Real Innovation

In the computer industry people talk about innovation all the time. However, things really don't change that much despite claims to the contrary. However, I saw an example of some real innovation. Amana has a refrigerator with a dry erase surface. You no longer need a separate board to leave notes. You just right it on the fridge. If you're in the market for a fridge you really need to take a look at it. Hopefully, this'll expand to more models/vendors.

The cool part is that this isn't just tweaking an existing item until it screams. Its not a slightly more efficient motor, better layout, or other minor change. It is a real and actual new thing. In computers, we're still using the same basic "desktop"metaphor that we've been using for twenty plus years with very little improvement or refinement. Here's hoping that the billions that are spent on IT will bring us some real improvements.