Having rightsized my mobile computing experience with my new Samsung NC20 mini-notebook, I’ve now been rendered virtually, er, immobile by a bone fracture in my left foot after tripping over in a Bangalore sidewalk pothole. I do wish I had a more dramatic tale to tell!

After some highly efficient and friendly treatment at a nearby hospital (where I have been registered somehow appropriately as Mr Drown), I now find myself wearing a grandly-named SP Walker short pneumatic walking brace made by a company called Aircast.

This is a huge advance on a traditional plaster cast, not least because it gives you greater freedom to hobble around and you can remove it when you want to go to sleep at night. It also contains some quite nifty technology, including two adjustable air cells that you can inflate for what the manufacturer describes as a "total contact” fit as well as secure support.

Overall I’m really impressed with the product, but I can’t help wondering how it could be further improved over the next few years with the injection of a dose of digital intelligence, such as sensors that determine the exact size of the foot to automatically ensure the perfect fit and the right pneumatic pressure. Who knows, one day it might even be impossible to install cameras that could take x-ray images of the foot and transmit them over wireless to the doctor, thereby reducing the need for physical examinations. The possibilities are endless.

Meanwhile, I will sit and suffer in silence.