Have you ever cursed the uncomfortable weight and bulkiness of the laptop slung over your shoulder while thinking that computer systems shouldn’t really be labelled as ‘portable’ as long as they’re pulling your spine off kilter?
Improvisation team Improv Everywhere prove the advantages of modern portable computing. Credit: Improv Everywhere.
If so, then the antics of Improv Everywhere should perhaps make you take stock of the physical advantages and ease-of-use generally associated with even the most unappealing of laptop computers.
Specifically, the improvisation team recently sent three computer-laden “agents” to a Starbucks in New York, where they proceeded to occupy window seats (for maximum exposure) and set up their portable computers to enjoy the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi connectivity.
However, while other patrons tapped away diligently on their lighter-than-air laptops, the trio of undercover team members instead hauled in their own CRT monitors atop roller-suitcases filled with archaic PC units and all the prerequisite cabling and accessories to afford uninterrupted portable computing.
The staggered spectacle of not one, not two, but three people bodily dragging outdated computer equipment into the coffee shop as though it were something they do on a daily basis left staff and customers predictably open-mouthed.
To Starbucks’ credit, the staff in attendance did not attempt to pester, question or oust the computer freaks, not least because they all purchased a beverage to better enjoy their Net surfing. Of course, the lack of table space caused by a hulking CRT monitor and a proper QWERTY keyboard and mouse meant they were likely forced to hold the drink in one hand while typing with the other.
While the stunt certainly shows how far genuinely portable computing has come, which is reflected perfectly in the reaction garnered by fellow coffee drinkers -- one person actually thinks the computers are set up for public use -- it’s perhaps still a little too soon to provoke a truly monumental response.
Plenty of people still use CRT monitors, horizontal PC units (and even Windows 95 is probably still in use somewhere in the world). Perhaps such a stunt would be worth carrying out in another decade at a time when such hardware is without a doubt obsolete -- and laptops will have evolved to the size of the new iPod Nano. That would be something worth seeing.
Still, kudos to the agents for lugging all that equipment for the sake of a cheap candid camera gag.
Other famous 'missions' carried out by Improv Everywhere include Frozen Grand Central, where 200 agents suddenly stood stock still in Grand Central Station for five minutes, frozen in a multitude of everyday positions, before then moving off as though nothing had happened. One of the most popular missions is the annual No Pants day, which sees agents riding the subway without their pants. Odd looks guaranteed.
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RichFeb 27th, 2008 - 23:16:38
Some of the faces of the other customers were...well, priceless
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RichFeb 27th, 2008 - 23:16:38
Some of the faces of the other customers were...well, priceless
Report this comment