When technology stupefies you!

Taken from: http://www.citroenchat.com/showthread.php?t=2816

I was driving home the other day and a thought just struck me. If I was caught in a traffic jam but am in a very familiar road situation, would I still need a GPS system to guide me out of the jam? Would I be able to make that dynamic decision to perhaps change my route, that could perhaps save me from being stuck unnecessarily in an avoidable jam?

Perhaps when one talks about such a technology as the GPS system, one can't help but be thankful that such a technology exists, but I do feel that the convenience of having one does stupefies the user a little.  Now let me qualify my statement that no, it doesn't mean that using GPS confines one to a state of stupidity. It is just that the very fact that one knows that one has it, and can depend on it, would lead to a tendency of its users from moving away from thinking through their decisions, and solely based their directional judgements on a machine, which might not be able to perhaps see the jam 200 m ahead of you!

But on the other hand, I do feel that the GPS is a godsend in certain contexts and situations, more so in a situation where you are in an unfamiliar road condition or routes, or you are simply driving through a location that you have been a long while back, but have somewhat changed over the years. I do think that GPS is a good 'friend' to have by your side in such situations, but having them to make that judgements for you when you are on familiar ground, just seems a little 'not using your brain and letting it to rot' kinda of moment for me.

But then again, this is just my personal opinion.

When one design improvement begets another...

I recently bought a new pair of earphones, after the old one simply gave away. What caught my attention was the improvement in the design of the wires, one example of which is as shown in the picture on the left.

I simply love the idea of making the wires a little flatter now, to reduce or even eliminate entanglement, compared with the old designs. And somehow locating the controls (mine has controls for volume and start/pause) on a flattened piece of cable just seems a little more...'designerly plausible' and apt, compared to what I used to have.

But one thing that I wasn't prepared for is the idea of storing this new piece of flattened cable. Being one who uses a messenger-type bag for his laptop and other accessories, it didn't dawn on me the need to get another piece of wire coiler, since the old one is designed for round-shaped cables.

What I thought is that updated design of the cable is better, but somehow the design flaw here is the need to also redesign the wire-coiler too, to cater to users like me. Perhaps this is where a reDesign exercise just stop short of actually enhancing the users' experience a little more 'perfectly'. I felt that having a coiler that complements this redesign would definitely make more converts out there.

What do you think?