Intel Corp (INTC)

[Tim May]

I've been using my Retina MacBook Pro on a daily basis for almost two years now. It gets more use than my Mac Pro (2013 model, the "cylinder"), mainly for convenience reasons. The Mac Pro is used for video editing and hookup to my keyboard (music keyboard) and a bunch of drives.

I also have no interest in any of the watches or wearables. I like my watch to be simple, utterly waterproof, and no charging or batteries. I have a titanium Casio "Eco-Drive" diver-type watch. Powered by either sunlight or even ordinary indoor lighting. It's been hassle-free for several years. (I also like the diver-type rotating bezel because I can easily time short events, like for cooking. A digital stopwatch is overkill for such simple uses.) No scratches on the "Hardlex" watch face, just some wear and tear on the rubber strap.

And my new iPhone 6 (replacement for a cracked screen on my 5S) has various "fitness" apps, which I have only used for bicycling and hiking (routes, miles traveled, etc.) I can't think of anything that a smart watch or wearable could have that isn't already covered by a basically indestructible wristwatch and my cell phone, which is always with me when I'm out of the house.

I just don't see much of a niche for smart watches.

Given the way the surge in digital watches in the 70s and early 80s gave way to a return to analog-display watches at all parts of the spectrum, I expect much the same for the uber-complicated smart watches. (It may even be declared illegal to consult a smart watch while driving...probably depends on how complicated the usage is, and on the discretion of a cop....someone staring at a video display on their wrist would likely fall afoul of the current cellphone/texting restrictions.)

Finally, I think this whole "Internet of Things" thing is a crock. The things that need to be linked and networked already are (computers, phones, DVR, televisions, printers). No real need for thermostats to be so-linked (not for homes....I just manually set mine and move on). No need for toasters and microwaves and refrigerators to have a MAC address!

Call me an old fogey, but I just don't see the "value proposition" here.

--Tim