gadgets. More specifically, certain things that our laptops and our PCs could co from time to time that would make life more livable.

I’ve left out some of the more bizarre things like cook and clean but on the whole I’m sure that these are things that you would have found the need for but some how you’ve never thought of it in that way before.

The first and foremost feature that I want in my laptop is that it should be a tough guy. There are hundreds of antivirus programs out there, but those just take care of the software. I want a Laptop that has the hardware that is virus resistant as well. And not just virus resistant but also resistant to the vagaries of the weather and sundry other things like bacteria and fungi.

How many times has it happened that you’ve been caught in an unexpected downpour and your brand new laptop has been ruined by the rain water? Have you cursed the weather for the havoc that it plays with your cell phone’s innards? How many times has an i-pod been ruined by the sweat that pours off your body in the gym?

Since I’ve been at the receiving end of these unfortunate incidents that ruined not just my day but also my entire week I can tell you that a weather proof body is just as important as some thing that calculates at the speed of light.

Laptops and any other gadget that you can think of are getting faster, lighter and better at the various things that they can do but are they water resistant? Are they resistant to extreme weather conditions? Are they able to push away the real bacteria and viruses of the world?

No, they are not. Laptops can recognize your voice, they can memorize our face patterns and in a few years they might even be able to think but can they actually put up with inconvenient weather conditions?

Think about it, wouldn’t it be fun if you could flop down on the grass and work on your laptop and enjoy the sunshine as well? Wouldn’t the joy of singing in the rain if your laptop were at hand playing your favorite music? Wouldn’t it be fun if you could take the laptop to the beach?

I think it would. You could work in comfortable surroundings that would be pleasant as well; you would actually be able to look up stuff on the net. Imagine not having to cancel your family’s outings because you have a net meeting. Wouldn’t that be fun?

The second feature that I want is for the laptop to be voice activated. And I don’t mean just the voice recognition bit. I mean able to do stuff like take notes and convert my musings into jottings that I can later convert into the blogs that I write. It would be highly convenient and things that I have a tendency to lose because I can’t get them down fast enough would be saved.

I’m sure that the world would agree.

Then the next thing that a laptop should be able to do is resist the attempts of snooping spouses/girlfriends/boyfriends/room mates to see what I’ve been surfing. Although I know that one should wipe the history etcetera, etcetera, but I seriously think that this could be a major selling point for plumb lazy souls like myself who would be delighted with such features that would save them the hassle.

Another thing that I want is a longer lasting and more resistant battery. The worst thing is being stuck on a long haul flight that seems to last for ever because you for got to charge the laptop. So what could have been an enjoyable 6 hours becomes a nightmare because the very object that was to be your solace in loneliness is clammed shut and refuses to spring to life.

Probably the only thing that is worse is having your laptop shut down mid-flight. If you’ve ever suffered these indignities I’m sure that you will appreciate the luxury of a longer lasting and more resistant battery that would enable you to actually get some work done.

The laptop was invented with the basic intention of providing you with the mobility that is now necessary as a part of the work culture.

But more often than not the damn thing becomes an albatross around your neck, a showpiece that isn’t working because of human failings.

In retrospect lets have laptops that are more human friendly and above all adaptable. A laptop that would resist real life viruses, is durable in more ways than one, can take orders and not talk back and above all last longer is what I want.

If you agree with me I’d love t hear from you about it. What would you want in a laptop? Think about it. You just might end up revolutionizing the whole concept.

Manufacturers please take note, it might be lighter, faster and smaller but it’s gotta be durable if you want me to upgrade, other wise save the salespitch for some one gullible.

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Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 5:34 pm | by techyug |