I have been without my MacBook Pro for nearly a fortnight, following the failure of its graphics card. Whilst I am assured by an Apple Authorised Service Point that it is on its way back to me, I have found it fascinating that for 75% of my usual computer-related tasks, I didn’t need a computer!

A few years ago, without a computer, I would have been without access to instant messaging or the World Wide Web. Today, I can still access most social networking sites, the Web and still chat to my buddies without one.

Smartphones are, quite simply, amazing.

I can fulfill most of the social aspects of the Internet solely off my phone. I have Twitter, MSN, Google Talk; if I wanted I could even access Facebook, MySpace or protocols as obscure as IRC!

Whilst it isn’t quite as easy to communicate from a smartphone, you can still do a satisfactory job.

Information and socialising is now amazingly portable.

Whilst smartphones won’t replace laptops or desktops, due to it being impractical to do proper research on a small screen or typing a letter on a small keyboard, I do believe the role of traditional computers is only going to diminish.

The 90s were quiet on public transport compared to the 80s, and I feel that this decade is another loud one.

MP3 phones were seen as a fantastic invention, but doesn’t it annoy you when someone has the audacity to play their MP3 phone at high volumes, forcing you to listen to low quality music of poor taste which has obviously just been downloaded off LimeWire? It annoys me.

This is a brief post, but I suspect you’ll agree with me.

Update: My friend tells me this is a grumpy old man post; but I’d argue it’s the social implications of tech!