a decree went out

In those days, a decree went out among the land, and all the people were like, "We like our cell phones, and we like our computers, and we like our mp3 players, but like, can't we simplify things a bit." And, yea, there were many false messiahs in those days, but they were easy to spot because they were clunky.

And verily, the land was divided among various sects of techies, and each produced their own hopeful messiahs. And, yea, people thought the messiah would come from one of two of these, the palms and the blackberries.

The palms brought forth treo. And treo was very organized. And the people came to treo and said, "lord, tell us what we should do." And treo said, "At 9 a.m. you are scheduled to work. At 10:30, you have a conference call. At 12, you have lunch for an hour. At 2 p.m. your dry cleaning is ready. And at 5 p.m. you are heading home." And the people said, "Uh, thanks. We were kind of hoping for something deeper, but that's useful."

The blackberries brought forth a series of messiahs that were hard to remember because they all had numbers for names. And the people said, "please, 6210, tell us what is the meaning of life?" And their master replied, "you have a new email." And the blackberry followers became addicted, and went everywhere with their master.

And, yea, these would-be messiahs worked many wonders in the land, and many professionals didst follow them. But most of the people of the land were overwhelmed by their complexities, and, verily, it was kind of expensive to become a disciple.