Every week, a new and interesting human being tackles our decidedly geeky take on the Proustian Q&A. This is the Engadget Questionnaire.
In a brand new installment of our weekly smattering of questions,Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson offers his take on high-precision nerdery and the evolution of nature's most intuitive interface. To peruse all of the responses, join us just beyond the break.
What gadget do you depend on most?I can't get myself to give up on my HTC Desire Z. It's a quite dated Android cellphone by now, but the physical keyboard is perfect for tweeting, and it takes horribly blurry pictures.
Which do you look back upon most fondly?
The Game Boy Advance, definitely. Great selection of games, horrible unlit screen and interesting form factor.
Which company does the most to push the industry?
Right now, I'm most excited about the Oculus Rift by Oculus VR, Inc. High-precision nerdery driven by a strong passion that rubs off on anyone that touches it.
What is your operating system of choice?
The one I use the most is Windows 7, but for laptops, nothing beats the way OS X handles touchpad input and gestures.
What are your favorite gadget names?
I'm quite fond of anything obviously named by an engineer. The more Greek letters and references to old mythology, the better.
What are your least favorite?
Anything in the format "The AdjectiveNoun(tm)."
Which app do you depend on most?
Twitter or Spotify, depending on if I'm currently procrastinating or not.
What traits do you most deplore in a smartphone?
Non-USB cable chargers. I finally got over my hatred of non-replaceable batteries. Phones tend to get outdated by the time you need to replace the battery anyway.
Which do you most admire?
Physical keyboards, although they're definitely rare these days.
What is your idea of the perfect device?
Hands. No tools have ever gotten close to being as intuitive or versatile as what nature has evolved for us.
"I'm quite fond of anything obviously named by an engineer. The more Greek letters and references to old mythology, the better."
What is your earliest gadget memory?
I remember disassembling and putting an old analog alarm clock together. It was a lot of fun figuring out why it still worked with that one spring missing.
What technological advancement do you most admire?
The speed at which modern CPUs perform computations still blows my mind daily. The way this allows us to really apply math to solve a wide range of problems, or just change the intensity of millions of LED lights 60 [times] per second just to entertain us, is mind-blowing.
Which do you most despise?
Anything designed to hurt other people, such as weapons or YouTube comments. Other than that, I find it hard to despise tools. Some are less useful, but I don't despise them.
What fault are you most tolerant of in a gadget?
Bad documentation. I like exploring gadgets myself, and find it exciting when the documentation is wrong.
Which are you most intolerant of?
Bad pixels, or other "tolerable" flaws that really shouldn't be.
When has your smartphone been of the most help?
Google Maps to find out where I am and where I'm supposed to go. The fact that the GPS eats battery just adds to the excitement.
What device do you covet most?
I already have it, but a good keyboard is invaluable when you spend a lot of time typing. My favorite one is the ancient IBM Model M I have at home.
If you could change one thing about your phone what would it be?
I would make the battery last longer than half a day of heavy use.
What does being connected mean to you?
Access to the internet.
When are you least likely to reply to an email?
Any email that contains the words "important" or "urgent" never are, and annoy me to the point of not replying out of principle.
When did you last disconnect?
Many years ago; I don't even remember. I've tried a few times, but never last longer than a day or two.
