Biggs namechecks a few products that have succeeded through simplicity for non-geeky consumers: The media player, the wireless photo storage device, and 's sub-US$700 HD TV screen.

Most importantly, Biggs doesn't think consumers are simply buying cheaper gadgets because of the economy. Cash concerns may be what prod them to look at dumb tech, he says, but the real driver is the rise of online storage, editing and sharing tools:

Devices like the Peek and the Flip point to a consumer focused on the creation of web content. Whereas our parents wanted to "store" information - in the form of slides, records, tapes, and the like - this generation wants to "dump" information onto YouTube, Facebook, and the cloud.

Chalk it up to a bad economy if you want, but I think this is a backlash. For years we've been saddled with wonky hardware with 400-page manuals and smartphones that could open VNC connections with NASA but couldn't save your pictures to Flickr. The tide has turned, friends, and the dumb stuff is winning.

While editing down Biggs' essay to be -- well, simpler like the Flip, I couldn't help noticing that John and I also rely on Internet-based dumb tech now, rather than the much more powerful desktop publishing tools I used as a Condé Nast editor nearly a decade ago. Goodbye , hello !