I had an interesting experience yesterday when my company laptop bricked up on the way into the office. I went immediately to blackberry not just to scan my email (which I usually do when I’m not at a desk), but also for everything else. And by “everything else” I mean scheduling meetings, viewing and commenting on powerpoints, looking things up on the web,and (now) even writing this blog post.

while I missed the pc for a few things that are more efficient with that form factor (multiwindow activities, typing fast, mousing) and I have a few mail server folders to optimize for getting stuff out of my inbox once processed a la GTD, overall I’m pretty pleased by how well synced up the RIM curve let’s me be.

I found myself caught with nothing to read and no laptop juice yesterday afternoon during an airport delay.  After getting bored with Twittering and Facebooking from my Curve, I went in search of a book.

It never ceases to amaze me how much vapidity is for sale in airport newsstands, but (insider tip) SJC has something that passes for a bookstore way down at the end near A10, and, choosing among slim pickings, I came up with a copy of The World is Flat, which I’ve heard much of, had never read, and seems to be in release 3.0.

So far, the thesis is interestingly woven if unsurprising. But it’s the little details that scare me — Indian citizens referring to getting good jobs “at a multinational”, and then attending “accent neutralization class” to learn how to articulate their t’s poorly in order to sound less alien to americans.

Here’s another choice passage:

When you look around at 24/7’s call center, you see that all the computers are running Microsoft Windows. The chips are designed by Intel. The phones are from Lucent. The air-conditioning is by Carrier, and even the bottled water is by Coke.

It’s probably just a coincidence, but I finished reading Oryx & Crake a few nights ago, and every news item I’ve since seems eerily in line. It’s a provocative book, worth reading — and just for laughs I’ve posted my review over on GoodReads.com.