iPod, iPhone, BlackBerry, Alienware desktops, and all those other shiny tech toys and gadgets

Every day, I spend at least eight hours, most of my working hours, in front of a computer. Those hours, which pass by like a speeding train, are spent checking my office email, responding to those pesky instant messages, surfing the Internet, and reviewing work manuals. Of course, the biggest portion goes to doing my job, which is editing works by industry analysts.

The Alienware Area 51 desktop (photo courtesy of Dell)

An hour after getting home, when those who were with me in the train or bus that brought me home are getting ready for bed, it would be my home PC’s turn to have my full attention. I then spend a couple or so hours more, working on my weekly column and articles that my other employer, a newspaper publisher, expects me to submit as promptly as possible.

For some years now, my daily life has seemed to have to do with IT and the gadgets and toys that, in various ways, make the digital world a lot more exciting than its analog counterpart. And yet, while I am always ready to drop whatever I am doing at the moment so I can spend time with a new gadget, I never let those devices dictate or tell me how to live my life.

The BlackBerry Bold 9780 from Research In Motion

No, siree. While some of my friends and family have let gadgets rule their lives — one became a slave to the mobile phone (texting, in particular) and another would spend all his money and max out his credit cards to buy the latest mobile phones, MP3 players, and other tech gadgets — I have remained rational and resisted the temptation to buy gadgets just for the sake of buying them. Although a big part of this teetotaler mindset is driven by a pronounced lack of financial resources.

I do not claim, however, that I do not fall hard for gadgets and devices every now and then. There will always be IT tools and toys that catch my fancy. For example, I have always loved the iPhone in all its iterations, except of course the iPhone 4; and there has never been a gaming laptop that I would not love having.

The iPhone 4 (photo from Apple.com)

I guess having an iPod Touch 4G would be the closest thing in the IT world to obtaining Nirvana. And owning one of those gungho Alienware desktop rigs could poke you into Shangri-La.

But I can never imagine myself splurging gratuitously on these expensive and shiny toys; unless of course if I won the lottery.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against those who do. In fact, I am thankful to these guys. They are those who drive the wheels of the IT industry. I am grateful to those who line up in front of Apple retail stores to be the first to own iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

Without these guys, the IT market might as well roll over and die. And we don’t want that. Certainly.