We are entering a very different era from our parents. Technology is shifting from a very individual experience into a worldwide exchange. As each wave forms, the resulting push goes further and further inland. The goal is to reach some kind of perfection that will satisfy all our possible wants. The frontier continues to expand.
Devices (laptops and smart phones) which are currently the focus of a mobile and remote work force are becoming disposable. This is due to a number of factors such as damage, theft, and becoming obsolete. The point is that real devices are always going to have a limited lifespan.
It has been interesting to watch the computer industry over the last thirty years. The speed of which the changes have come has only made technology obsolete that much faster. Using a computer from more than five years ago is often a questionable venture. Laptops and phones are probably more around 2 or 3 years.
Given the limited lifespan, what is the real value? Much like human knowledge, the best things are passed down. The information is the soul of the device. It is this data that needs to be preserved and propagated to new devices.
Add the concepts of virtualization and the Internet, it is possible to build a model whereby the information will never die. In fact, given enough focus, the environment will evolve and flourish.
The information can be safely saved on trusted servers. If the device is lost, stolen, or dead, the environment can be brought forward to a new device.
It is similar to the idea of storing photos on the web for backup purposes. In theory, your photos will never be discarded. The same would be true of your standard computing environment.
This kind of strategy puts the focus on what is really valuable. It certainly is not the disposable device.
Admit to yourself one thing. Your laptop ages twenty times faster than a human (laptop years). Your phone is closer to 30 years to one human year. I would bet your phone or laptop is already older than you.
The information however, is priceless, ageless, and completely virtual.
Doesn’t it seem we always focus on what we can see? It’s the things that can’t be seen that really make the lasting impact.
Live near Brisbane, Australia. Software developer currently focused on iOS and Android. Avid Google Local Guide
Red Circle Blog 
Agreed. But I bet we’ll all be thankful for those older devices by the time we’re too old to get out of bed!
Damn, I hope my iPhone never ends up in that state 🙂
Thanks Kathy!
The older I become, the more it becomes obvious that everything is temporary.
Technology seems to be proving this true even faster than normally experienced.
Hopefully certain devices will be considered nostalgic in the future, much like how the original PCs (C64, Apple II, etc..) are now.
And we might here things like “I remember when the first iPhone came out”. 🙂