Indispensable

I'm a tech-loving sort of fella but really only from an appreciation point of view. I love seeing how people solve problems using technology more than I enjoy using devices themselves. Sadly as I'm getting older I'm becoming ever more cynical about why a product even exists in the first place.

Example: Kindle. A truly revolutionary device, but not for the reason you might think. I don't care about the fact that I have 1,000 books available at any time, especially given that the search engine on the thing is utter guff. I care that for the first time in recent history the publisher model is being disrupted. No longer does an aspiring author have to approach a publisher and beg to be considered. No longer does a writer have to tweak his story to fit a certain "target demographic". A writer can finally just write what he likes and charge what he wants to charge.

The same thing is happening in other entertainment industries: music, videogames, film-making. There's people out there that would suggest there's always been room for people to break through but the point of the stores that allow individuals to publish their own work is that the wall is now that much thinner. It's not breezeblock anymore, it's plasterboard.