I enjoy technology for the sake of technology. I think that we have completely missed the capability inherent in our computers when we limit their use to internet surfing, word processing, and e-mail.
Don’t get me wrong, these are all great uses of the computer, but you don’t need a high-powered computer to do these activities. Cell phones are now very capable of handling these functions. It all boils down to the software. Can you program enough lines of code to make the computer interact at a higher level? Can we get semi-autonomous machines that control the light in our house, turn on the lights when it gets dark, control the temperature in the house etc…?
But I digress. This post is about not being able to keep up with the changes on the internet. Recently, I discovered Chrome when I downloaded Google Earth. I also found CoolIris when I was looking for a plugin for Lightroom. I just signed up for Facebook and have been wondering who else I might know with an account. I just updated the underlying software for this blog. I am now using WordPress ver 2.7.
Change is great. I like the new features that come with new toys. And with the exception of Lightroom, all were free! How does this work? Who is paying for these programmers to pay their rent and electirc bills? Again I digress.
Chrome is great. I like being able to search by typing directly in the address bar (I just discovered that IE also allows this…funny I never noticed before…) Hard to keep up. I like the graphical display (a mini page shot) in Chrome that shows the sites you visit most frequently. Cooliris is neat but a little disorienting. I feel like I’m on a boat in the ocean with gentle waves lapping at my boat….I couldn’t stop the screen…it keeps moving a little after your mouse stops. (Turns out you can turn of the gently scrolling feature to make it feel like you are on terra firma). But again, a neat graphical represenation of your searches on a huge wall that spans left and right as far as you like. Much more fun to search this way than with the simple text responses from google. But alas, something is missing and I gave up. Too much splash and not enough content….But a step in the right direction.
Google Earth is a great way to view the world. Wonderful mapping and 360 pictures are eerie. It is fun to jump into pictures and see where I am jumping.
Lightroom is finally working well for me and I just wish it could handle video images. Now that the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR can take video (probably not its claim to fame, but it appears game-changing to me), it seems appropriate to have Lightroom pick up the marker and move the ball forward. Now anyone can use high quality lenses to make movies on a Digital SLR. Wow.
And Facebook. A neat idea, but can I have a system that allows me to “rate” my friends? Not everyone comes to my house for dinner and so, everyone on facebook should not be allowed the same level of access. I have acquaintences, and friends. I have family and really close friends. I should be able to rank my contacts to change how much of my Facebook they can access…Not everyone needs to write on my wall. And those applications that are so neat…why do they have to access everything on my page (to include my friend’s information)? I would love to try those apps, but if I play, all of my friends content is opened up to the app and then by extension, to google and search engines. There should be a better lock for this…Maybe I’ll have to make my own “facebook” page… I think I’ll call it “myspatula.com”. Cause you’ll be able to “cook up” any scheme you like for keeping track of your contacts….
But I’m just dreaming on. The more things change, the more humans stay the same. Technology changes, but will these changes become permanent useful fixtures (like the car, telephone, or Internet), or just road markers on the way to something better (Disc Cameras, Cassette Tapes, Neckties)?
People like their technology to be transparent. The only people who brag about the size of their memory card or the number of pixels on the screen are geeks. The rest of the world just wants to use their toys, watch their DVDs, and enjoy the fresh air….We don’t want to fight the technology, we just want to get by and have our lives be a little easier. But its hard to keep up with the newest gadget…. Got a new gadget you want me to try…Post a comment and let me know about it….
Eventually we will not wear ties. But I digress…
D
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I’m sending Tweets, IM’ing on Facebook, chatting on Skype while listening to tunes provided by Youtube and Pandora. And that’s just the background stuff. I”m also reading, researching and typing up my Thesis and preparing for my defense while sending e-mails for work and notifying friends of my upcoming graduation. Hold for a minute while I take this call from my Skype autoforward….Dial a number in Tokyo, get me anywhere in the world….The plain, simple cell-phone that hangs from my belt seems so 2000. No apps, no wi-fi, no mega screen. 