TED Fellows

Finding the Keys to My Heart

July 10, 2010

Recently I got back from New York with two bags carrying two objects connecting different parts of my life, or two sides of my personality. The objects in the bags are magical and evocative in their own special way, and speak to my inner self in conflict with itself. You see I'm both a tecky geeky guy, and yet at heart a bit of an old fashioned soul, a 21st century Luddite if you will. Let the pictures do most of the talking.

While the box on the right needs no explanation, to the untrained eye the one of the left may appear somewhat mysterious. So let's go on a bit. As you scroll down the images I want you to examine your reaction, your visceral reflexes, to what you see unfolding.

So far, so familiar. And now the object in the left box.

Where would the plastic handle of the Mac box be in a 100 years? How would it have aged, if you felt sentimental enough to keep it? Let my fingers do the talking, forgiving the odd typo here and there.

Seeing and feeling the words you type. The impact of metal on paper making an indelible mark, smelling of old greasy times, making you feel like a real writer. The rat tatat tatat, the jingle of the bell telling you've reached the end of the line. Some letters, or words, coming out bolder perhaps because you felt them more, or because you're a lousy uneven typist. Either way, what you are, what you feel, is immediately on the paper in front of you. "Feel", human touch, is the word that keeps coming up. So let's feel our way around some more.

I've been intrigued and excited by the mechanics of old beautiful machines and what they produce for as long as I remember. Why, I even collect old newspaper articles about them.

Click on above image to read the small print.

And do blogs about them. And make documentaries about them. Look out for Dear Olive in there somewhere.

So will your grandchildren be making films about the MacBook Pro? Will nostalgia be what it is today?

The pounding of typewriter keys have been replaced by the clickety click of the keyboard, now pushed aside by the silent touch of the smooth glass of iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. I see where this is going. If the boy wonder of MIT, Pranav Mistry is allowed to get his way with his SixthSense technology we won't even need to touch anything anymore. Just wave our arms around to get things done in the digital world.

http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_...

So to bid a fond farewell AND to save the typewriter for posterity I took a trip to the Apple Store in London's Regent Street. And guess what I found on the iPad.

Taghi Amirani

TED Senior Fellow 2010

@tagz23

Amirani Films

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Filed under // Amirani Films Apple Dear Olive MIT MacBook Pro Pranav Mistry Remington SixthSense TED TED Senior Fellow Taghi Amirani Typewriter

Posted by Taghi Amirani

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Battle Between iPhone 4 and Google's Android Nexus One Cracks Me Up

Confession: I don't have an iPhone. This will come as a surprise to those who know me as an Apple nerd. But something really weird happened today. Something that makes me believe in the supernatural powers of Steve Jobs and his global marketing campaign.

Today, June 24th, 2010, saw the launch of iPhone 4 in the UK. You don't need me to say a word about the religious zeal with which us Mac geeks worship at the altar of Jobsfulness. Just see this great cartoon strip. And I wouldn't dream of attempting a review of iPhone 4 when the Maestro Chief of Geek Kingdom himself Stephen Fry has done it so well, calling it "an object of rare beauty".

I had seen enough iPhones in the hands of everyone cool around me to make me want one. But earlier this year, just as I was about to place an order, two things happened. Word gets out that there's soon to be an iPhone 4, and at TED2010 Google goes and surprises us all by giving away an Android Nexus One. See my dilemma? Why get an iPhone 3G when you can get a free Nexus One.

So over the last few weeks I have been getting used to hanging out with the green Android - looks more like Kermit the Frog to me - and having people ask me "what's that?". Even though my filmmaker friendly network Orange offer the iPhone, I have resisted switching. So far.

Today I was cycling to a meeting in the London afternoon rush hour. I was also expecting a call back from a very important producer about my TED Senior Fellowship project. We've been playing phone tag for the last 4 weeks, and I was eager not to miss his call should it come through while I'm on the bike. So instead of putting the Nexus One in my jeans pocket where I wouldn't hear or feel it vibrate while pedaling, I put it in my shirt's breast pocket close to my heart. A symbol of how I feel about my film. The gridlock had left little room for maneuver. Running late, I did what any self respecting urban cyclist does; hop onto the pavement to bypass two double decker buses spewing their fumes at me.

I land onto the pavement but hear the unmistakable sound of metal hitting stone. Skid to a halt and look behind to see my Nexus One kissing the pavement. Its face cracked up, the Android looks back at me sorrowful scars all over. I gently stroke it clean and turn it on. It still works. Looking at the date, 24th June, I realize it's no ordinary date. 24th June has been splashed all over the web, papers and billboards. Of all the dates in the calendar on which I could have cracked up my Nexus One, why should it happen on the day Apple launches its iPhone 4? What powers are at play here? Is this a sign? Drop me a line if something terrible happened to your Google phone today.