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Workstations put a computer on your desk.

Laptops put a computer in your backpack.

Smartphones put a computer in your pocket.

(I’m not sure what is next, but it’s coming, eventually.)



Some people think it is the eyeball (glasses), some people think it is the brain (NeuraLink). Some people think it is the wristwatch. The pins were an attempt at a pendant. I don't think anyone has tried the necklace, yet. A glove might also be interesting. If the peripheral keeps shrinking, it could be a ring, or set of rings, or an earring. Or a fairy that follows you around like in Ocarina of Time. We could write a theorem about convenience of use and capabilities at different scales for peripherals. It is worth noting that some sizes never really go obsolete, but rather enhance in power and capability.


Interaction on smaller devices is harder, so they focus more on consumption. The smart glasses will probably be annoying to interact with so you’ll just get a TikTok feed of endless content and maybe a single input to skip the current content and train the feed.


> I’m not sure what is next, but it’s coming, eventually.

Getting computers smaller and smaller gets impractical in terms of user interface. A possibility is neural implants. But the other direction we’re already facing is just smarter everything with microprocessors everywhere. Each device does not need to run Android to be useful (or annoying, because not everything needs to get smart and adding processing is also adding new and exciting failure modes). But each device still integrates a computer.




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