I have a tiny digital camera that is a little bigger than a USB memory stick. Because it is so small, there is only a dial to turn the camera on and off and a single button to actuate the electronic shutter. The idea is simple. Take pictures with your little camera anywhere, and then hookup directly to your computer just as if it were a memory stick. In fact it is a regular memory stick as well in addition to being a camera.
There is one tiny problem I'm facing currently, which is the same problem I face with every piece of electrical or mechanical technology I touch. It stops working. Well, that's not completely accurate. It stops working kind of (ISWKO). The ISWKO state is characterized by an object that bears significant evidence of proper functioning—such as a little light shining to signify presence of power—yet at the same time it's primary function is not available. For instance you can hear the soothing whir of a data disk spinning inside the computer, meanwhile the computer display is dark and dead. Or like in my current experience I have a memory stick camera that seems to take pictures, but doesn't function as a memory stick.
My immediate reaction was, "Oh, this is how cameras used to be. Take pictures that you can't see only until you get them developed at the pharmacy." Problem is that I sincerely doubt that a local pharmacy could access the images if a seasoned MIT-trained technologist couldn't get to them. What I really need is a reset button.
Combing this tiny camera for the all-important recessed hole into which you place awkwardly bent paperclip and hold for 3 seconds to invoke the miracle of a machine's rebirth ... I discovered no hole. In search of simplicity, this little camera not only minimized buttons and features, but also chose to preclude the seminal feature of all electronic devices. After all, why would anyone want to do a hardware reset on a device that is so completely idiot-proof? The answer is a team of engineer's vanity.
The closest example that comes to mind is the SS Titanic. (Uh oh, I'm starting to hear Celine's voice now in my head with the theme from The Titanic. How does she hit those notes?) Engineered to withstand tremendous stress on its hull, the Titanic's lack of a sufficient number of lifeboats was not only rooted in an aesthetic decision but also based on a kind of technological complacency.
And thus I sit here ... stranded in foreign territories, with an image-taking implement, but no ability to sip the actual visual data with my own lips. So close to being rescued, yet I know that no such peace will come. Perhaps its time to get desperate and resort to ASCII art?
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\ ^ / s.o.s.?
\ o / .....^
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