Mindbat

I’m reading Wil Wheaton’s Just a Geek, for two reasons: because I’ve enjoyed his blog, and wanted to check out more of his writing. And because I’m hoping he can help.

If you don’t already know, Just a Geek is Wil’s book about his shift from being “That Guy Who Used to be on Star Trek” to the writer, blogger, and all-around geek Wil Wheaton.

Here’s a guy who went from working on a show with millions of adoring fans, to being an out-of-work actor struggling with his bills, to a popular writer who’s given keynotes at PAX and has done hilarious cameos on The Guild and Big Bang Theory.

And here’s the thing: he quit Star Trek. He wasn’t fired, they didn’t replace him with someone else, he walked away. Walked away from certain success to an uncertain future. He writes about how that decision haunted him, like my decision’s been haunting me.

You see, I used to work at NASA. And not as a janitor or maintenance guy. I was an optical engineer, responsible for putting together instruments for the likes of the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. I was paid really well to do really challenging work with brilliant people.

But I quit. Five years after I started working as a wide-eyed college kid, my wife and I picked up and moved to Arkansas, leaving all that behind.

And I’ve been wondering if I made the right decision ever since.

So I’m reading Just a Geek, hoping Wil’s story will help me feel better about my own past, that learning how he grew beyond working on and then leaving Star Trek will help me put my own demons to rest.

‘Cause some nights I still dream that I’m back there at the Goddard Space Flight Center, working to expand our knowledge of the universe.

Me: Hey, iPad! Mind if I install this cool KoboBooks app I’ve heard so much about?

iPad: Sure thing! Just gimme your iTunes password.

Me: I don’t have an iTunes account.

iPad: No account, no software.

Me: Ok…Let’s just fire up mail.google.com, so I can check my email.

iPad: Nope.

Me: No?! I can’t check my email?

iPad: Sure thing! Just enter your .Mac password…

Me: Screw this. I’m buying a netbook.

I’ve just been reminded why I left Mac for Linux.

Me (to store rep): “Can I install and play with some apps on this demo iPad so I can decide if I want to buy one?”

Rep: “Nope. Use just what’s installed.”

…and that’s when I left. If I can’t be allowed into the Walled Garden of Apple long enough to decide if I want to spend some money there, I’ll stick with my open-source.

I’m off to Best Buy to look at a Linux-compatible netbook.

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Everybody’s got ‘em. Here’s mine:

What Will Change Radically:

1. Ebooks. In 2009 they really started taking off. With the release of Apple’s Tablet, the Nook finally appearing in stores, and Borders launching their own reader/ebook service, the world of publishing will finally start lurching into the 21st century.
2. The OS Wars. With the release of Google’s Chrome OS netbooks, coupled with the increasing market share of Android on smartphones, the internet revolution will be complete. Mac vs Windows won’t matter as much to users anymore, since everything important (email, documents, reading) will either work on their phone or in their browser. Only coders and gamers will care about platforms as such anymore, since you’ll still need a full-featured OS to develop or play on.
3. Online Publishing. The Nook and the Kindle are already experimenting with subscription-based magazine and newspaper content. This market will grow to replace the paper-based income streams for most newspapers and magazines. Some customers will still want their ad-based online content, and some will still want a physical copy, but most will switch over to the convenience of electronic versions. Publishers will also move in this space when they see it’s a way to replicate their old revenue streams in the new electronic age.

What Will Stay The Same:

1. Sci-fi/Fantasy Publishing. While everyone else starts to pile on the ebook wagon, genre presses (especially the small ones, that could benefit the most from electronic distribution) will continue to take timid steps in the direction of electronic publishing, but refuse to embrace it.
2. M$ dominance. Even though Google is pulling the rug out from under Windows, sheer inertia will keep them moving forward in the marketplace for the next year or two. That, and the videogame industry.
3. Books. They won’t go anywhere. They’ll just finally be seen for what they are: 500-year-old relics that have a lot of nostalgic value, but don’t meet the needs of most people anymore.

What do you think? How far off am I?