December before last, I was--for about the first (and possibly only) time in my life--the "cool" kid on the block when I picked up one of the first-generation Eee PCs. I brought it out at the Linux User's Group meeting and someone insisted that I put it alongside the OLPC that Frank had just scored through their "Give one, get one" donation push. People--meaning guys who have forgotten more about networking and Linux/UNIX than I will ever know--cooed over the wee ones like they were new babies. It was hilarious.
This week I'll be upgrading to a 901 Eee for more screen real estate, longer battery life, and Ubuntu (rather than Xandros or Windows XP Home) for the operating system. (Epic props to Mom for the suggestion of donating the original one to a shelter.)
But, dear me, how the laptop landscape has changed in a mere eighteen months! The work "netbook" is in cant use now that other companies--besides Asus--got the memo that it was possible to build a lean, durable mini-notebook that didn't put frugal people like me into cardiac arrest with the price tag. Okay, cardiac arrest is an exaggeration, but when my co-worker told me how much he'd paid for his itty-bitty Sony Vaio, my eyes bugged. Seriously--you could almost hear the cartoon "Ah-OOooo-GAH!!!" sound effect.
But isn't it...interesting...how quickly competing models came out of the woodwork after years of scoffing at the OLPC concept? (Yes, I know that OLPC still hasn't achieved a $100 model. Keep your wig on: Inevitability takes time.)
Now we just need the equivalent clue-bomb to hit the auto and home energy industries. In the former case, there is already Mercedes-Benz's "smart fortwo," Toyota's "IQ," the Tata Motors' $2000 "Nano," and at least one more micro-vehicle whose company and name refuse to come to mind. (Sadly, the legendary Volkswagen Beetle--the greatest car ever made, IMO--was re-invented as a Yuppie-mobile travesty, so it doesn't count. Certainly not at 20/29 MPG in this day and age--it should run on three rubber bands and a hamster in a wheel, fer cryin' in yer beer...)
But I digress.
The point is that the game-changers will, probably more often than not, be born during times of stress or severe constraint--e.g. sulfa drugs, rocket science, ramen noodles, machine guns, nylon, webmail and so on. If you can ally scarcity and creativity...man, you are sooooo ahead of the folks who think that the answer to failure is doing more of the same.
Update, 10:22 PM: More game-changers, courtesy of CNN Money.
