T-Virus and the Tech Zombies

In one week, we got two major tech announcements – the Apple iPhone 5 and Nintendo’s Wii U launch and the announcement of its price points. A week ago we got Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD. As we get closer to the holiday season, the tech giants send their new product campaigns into overdrive.

However, this time round it seems that both Apple and Nintendo have lost their mojo. So far the iPhone 5 has not been as exciting as a lot of analysts expected. It was incremental, nothing much new was introduced etc etc. The general idea was that iPhone 5 is a disappointment.  Similarly, Nintendo’s Wii U has not been receiving great reviews up to this point and even the price point was highly criticised.  What interested me though were not just the new products, but the claims that despite both iPhone 5 and Wii U disappointed, they will sell. They are coined as disappointments that will sell millions. This statement saddens me.

Without a doubt I am a tech craving person.  However, I am not to a point that I just buy gadgets because they are new or because everyone has it. For me gadgets have to meet my needs before I make a purchase. Yes I have two tablets, the PlayBook that can hook up with my BlackBerry to browse the Internet and read emails while I am on the road, and the Nook Tablet for reading, taking notes etc. So I justified the purchases (also the Nook Tablet was purchased while the BlackBerry was in repair and had no sign of recovery at that time).

Therefore I find it very interesting when some people can base on ‘just want to have the latest stuff” and make a purchase without thinking whether these items fit their purposes at all. Apple and Nintendo have created brand loyalty that’s for sure, and that’s the same for Sony and to some extend Microsoft. However, this kind of brand loyalty or craving for new gadgets have gradually turn a lot of us into “Tech Zombies” to feed the cash register of these companies.

“Tech Zombie” is a new breed of organism that was infected by the T-virus (Tech Virus) produced by either one or a cohort of tech giants. They lack independent thinking but have a huge craving for new tech products disregarding their functionalities and suitability. They go blindly after the launch of new products and need to be at the front of the pack all the time. They usually try to “infect” other people by raving on how great their new gadgets are and convincing them that “this is the way of life”.

“Tech Zombies” roam around the city day and night, and if you are careless, you may just fall into their ambush. Unlike normal zombies, “Tech Zombies” do not have that distinctive rotten flesh and empty eyes look. (Well, sometime they have blank eyes because of staring at the screens for too long). They can be your friend, your colleagues or even you partner. They “attack” when you are least prepared. The only way to survive an infection is to understand where you stand in this world of technological race. Self-understanding is the key to survival in this world of  “Techn Zombie” outbreak. What you need to do is to know who you are.  

Unfortunately for the already infected, there is no medicinal cure. “Tech Zombie” is a strange species that it has to wait till the effect of the virus wore off and the infected being came back to its senses, then the condition will be cured. This is why tech giants such as Apple has new products updates every year to make sure that their loyal subjects receive a sizeable dose of virus every now and then.  iPhone is a very good example of this tactics. Since the first debut of the iPhone, it has gone through incremental upgrades every year to make sure that their loyal zombies stay in their camps.

“Tech Zombie” is a sad phenomenon in this highly modernised society. But as with a lot of things, when mankind leaps forward, humanity pays the price.