3-Dumb

I've been having conversations with friends recently about whether or not technology is a good thing. Let me rephrase that -- technology is a good thing, but whether or not MORE technology for technology's sake is a good thing. Most of our conversations get back to how cellphones do way too much. Being a Crackberry addict, I usually don't do well in these debates. Regular TBN reader, Tony Braithwaite, sent me this wonderful Seinfeld clip from his March 3rd appearance on Letterman. It pretty much sums up AXB's own views on the cellphone discussion. The whole clip is funny, but you can skip to the 2:45 mark if you want the bit about the cellphone.

Anywho, even though fancy cellphones are one of my vices, here's a technology thing I think we can all agree is a waste of time: Newspapers with a 3-D section. Really?!?! The Philly Inquirer announced today that it will have a page that will include 3-D pictures and ads starting on June 13th.

Let me get this straight, newspapers sales continue to decline. So, to get more people to buy newspapers, you're going to add a page AND an extra pair of 3-D glasses to view the page. How does this help sales? In this fast-paced internet age that makes news of any kind so easy to get you're going to challenge readers to not only buy a paper -- which already is tough -- but to also put on some cheap ass glasses to look at said ad. Yeah...I see this fizzling out after about a month. 3-D isn't even that special. When I saw Avatar in 3-D AND Imax, I would take my glasses off for long portions of the movie to see what it looked like. Basically, it was like watching a movie with one contact missing. Nothing to write home about if ask me.

Will a lot of people buy this issue on the 13th? Yes. Will I? Probably -- but only once just to see what it's like. This is a stupid gimmick that won't last. Just because Playboy is making a 3-D centerfold, doesn't mean the next thing we need to see is a 3-D ad for the latest Verizon cellphone. But, I am a sucker for a fancy cellphone, so who knows!