Death of a Friend

I got an email yesterday. I present it here for your full review:

The first generation Nook, beautiful in its simplicity, an Ereader which utilized E-Ink Technology.  It was a selling point of product, the fact that the screen was not backlit, but that read closer to an actual book. You could even swipe on the bottom of the Nook to turn the pages, as if to give you the feel of turning the page with a wet finger. It also had a long battery life, something that the newer Samsung produced Nook’s didn’t have.

Mind you, it is a dedicated ereader. Although it had the capability, it was very difficult to surf the internet on the device. Apps could not be installed on it. It came with only two games, sudoku and chess, both of which seem oddly appropriate for readers. It was light weight, could be carried in your pocket, pretty hardy, though I had to replace it once when the plastic cover cracked where you pressed to turn the page. The replacement has lasted me ever since.

You could even download ebooks checked out from the local library. And it came with not only wifi but also with some cellular capability so that you could buy and download books without being connected.

I have moved on to other tablets, some of which I use as an ereader, but every so often, when I got a little nostalgic, or when I felt too inundated with too much technology hitting me at once, notifications of emails, facebook updates, other app interruptions, I could pick up my First Generation Nook and open a book, concentrating only on reading.

Yesterday was already an emotional day. The news of the Death of the First Generation Nook put me in a depressed mood, a sort of realization that the simple things are being erased from this world. It was a realization that in our modern times usefulness is not necessarily enough anymore. Things, perhaps even people, have to be more than useful, they have to be attractive or effective or complex. They have to work quickly and be adaptable.

I called Barnes and Noble. They gave me a coupon for half-off there newest E-Ink ereader. I bought it, only because I was angry. I don’t know what to do with my First Generation Nook. Commercially, it is worthless unable to be modified really. I would have hoped that there would have been some better use for it. Perhaps, I’ll bury it in the backyard, erect a monument, visit it when I feel merely useful, not attractive or effective or complex.