For the BathCamp evening event on 21st July 2009 (http://bathcamp.ning.com/events/bathcamponified-3-minutes-one), we asked people to present on "the one technology which has blown you away more than any other". Rather than choose Spotify, the iPhone or Gmail, I instead picked the piano as my technology: something I've enjoyed playing for (ouch) more than 30 years. Here, in slides which I tried to present in less than 3 minutes, are some of the reasons why.

1. the piano

2. I’ve been playing
~30 years (eek!)

3. all the pleasure of
programming, none
of the bullshit

4. invented 1698

5. flies in the face of usability...

6. 88-point UI

7. (not counting feet)

8. 12,000 parts

9. (10,000 moving)

10. 18-30 tonnes across 230 strings

11. ~ 895,000 made each year

12. £0 - £1.45m

13. in short: a widespread, cheap,
beautiful, elegant, mature,
evolving, growing technology

14. “without music, life
would be a mistake”
Friedrich Nietzsche

15. Q: “What are the odds of being
killed by a piano falling on you?”
A: “I don't know the exact
chances, but i know it is rare”

16. thanks
rowlf http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarnie/1372768249/
old musicians http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefnovak33/3115676722/
bullshit http://www.flickr.com/photos/slipstreamjc/853577358/
inside http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojoglad/533453798/
complicated http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjnagle/110738644/
hammer http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoder_slanger/2071748555/
action http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17571/17571-h/17571-h.htm
pressure http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitzcelt/2795295056/
piano shop http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbasanta/2074962097/
pound http://www.flickr.com/photos/smigol/2467443756/
pedals http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelinger/2594440860/
falling piano http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacek_nl/1149140307/
keys http://www.flickr.com/photos/38355353@N00/411599127/