Forget Smart Phones: Now There's a Laptop Vending Machine
Posted by Gabriella_Mangino on Wednesday, Sep 01, 2010
In 215 BC, a Greek mathematician set up a vending station for holy water. Since then vending and lending has evolved so you get a candy bar from the office machine, or use Zipcars to borrow a car for the day. But now Laptops Anytime, is starting a new kind of “self-service revolution,” with a service to feed your always growing technological addiction.
Simply find a Laptop Anytime station, swipe your credit card and grab the unlocked laptop and you’ve got approximately 5 hours of fun before the screen turns black (they don’t come with powercords). When you’re finished, return it to the station, and the machine’s memory is wiped clean and the batteries recharge for the next renter.
Why would you need to rent a laptop?
Well, if you “consider yourself “naked” without technology" then having a laptop available for rental on university campuses, in libraries or at the local coffee shop could alleviate technological withdrawal. Laptops Anytime identifies their primary demographic as middle to upper-middle class males and females between 14 and 45 that already own computer and/or smart phone.
The Laptops Anytime FAQ also claims having a laptop is nearly a necessity—
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a " want" is defined as having a strong desire for something. The word “need” is defined as lack of the means of subsistence. In every arena of life, the two concepts are opposing elements (Merriam-Webster Online). While laptops are generally defined as a “want,” an available mobile laptop can serve as a life-saver when one’s own laptop is in the repairshop, one is physically removed from one’s personal machine, one is unable or unwilling to carry one’s personal laptop due to distance, weight or circumstance or one simply requires a mobile tech device with a large screen.
So now if you’re ready to rent a laptop, but don’t have access to the a Laptop Anytime station—check out their website to set up one up. All you need is some money, a 110V outlet, and one of their netbook or laptop dispensing stations (there’s even one shaped like a giant coffee cup) and you’ve got a laptop, anytime.
See also:
Laptop turning into a giant touchscreen phone
Laptop’s blue glow could keep you awake
Laptop Orchestra
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About the author
Sometimes the world has a load of questions (me too). gabriella@motherboard.tv
