What gadgets do you use?
iPhone, iPad, Bose SoundDock Portable, Canon EOS Rebel T3i SLR Camera, Garmin Nuvi GPS
The latest one is a Casio ProTrek Triple Sensor watch. It has dozens of features I'll probably never use, but is very cool!
What brands do you like and why?
Apple is my favourite brand. Their attention to detail is excellent and the user interface on their products is designed to appeal to the user rather than to the engineer who designed it!
What is your dream machine?
If money and practicality were no object, without a doubt I'd buy a Tesla Model S electric car. The technology in it is amazing and even though I haven't driven one, it has technology, power, fashion and sustainability all rolled into a dream package!
What do you not like about technology?
Technology can be powerful as long as we control it and harness it to better our lives. All too often, though it ends up controlling us and that is not a happy situation. The ability to disconnect from all the gadgets, emails, text messages, alerts etc. that constantly bombard us and focus attention on our loved ones or on a hobby or some other meaningful activity is something we should work hard to develop.
Which apps are you addicted to?
Sadly, my email app takes most of my attention on my iPhone. After that, my most used apps are Podcasts, Wall Street Journal, Google Maps, Adidas miCoach.
One funny/ nostalgic anecdote relating to tech (or the lack of it)
Sometimes technology can get too smart for our own good. Last year in the US a friend and I were stuck in a large parking lot with a brand new rental car. We just couldn't figure out how to lock it. We would press the lock button on the remote, hear the lock clicking, walk away, wait a couple of minutes and walk back to check the door and it would be unlocked! This went on for a good half an hour and we were almost at the point of leaving the amusement park to return the car when we started reading the manual and figured out what was wrong. It was a smart key. It would automatically unlock the door for you when you got close enough to the car! Made us nostalgic for the days when you simply turned a key in the door lock and heard a reassuring 'clunk'.
What’s the biggest tech disaster according to you?
The Iridium satellite phone system. It was ahead of its time and designed by engineers without sufficient attention to how users would adopt, pay for and use the system. A brilliant technological feat but a commercial and marketing disaster, taking billions of investor dollars down with it.
One instance where technology solved your problem.
GPS is such an amazing technology-for me it has potentially been a marriage saver! My wife and I have always loved taking driving vacations, especially in Europe. Inevitably, though each trip would feature a major argument between us on navigation or taking the wrong turn or some such thing. With my trusty Garmin GPS I can now happily chat with my wife and kids on the road… if I take a wrong turn it simply guides me back on track – stress free vacations for the whole family!