Complications of the All-Digital Age

Friday, 01. 15. 2010  –  Category: T2 Communications

With news that on Christmas Day digital books outsold print copies on Amazon for the first time ever, we have another reason to declare the 2000s as the all-digital age.  With so many electronic devices now serving as creature comforts for us, from phones to cameras to laptops and iPods, we are irreversibly connected to our digital lifestyle.  Items that used to be viewed as novelties are now as important to have on hand as our wallets, which too are now filled with electronically compliant items like credit cards.

But our digital conversion is far from over, as the experience we have is still less than perfect.  As 2010 begins, and rumors fly about the next big gadget to arrive, it is worth investigating the digital landscape and identifying those topics that will be at the heart of innovation in the next decade.

Parallel Experiences: You have a work computer, a home computer, a cell phone, an iPod, a DVR, a digital camera and more.  Each contains data that is vital to you, and yet the connectivity between them is anything but seamless.  While storage devices and programs like iTunes attempt to consolidate your information, the experience is often limited to certain products.  Therefore, you are unable to view your content on your TV the same way as your iPod, or your phone, etc.

Many companies are investing resources to unify the experience, allowing you to have the same setup on any device you want and anywhere you go.  Even cable and telecommunications providers, who to this point have stayed away from the consumer’s devices, are getting into the act by trying to help subscribers by offering home networking solutions and video content on the Internet.

Compatible Platforms: A debate continues to brew amongst product developers: should electronics be built to work on any platform, or are they better served to only be part of a larger, proprietary environment.  Each has its own inherent benefits, which is why we see companies taking different approaches.  Apple tends to take the latter approach, though its most open product Apps Store is one of its biggest successes.  TVs, which used to be agnostic, are now incorporating their own unique experiences with widgets and online content access.  How will the openness (or lack thereof) of our technology platforms affect innovation as we move forward?  What platforms will win out, and what will that mean?  How will open source impact the landscape?

Data Storage: Photos, videos and music all used to have a hard copy to fall back on, whether in film or pressed plastic or vinyl.  Now, however, the only archive we have is a digital file and therefore it is a lot easier to be erased or corrupted.  As we become more and more digitally connected, our data storage needs increase with it.  And while flash drives and hard drive backups keep getting cheaper, it also is becoming more difficult to ensure that everything we want is getting backed up in a timely fashion.  How will files be saved and backed up moving forward, and will this be affected by advances in subscription-based programming and streaming applications?

Convenience of Experience: We have the capacity to digitize much of our life.  However, to do so isn’t always easy.  Even with the most advanced devices in hand, you likely have your fair share of cords, adapters and charging platforms.  It is a complicated experience that, if not streamlined is not very user-friendly.  With recent innovations like the PowerMat hitting the market, it appears that companies have their eyes on ways to streamline the experience beyond drivers and software.

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