no.2 - the glossy shiny bug of gadgety lust

When Apple announced the MacBook Air, I took one look at my beautiful, sleek and lovely MacBook Pro and realized it now looked thick, chunky and old. I have had it for just over a year, and in both form and function, it is truly amazing.

Nothing changed when the Air arrived. In fact, my year old MacBook Pro is a more capable and robust machine. I don't even want an Air, so why should it serve to make my machine seem suddenly aged?

It troubles me that I can be manipulated this way. I would worry that it is some primal male need for the new, except that I'm pretty sure fashion manipulates in exactly the same.

Do the designers know they are doing this? When they design the new iPod, do they consider not only how to make the new one look appealing, but do they also take pains to make each curve, line and thickness make the old one look like a scratched up turd?

They must.

My MacBook Pro must have sensed something. As I powered it up the other night, it suddenly kicked off and died. A month out of warranty it was killed, perhaps, by the anorexia of another computer.