Shock of the New

Do you lust after the latest and greatest gadget, even if you're not quite sure what it even does or how you're going to use it? While all companies use our instinctive desire for new product against us, it seems that one, Apple , has elevated this ability to push our "new product" buttons to an artform. iPod, iPhone, MacBook Air, AppleTV, it seems that if it has randomly placed capital letters in it, we want it. And if you're like me, you probably don't spare a thought as to why.

Personally I like to think that we are closer to our monkey cousins than we want to admit. In monkey form the desire to acquire spurred fruit picking, which resulted in a well fed monkey. Standing in the glittering environment of, say, an Apple store our poor monkey brain is overcome with the instinct to pick. And so we end up staggering home burdened with more tech than NASA saw fit to embed into the space shuttle.

The benefit of this instinctive gathering is obvious to Apple as seen in their burgeoning cash pile and record sales and profits, but what do we get from it apart from wallet strain? Well gorgeous pieces of industrial design, obviously, but in many ways my MacBook Pro is already faster than I need for nearly all my day to day computing needs, my old phone still manages to connect me to anyone whose phone number I know and I CN EVN TXT 2 HWEVR I WNT.

So am I going to continue to fall for this consumer pressure to buy more and newer kit? Can I transcend my origins and overcome my inner monkey.

Of course I can. Luckily I am one of the few that actually have a real need for an iPhone. I can't actually continue to work without a MacBook Air and my old iPod no longer goes with my jacket. All good solid reasons for buying new kit.

See you in the nearest Apple store.