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The Wonderfulness of Modern Technology
By Fritz Burmeister

Posted February 11, 2007

Adds in the media often boast of the latest technology contained in the advertised product. Merchants try to lure us into the purchase of a gadget or other paraphernalia by claiming it to be the most recent brainchild of industry’s inventive mind. Reading or listening to these adds gives us a feeling of being left behind, not keeping up with the Jones’s, if we choose not to invest in one of these gizmos such as the new and improved cell phone, the latest digital camera equipment or in a robotic lawnmower that plays “Stormy Weather” while cutting the grass. 

Undoubtedly, some of these devices are superb time savers. Computerized household appliances, for instance, can cut short the time it takes to put a meal on the table. Other devices are fabulous entertainers. High definition TV, DVD players, game players and even the PC are examples of sensational time killers. 

The automobile has not been left out to be loaded with extras that defies the imagination of yesteryear’s driver. “Loaded” used to mean that the car is equipped with an AM radio, a heater and a clock! Nowadays the car radio plays AM, FM stereo, cassettes and CD’s. Controls are sometimes located in the steering wheel, making room for other high tech toys in the dashboard. The old heater is replaced by a climate control system, that is able to maintain constant temperature, summer or winter. The trip computer calculates and indicates gas mileage at various speeds, total gas consumption on a particular trip and distance traveled.  

One of the latest contraptions installed in an automobile is the Global Positioning System (GPS). This system, developed by the Department of Defense and maintained by the USAF has now invaded the private sector. It is a modern navigation system consisting of several satellites in Earth orbit, which provide position, speed and direction to a receiver installed in a car. Taxi drivers may find this very helpful when on the way to pick up a party at an at an unfamiliar location. Additionally, the system provides a moving map with surrounding streets and landmarks, shown on a display in the dashboard, so the driver knows at all times where he was, where he is and where he is going. 

But there is more. DVDs are replacing Video cassettes for watching home movies. The home encyclopedia, once the source of information for the inquisitive person, has now taken a back-burner position. The PC with its vast pool of information has degraded the encyclopedia to a decorative dust catcher on the book shelf. And with its multiple capabilities like receiving, sending, storing, disseminating and transmitting information, the PC is rapidly becoming a permanent fixture in the home. 

In summary, modern technology has given us those wondrous things, but the question is: Where will it all end? Where, for instance, is the limit to miniaturization ? Somewhere it was reported that there are belt buckles that play videos! Isn’t that something we always wanted, but were afraid to ask for ? The electronic industry with its high tech capabilities seems to continue to create articles that, not too long ago, bordered on science fiction. And why is industry doing that? Probably because it can and to demonstrate that things always advance from a simpler to a more complicated structure. Dialectic materialism was the term once used by leaders of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War to justify progressing toward more sophisticated weapon systems. 

And where do we, the consumer, stand in all this? Modern technology, no doubt, has made certain aspects of our lives easier and even more interesting by providing items that are time-saving, entertaining and efficient. But it definitely has made our lives more complicated as well. 

The functional multiplicity of the gadgets is seldom used or understood and in many cases not even desired. To take full advantage of the gadget’s capabilities requires to master a button-pushing program explained in the instruction manual. Reading the manual, or better studying it, may be a hair-raising experience. The English in this multi-language manual must be a Taiwanese translation, in which choice of words and sentence structure often do not conform to objective writing needed here, adding to the confusion of an already complicated subject. But with patience, diligence and a certain amount of frustration one may get the gist of what the author(s) were trying to convey. If you have forgotten the button-pushing sequence the next time you want to play with your toy, re-visiting the user’s guide will be required. 

Keeping pace with modern technological advances is another cause for irritation, particularly among members of the older generation. When they fail to make their cell phone also function as a camera or video player because there are too many keys marked with hieroglyphics, or their PC has passed the ripe old age of 5 years, they become the laughing stock of their children. The generation gap, that once was thought to be closing, is opening up again due to the wonderfulness of modern technology. But it probably would be fool-hardy to think that the industry would accommodate the “old growth” by simplifying future products, thereby reversing the trend of widening the gap.


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