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. |
