Archive for May, 2009
I took a couple of runs at using the computer to shop for digital cameras, but it was an unhappy experience. Sitting in front of a computer means sitting and typing commands or clicking on links on screen, and all too often being frustrated because the links go nowhere or the software on the computer doesn’t work or you don’t have the right plug-in or the website is sluggish because too many people are trying to use it at the same time. More important, while you’re typing to shop on the web, you’re not doing something else that is more immediate-like actually buying a product or reading e-mail or looking at news stories or trading stocks or any of a hundred other things that the web is great for.
No, for me the essence of shopping is a communal experience that involves physically entering r booths and handling products and talking to people. After spending two or tree fruitless, boring hours surfing the web, I spent two or three truly pleasant hours visiting actual stores-where I looked at and handled digital cameras while talking to sales people. And then I spent some equally pleasurable time reading catalogs from merchants that sell cameras.