Xmas season 2011 it had been a long year starting with social upheaval in the middle-east and northern Africa which would eventually uproot the western civilization... on the environmental front, the social unrest was rivaled by calamities of increasing magnitude (flooding, earth-quakes and tsunami's) weakening the civilized countries even more and apparently quickening their downfall... on the technology front, the retirement of the space shuttle created a hole in space exploration as its successors (Zenit-3F, Vega, Taurus II or Simorgh) weren't ready for the challenge yet; similarly, on the personal entertainment and information front, Symbian, the renowned smartphone operating system was shelved by NOKIA even though the company didn't have a replacement ready yet... LA suburb, a small phone shop, lunch time a tall woman, late twenties, blond mid-long hair, blue eyes under a high forehead stepped decisively into the shop; the owner, a middle-aged man standing behind the counter looked expectantly at her, hoping for a good sales considering her styled clothing and accessories. then he frowned seeing another customer entering, a tall broad shouldered man wearing black sunglasses and leather jacket; where the **** was John? he should have been back from his lunch by now! that kid didn't know the meaning of punctuality... the woman stepped directly to the counter and said: "i'm looking for a Christmas present for my husband... there are all those shiny new smart phones, just the display and no buttons" "yes, certainly madam. we have the iPhone 5 that came out recently; 1 GB of memory and a dual-core processor!" "no no, he hates iPhone; in fact he is a NOKIA fan." "that's a pity madam; NOKIA announced a number of new Windows smart phones a few weeks ago but unfortunately they won't be available this year anymore..." "yes, i know, but i think he would prefer something similar to the N900; he always calls it his pocket computer..." "well, there would be the E7; it has a very nice keyboard too..." "no no, that's Symbian; it's something else, more computer like..." "oh, maybe an ANDroid device?" "no, that's not from NOKIA, is it?" the 2nd customer who had stationed himself somewhat behind the lady said "the meego phone?" with a touch of impatience in his cavernous voice "yes yes, exactly, that's the one!" "oh, i'm sorry madam, but we don't keep that phone on stock; nor does our supplier in fact. the back order can last up to three weeks; - it was very demanded a couple months ago when it came out, but already now newer phones offer comparable or even better features; - and it is uncertain how long NOKIA is going to support the platform..." the tall man turned abruptly on his heels and walked towards the door "i'll be with you in a second sir..." the man barely turned his head while uttering "i'll be back..."