Five of my favourite things

A lot of readers have written to me asking me about the gadgets and gizmos I use. They probably feel that something that works for a technology columnists will work for them as well. Things cannot be generalised like that, but this week let me tell you about five gadgets that I can’t live without.

Laptop: On the top of my list is my trust white Apple MacBook. Without a laptop on my desk that has 3-4 hours of battery backup, and at least 2 GB of RAM, I would be dead. I dont’ use CD or DVD writers, external hard disks or thumb drives. I depend on email. In case I am in an area where there is no Wifi coverage, I fall back on my old and lovely Blackberry 7290.

Email on the move: Though it has started to look old, I continue to depend on my Blackberry, the 7290, which has a full-sized QWERTY keyboard and a right hand scroll wheel. What sets this piece apart from its newer counterparts is its matt-finish screen. Though it can’t play videos or music, sending and receiving mails on this device is an experience in itself. I get about two days without a recharge, helped I guess by the fact that I dont’ use the 7290 for my voice calls. (And no, this article was not written on the Blackberry, though there have been quite a few I did write on it during train journeys.)

Cineplex in my palm: I travel quite a bit, because of work mostly, and this keeps me away from the cinema halls and a DVD player. My Creative Zen keeps me good company with a small screen on which I can watch funny movies (I always have a copy of The Pink Panther at hand). I remember a time when this old woman in the train kept staring at me as I laughed my head off, watching Inspector Clouseau and his antics. And when I miss my close ones, the photo album is handy.

Photo memories: Travel brings you across interesting moments, interesting people, interesting architecture. Though my first love is film, I had to switch over to a pocket-sized camera for the sheer convenience of it. After a lot of delibration, I picked up an IXUS series Canon camera. My version does not have anti-shake or face recognition, but it lets me express myself in the way I want to. In any case, I don’t want a piece of software to take over my life. The 3 inch screen is great to take those wonderful photos and to share them. Its SD card is a format common to my Creative Zen, which makes my life easier. On those occasional days when I am confined to my room, my Gameboy proves handy.

Mobile games: I like the Sony PlayStation, but I can’t carry them on my trips, leaving me with the sole option of hand-held consoles. The Sony PSP is lovely—attractive graphics, can act as my video player, photo player, MP3 player and a game machine in one. Its biggest disadvantage, however: it neither has SimCity nor Pong, the old original Atari classic. So DS Lite it is for me. Its dual screen makes games like Mario brothers engrossing and games like scrabble and sudoko more interesting.

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The Above article was printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday June 15, 2008.