Friday, July 2, 2010

Misplaced Priorities?

I saw the Apple iPhone ad linked below on TV last night. While I would be very happy to have an iPhone to use (read: play with), I did take issue with some of the scenes presented in the ad. Specifically, in a couple of scenes what looks like a businessman in a hotel room is using the video-call function to view either his child crawling or his wife. While this is an undeniable advance in wireless connectivity and should be celebrated as such, couldn't such technology be put to better use?

Being separated by about 600 miles from my fiancee this summer due to internship assignments, I would like to be able to video-chat with her occasionally. On the other hand I would much prefer being able to telecommute to my job so that I could be with her in person. Why isn't there 'an app for that'? Shouldn't we be making it easier to stay close to our families rather than making it more convenient, even seemingly attractive, to be apart?

Of course, maybe if I had an iPhone I would understand...