Aside: Need vs. Want

Before we get too far into this list of things I need, I thought I'd take a moment to explain what I mean. When I declare that I need something here, I will do my best to make sure that:

• I have identified a type of work, a form of expression, or a routine task that I am engaged in and that would be enhanced by the technology.

• I have thought through the circumstances of its use enough to explain them lucidly.

The first criterion is to make sure that I don't fill up the page with things I merely want. There's lots of stuff that I want and that I feel drawn to. But often I can't and don't feel the need to apply any rational effort to justifying why. I have a particular weakness, for example, for some types of shoes.

But I don't really need any more shoes. I can't think of a single case where another pair of shoes would make a significant impact on any sort of activity I do. Ok, maybe golf. But as golf shoes are my last equipment-centric excuse for not being any good, I am reluctant to get them. I need golf shoes more as an excuse than as performance enhancing footwear.

The second criterion is a nod towards implementation and/or evaluation of candidate technologies. I want to explain needs in a way that suggests the shape and function of technologies to others who might help me locate, identify, design, or build them.