When I asked my significant other what bothered him most about computers, his reply was, “The size of the keyboard.” He went on to say that his biggest frustration is the learning curve computers impose if they were previously inaccessible to you.
Those of us with grandmothers who never learned to drive will know that it all comes down to barriers and inaccessibility.
But that generation is starting to disappear and, although its legacy remains with us, the technological world is evolving at a rapid rate.
It was one of the founders of Intel, Gordon Moore, who coined Moore’s Law in 1965. He observed the rapid growth in the number of transistors per integrated circuit, and predicted that the growth would continue. Moore’s Law is supported by Intel’s own development: the company has managed to double the number of transistors every few years.
Moore’s Law has robbed the consumer of the ability to digest, to explore and to learn. The rapid growth of technology sweeps through not only PCs and business applications but also digital cameras, telephones and cellphones. Very few new cars now come without an onboard computer.
I don’t think we will ever be able to put the brakes on technology. But it will change, improve, adapt and replace founding technologies as they become obsolete. We as consumers will not be able to snub the use of technology as even the latest fridge on the showroom floor comes equipped with the ability to pre-order your milk.
A local cellphone development house, Leaf Wireless, showed me last week how you can close your garage door with your cellphone — and you don’t have to be in the country to do that.
Have a look at the latest developments in the PlayStation space — soon you are going to need only one device to watch DVDs, connect to the Internet, play network games, listen to music, do the kids’ homework — and if you speak to it nicely, it might just get your Sony Aibo (robotic dog) to do the dishes.
As for business applications, the sky’s the limit. But this applies also to techno crimes. Cyber attacks, hackers and IT security threats require a diatribe of their own.
To our generation my advice is: stay ahead of your game. Don’t avoid technology, but don’t follow slavishly. If it doesn’t manage to make a joke of your credit-card allowance, it will your social life. I have seen the downfall of many a good man who developed a bond with his keyboard, mouse and the latest copy of Tomb Raider. I wonder just how many girls are going to enter the school system in five years’ time with the name of Lara Croft.