Accessories are forever on every tech buyer’s mind today… and when I say this, I also mean those who are ostensibly giving every excuse to stay away from them. There is such a dream-like ambience to accessories that most of us may not any more wish to use a simple smartphone. It reminds me of a time more than twenty-five years ago when we bundled an inkjet printer and a scanner when we bought our first desktop. Neighbours commented that we probably have too much money to spend on non-essentials. But those days are definitely over, and we have all sprinted ahead of that rather affordable but plastic-bodied video gaming console that could entertain you with Tetris, Super Mario, and a few other games that two people could play. No, there was no going beyond the borders of your home and playing games with strangers across the world then. Times have changed. Not just for gaming enthusiasts but also for every other non-gaming user who wants to now graduate from redundant Bluetooth connectivity to controlling everything from entertainment to home security by tapping his or her smartphone screen through the internet. Miami Smart Home Automation Company will help you if you need a home security installer.
The strangest part of this blitz of accessories is that if you still think of them as some fancy gizmo linked to your smartphone or laptop, you need to think again. They are there everywhere – from your bathroom shower to the razor that you use. For instance, Cove has a headband that employs imperceptible vibrations behind the ears to relieve a person’s stress. The Otterbox is ‘a grippy Xbox controller shell’ for the gaming enthusiast that is portable and lets entertainment walk around with you. There are television companies selling this new-age idiot-box that has 8K resolution. There are smarter and sleeker safes that have their security algorithms built into an app for the smartphone. Then there are multi-device charging stations with wireless facility. We have access to ear buds, and not bulky headphones, which are noise cancelling and come with strange angular shapes that make them fall-proof… and I have heard some tech gurus talk about even a transparent screen TV. Just as there are accessories for the enthusiastic tech user, there are those for women, the aged, the not-so-tech-savvy, and even pets. If a solar cell remote does not sound impressive enough, one has the choice to adopt one that fetches your car from the garage or notify you when someone unauthorized individual fiddles with your files in a steel locker. What was sci-fi once, is now in our hands.
Many of those who love their gizmos, gadgets, and accessories know that our world has been awed by the sort that the legendary James Bond invariably used in his movies. These magic of these movies flow through our veins, and we have all reached a stage when even a never-ending onslaught of the latest is not going to intimidate us. Accessories are all about redefining our own dreams of the future and this technology bath is as necessary as any of our daily rituals. Even the more expensive ones that may not be affordable for many, continue to help us reinvent a bit of Bond in our own selves.
Accessories are the thrillers that have jumped off the realm of sci-fi to make a grand entrance in our lives… and they are here to stay. Those naysayers who I do Those who believe that over-accessorizing has the ever-present risk of distraction from matters that really matter must also know that the way this innovative ecosystem interacts with living and conscious moments have the potential to be the building-blocks of futuristic creative conversations. Yes, I agree that besides having the need to be trendy, accessories must also be representing simplicity in operations. But then each of us has a unique way we respond to the technological brilliance of an accessory. I know of a friend who bought a smartphone gimbal and then could not find his way out of the maze of operations and combinations in which many others use it to make creative videos. It is equally true however, that if accessories make us tilt towards an overdose of just entertainment, they will be ostracized at some point or the other. There are other concerns as well and one that has led the way many times is about adventurous accessories replacing parental standards… and the fact that many of these cool and slick gizmos might lead to a loss in our creative output and overall productivity. However, our technology ecosystem is brimming with psychologists who are looking into this and other matters though I am sure it is the inventive interplay with accessories that over-shadows any pitfalls.
These past few years that I have been chit-chatting with technology and its advent into the world of accessories have convinced me that going back to the early nineties and before is no longer an attractive proposition. I only wish that sci-fi disguised as accessories becomes increasingly affordable enabling even the not so well-off to be able to harness its powers for self-development.
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Arvind Passey
29 December 2021
