Several news items caught my eye this week and I was struck by how intertwined they are. Our former dependence on electronics is now a full-blown addiction, and we’re happily shoveling our money into these things. Despite the new tech, we’re seeing bad behaviors, forgetting the good behaviors, and we might not be as happy as we think we are.

First, Amazon reported that they now sell more Kindle e-book readers than hardcover editions: 180 Kindles for every 100 books. This is interesting in light of a recent report saying that electronic books and publications can take as much as 10% longer to read; the iPad was between 3% - 4%. I don’t own one (I read them on my laptop), but the folks I know who have one say they love the variety of materials at their fingertips. It reminds me of the joy I felt when I got my first MP3 player - I didn’t have to prepare for a journey by carefully selecting the CDs or (showing my age here) cassette tapes to take. That I could reach in my pocket and choose from thousands of songs at the flick of a finger brought a low-rent rapture. (It’s not an iPod though.)

Second, the availability of iPads is still low and folks are gobbling them up like candy. The “me too” crowd is announcing their own versions, so be prepared for an iPhone-Android sort of battle to play out on tablets. Why are they popular? Because of the number of apps that allow you to use an iPad like a reader and, moreover, a book. These apps come complete with simulated page turns, the ability to “dog ear” a page to mark it and all the other touches that help a piece of plastic behave like paper. That’s right - the goal is to make electronics “feel” like paper.

Third, Apple could soon overtake Microsoft in revenue. They have delivered a sort of seamless interoperability between platforms that Microsoft has never matched. Windows architecture is clumsy and MS has never relentlessly pursued simplicity the way Apple has. An iPhone has one button on its face; the iPad operates much the same. It’s a more hassle-free existence. There’s a price for that simplicity, though.

Fourth, if you plant your flag in Apple’s court, to a large degree, they own you. iTunes works well with Apple products and gives you a simple way to buy books, music, movies and software. Apple is now the largest supplier of digital music, but don’t bring a Zune, Zen or anything else to the party - it’s Apple or nothing. Which leads to …

Fifth, Apple is defending itself, along with AT&T, in the U.S. against charges of monopolistic behavior, just as Microsoft has. They told the public AT&T’s exclusive deal for the iPhone was only two years; now it turns out that it’s five. Three years ago, Apple got smacked by the European Union who called iTunes a monopoly. New tech, old behaviors.

Sixth, Apple is responding to a letter from U.S. Representatives Edward Markey and Joe Barton charging that Apple’s location-based services invade customer’s privacy. Apple has responded saying users can turn off these functions, but do they really understand what it is and does, and how to use it? So, again, you’ve planted your flag and there you are with them looking over your shoulder.

I’ll stop despite being able to continue ad nauseum. What’s the point? I’m not saying that we’re being hemmed in. You have the choice to eschew all these shiny things and do like Wendell Berry and use paper and pencil, till the soil (mostly) with horses and live simply. We’re humans, though, and most of us are quickly bored and want new toys pretty regularly.  I’m just like all of you - I love tech (cameras in particular). These days, though, I’m wondering if it’s worth the cost. The care and feeding of this technology has a greater toll in time than capital, and time is the most precious thing we have.

Here’s an example: How many cell phones have you had? Why did you switch? Probably new features or “…it was a cooler model.” Did you love them all, or were some of them “dogs?” How easy was it to get your data to the new phone? See? You had to spend time to be able to use it as you wanted to.  While tech does give us advantages, they come at a cost.

The real point of this article is, make life easier for your customers. Let them have choices. Build rock-solid systems and be slow to change. This sounds old fashioned but, as I’ve been looking at businesses around Lexington, I’ve noticed that some of the most profitable are also the oldest. They’ve spent years or decades learning what makes their customers happy and refining that to an art. Why are Apple’s customers so dedicated? Above all, their products are simple, reliable and predictable.

A computer or system is only obsolete if it no longer serves your needs in a reasonable time (or if you can’t get parts - that’s a big one). The U.S. Treasury still creates coin press masters with a machine that’s over a hundred years old. Why? Why not? It works perfectly and there are no ugly surprises.

While Apple, Microsoft, Intel and other large corporations are battling for world domination, it seems that, for the average small-to-medium-business, having an army of loyal customers in an age of throw-away gadgets is a real key to success.

Ask yourself, do you have simple, reliable, one-button systems for your customers? Better yet, ask them how to build one.