HP Elite Dragonfly has an advert out right now that sets my teeth on edge. The actual product sounds like a good idea - a feature that lets you cut out background noise while you're on a video call. It's the narrative that maddens me, not the product.
Here's the scenario: the father is on an important call and the son runs in playing a recorder (badly). The son keeps making noise and running around while the father gets more and more stressed. Then he remembers this magical feature. Meeting saved! All is well, and he can invite his son to come over and play games on the computer.
For heaven's sake, man. Ask your son to be quiet, or go play the recorder in another room. Tell him 'Dad's on an important call right now, and I need you to respect that.' Don't just let him misbehave and disturb everything because he wants to play the recorder in the living room. Technology should not replace good parenting, even in a fictional world.
If HP wants to display the wonders of this new feature, why couldn't the disturbance have been something unavoidable, such as construction works outside the window? A neighbour singing opera in the shower? Motorcycles racing by? Even a crying baby? It is during those sorts of situations that a feature like this one would be most useful.
'The rules have changed,' the advert says. Well, yes. The rules governing the workplace and the ways we work have changed drastically over the past few years. But there are still rules, and 'you can't play the recorder in the living room while Daddy is working' could be one of them. No magic features required.
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