Technology’s Trivial Pursuits

– Blackberry’s Revival. If ever a cat has had nine lives, it is Research in Motion’s Blackberry product line. In the past year the company has survived the resignation of many of its senior managers, including the two co-presidents; the disastrous introduction of its Playbook tablet; the switch to a new operating system for its phones; a stock slide into oblivion; and sharply declining sales. Blackberry has a chance to turn around its US performance, but that will require some powerful announcements at May’s Blackberry World conference. I am not optimistic.

– Terrafugia Plane (www.terrafugia.com). Some ideas are just too good to die, and the autogyro of the 1930’s is one of them. Half airplane, half automobile, the device was supposed to allow commuters to spend most of their time in the air, to and from work. It didn’t catch on, seventy years ago, but neither is it dead. A new version was the toast of the 2012 New York Automobile Show this spring.