It's not about the devices, is about the people who use them...

What makes technology useful to people, is when it actually does well helping people to complete their work, learn new things, connect with others or really enjoy their spare time without getting in the way.

The moment any piece of technology gets in they way, it fails at the job it was given to do. All technology should be seamlessly integrate into the activity it was design to be used in, and not take more attention from the user that it's necessary to use effectively. At the core of whatever we are doing, should always be the activity itself and not the tools around it.

Also, let's get rid of the idea that we need a single do it all device or hundreds of devices for each of our activities. Each person should be able to have as many devices as he, or she, wants to have. True, some activities can use a single device while others might need a dedicated device. The important thing, is that the devices used should always be designed with the user in mind.

With every device, there always will be a learning curve if the user doesn't know how to use it. Yet, the learning curve shouldn't be a barrier for new users.

In many ways, we should be put people at the center when designing new devices. The we need to adapt devices to the needs of the people who are to use it, and not have the people to get out of their way to adapt each time a new device comes along. Most of the building blocks on what people need to be there are out there, there is no need to reinvent the wheel each time a new device comes along.

While there are found new ways to arrange the work flow, in order that people do things more effectively, people still have the same physical limitations to adapt to the new work flow. The moment we don't let people be the focus of the device, and the work flow, we have doom the whole thing to failure.

The focus should always be how the devices falls into how people will use, and interact, with it. What will the people who will be use the device expects from it, and how it will be used at the field. There will be things to will need to be polished after it's released, since it's almost impossible to get everything right from the start, but that's better than missing all the marks because we didn't put the users first.

I say we put the people first, and have technology serve our needs. Great technology is the one that fulfills our needs, lets us become better persons. In the end, is about make both individuals and society better than we ever were.