11/12/2019
Fans of movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, or the more recent Deadpool, will understand what breaking the fourth wall means. But for the sake of this post, I’m applying the concept to when technological breakthroughs go beyond the boundaries of sight and sound.
The fourth wall is what we call the psychological process of, intentionally or unintentionally, creating boundaries to surround our experience. It’s our mind’s way of giving things context. And this concept of a fourth wall goes beyond just when an actor talks directly to the audience. In fact, you can apply the wall idea to a number of mediums—only, it often goes by different names.
For instance, when dealing with volume or space, you know the fourth wall as the fourth dimension. When it comes to literature, the fourth wall is actually called metafiction. And with technology, well, we’re just going to call it the fourth wall… mostly because of the title of this post.
We are used to using our eyes and ears when working with technology—through dings and chirps that let us know we have an alert, or through the screen you’re reading this content on. We even use touch to interface with our devices via the vibrate alerts or keyboard and mouse clicks. But what about affecting our surroundings in a different way through that sound, or—even better—breaking the fourth wall with smell?
LG has recently created a new smartphone that allows the user to repel insects through a sound emitted from the phone body. The tone is outside the range of human hearing—even beyond that of teenagers—but is ideal for, heh, annoying mosquitos. The repellent innovation is being promoted as a way to help prevent blood-borne pathogens often carried by the tiny pests, like malaria.
Now, if only they had an app for getting rid of annoying co-workers…
FEATURED
Join Sage at the Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference 2026 in Las Vegas. Visit our booth to discover solutions that extend device lifecycles, reduce costs, maximize IT value, and support sustainability goals through repair, redeployment, refurbishment, remarketing, and recycling services.
MOST RECENT
Removing hard drives before IT asset disposal may seem like a security best practice, but it can create gaps in visibility. Explore the overlooked risks in data destruction policies and how organizations can build a more secure, auditable ITAD process.
Your input can help future organizations make confident IT asset disposition decisions. Share an honest review on Gartner Peer Insights and tell others about Sage’s customer service, support, capabilities, and implementation experience. Your feedback helps us improve while supporting your peers with valuable, real-world insights.
Rising technology costs are pushing organizations to rethink device management. A repair-first IT asset lifecycle strategy can significantly reduce costs, extend hardware lifecycles, improve employee productivity, and support sustainability goals by maximizing the value of existing devices before considering replacement or recycling.
11/12/2019
Fans of movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, or the more recent Deadpool, will understand what breaking the fourth wall means. But for the sake of this post, I’m applying the concept to when technological breakthroughs go beyond the boundaries of sight and sound.
The fourth wall is what we call the psychological process of, intentionally or unintentionally, creating boundaries to surround our experience. It’s our mind’s way of giving things context. And this concept of a fourth wall goes beyond just when an actor talks directly to the audience. In fact, you can apply the wall idea to a number of mediums—only, it often goes by different names.
For instance, when dealing with volume or space, you know the fourth wall as the fourth dimension. When it comes to literature, the fourth wall is actually called metafiction. And with technology, well, we’re just going to call it the fourth wall… mostly because of the title of this post.
We are used to using our eyes and ears when working with technology—through dings and chirps that let us know we have an alert, or through the screen you’re reading this content on. We even use touch to interface with our devices via the vibrate alerts or keyboard and mouse clicks. But what about affecting our surroundings in a different way through that sound, or—even better—breaking the fourth wall with smell?
LG has recently created a new smartphone that allows the user to repel insects through a sound emitted from the phone body. The tone is outside the range of human hearing—even beyond that of teenagers—but is ideal for, heh, annoying mosquitos. The repellent innovation is being promoted as a way to help prevent blood-borne pathogens often carried by the tiny pests, like malaria.
Now, if only they had an app for getting rid of annoying co-workers…
FEATURED
Join Sage at the Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference 2026 in Las Vegas. Visit our booth to discover solutions that extend device lifecycles, reduce costs, maximize IT value, and support sustainability goals through repair, redeployment, refurbishment, remarketing, and recycling services.
MOST RECENT
Removing hard drives before IT asset disposal may seem like a security best practice, but it can create gaps in visibility. Explore the overlooked risks in data destruction policies and how organizations can build a more secure, auditable ITAD process.
Your input can help future organizations make confident IT asset disposition decisions. Share an honest review on Gartner Peer Insights and tell others about Sage’s customer service, support, capabilities, and implementation experience. Your feedback helps us improve while supporting your peers with valuable, real-world insights.
Rising technology costs are pushing organizations to rethink device management. A repair-first IT asset lifecycle strategy can significantly reduce costs, extend hardware lifecycles, improve employee productivity, and support sustainability goals by maximizing the value of existing devices before considering replacement or recycling.
Get Started. Reach Out Today.
"*" indicates required fields
Recommended Articles




