Hasta La Gadget!

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

Black Friday is nearly here with a legion of new gadgets, devices and products all designed to seduce you with technology. Thousands of gadgets are released each year promising to enhance our lives, increase productivity and deliver a sound ROI. Often, however, it seems that many products are released before they’re ready for the mainstream and any positives are negated by poor design, buggy code, or just being too far off the curve. This is the pitfall of the early adopter, but remembering Gartenberg’s First Law of Consumer Electronics can help avoid some of this pain when you’re doing your holiday shopping.

Remember Gartenberg’s Three Laws? We’re only interested in the First Law today: “There is a worldwide market of 50,000 for anything.” Unless you are part of this group of 50,000 — namely folks that install operating systems on a Sunday afternoon as a form of social entertainment — you need to look beyond technology for the sake of technology and see if what you’re about to purchase meets the three criteria below. If it doesn’t, you might want to wait for version 3.0.

Continue reading Entelligence: Black Friday

Entelligence: Black Friday originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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