We are quite close to having internet everywhere. I am always please to see people walking around with cell phones in hand or fussing with an iPod, because it shows just how accustomed we have become to having small portable connected devices around us at all times. These devices don’t just make calls or play music, they keep us connected and facilitate social networking, which is the lifeblood of the net. I am occasionally tickled at the phenomena of text messaging, which by all outward appearances is a technological step backwards, something like the equivalent of going from cell phones back to pagers, but bitches like textin. But the internet is dynamic and complicated in a way that doesn’t translate well to small portable devices, so having the internet everywhere is a really tough problem that has yet to see a real good solution. My PDA works in a pinch, but the technology is now about 4 years old and can only provide a stripped down, slow internet that is visually unappealing and functionally unsatisfying. I am told that iPhones are decent, but I haven’t had much experience with them so I can’t say for sure. It is probably the closest we’ve come yet, but Apple products strike me as more like a fashion accessory than a useful tool. I want an internet leatherman, not a katana. I’d like to get my hands on a Nokia N810 (attn christmas shoppers) since I don’t really care about having a phone as much as I need the internet. The N810 runs linux, and it looks like you can dig in and customize it as you see fit (once the software gets written, that is), and that seems to make it well suited to the needs of the net. At the other end […]