"We’re so accessible, we’re inaccessible."

"We can’t find the off switch on our devices or on ourselves."

"We want to wear an iPod as much to listen to our own playlists as to block out the rest of the world and protect ourselves from all the noise."

"An iPod says, 'Leave me alone.  I want my space and I’m in it.  I’m taking control of what input comes my way.'"

"We are everywhere except where we actually are physically. "

"Interfaces on new products like the Wii and the iPhone use direct manipulation.   On the iPhone, it’s flick and pinch.  On the Wii, the remote brings movement to game play.   These products bring us back into our bodies after years of 'leaving our bodies to inhabit our computers."

"We have so many powerful technologies, and at the same time as we celebrate these powerful technologies, we feel increasingly powerless."

"We manage our time.  We don’t manage our attention.  Managing time is about tasks.  Managing attention is about intention.  Managing time is an action journey.  Managing attention is an emotional journey."

"The always-on lifestyle, with endless opportunities for communication and interaction -- or put another way -- endless stimulation -- is gradually being replaced with evidence of our emerging desire for exhilaration -- specifically, the exhilaration that comes with creation and being creators.  Stimulation is all abut those things that come at us externally.  Exhilaration is something that comes from within."

"Teens are engaging in something I have come to call, 'semi-sync' communication.  That is, when they exchange text messages, they respond more quickly than one might respond to an (async) email and yet, not as quickly as one might to a (sync) phone call.   Teens think email can be burdensome and phone calls are intrusive.  Semi-sync communicating allows them to stay present with where they are and who they're with, and at the same time, give a quick answer to the person texting them."

"The 'new new thing' is quality of life – this translates to product design as REMOVE EVERYTHING EXTRANEOUS.  The iPod is the canonical product.  McDonald’s premium coffee says, quality of life is here! at McDonalds!  Target, now selling designer works from Michael Graves and other designers,  foreshadows what will be a bigger and bigger trend among consumers.  Consumers will ask, 'What adds to my quality of life?'"

In my framework of eras, it goes like this:
1945-65     products and services were about convenience
1965-1985  products and services were about features
1985-2005  products and services were about ease of use
2005-2025  products and services are about quality of life

"Everything in nature that works seems to have a cycle – the life cycle of a plant, the seasons – summer, fall, winter, spring.  Athletes train with cycles in mind – cycles of high performance, cycles of different types of workouts, periods of rest.  Always on doesn’t respect this.  And if there is no winter, there is also no spring."