Every time a new gadget or technology tool comes out, my dad makes a reference to Star Trek. When skype came out, my dad was like, "People use to dream of this stuff! I remember when I was a kid and Star Trek was on.." So when reading Ambient Findability, I couldn't help but think, I'm living the future of generations before me. Some things that seemed so far away, I am experiencing now.
It's hard for me to think about the future because we currently have SO many advances in technology. But I do think there will be more tools to use. For example, watching CSI, you see a lot of potential technological advances. Holographic touch screen computers being one of them.
Comparing technology from 5 years ago to now seems crazy! The cell phones, computers, tvs, and everything have completely changed. It's going to be exciting to live in this technological age and see what else manifests in the next five years.
Showing posts with label Future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Future. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Will Cable Become Obsolete?
In a USA Weekend article that I got out of the paper, it stated "Some people are ditching cable and satellite television- and their $75 average monthly tab. Instead, they're signing up for HULU Plus ($8 a month), Netflix streaming (another $8) for movies, and renting $1 DVDs from the Redbox in the supermarket. Not for you? You could still save by shedding premium channels and supplementing with some of these services - particularly if you are not watching many of them anyway. A recent Neilsen study showed Americans now have about 130 channels available on average, but they watch only 18."
So my question is this, with all of the new, more cost-friendly services that are available, will this have an impact on cable? Personally, I think this could be the case. Recently, all cable switched to digital from analog. Analog has become a thing of the past. This could happen to cable as well.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Is the Internet Making Us Dumb?
I recently read two articles that contained opposing viewpoints. Shirky believes that the internet is increasing human intelligence because we have digital media at our fingertips. On the other hand, Carr suggests that the internet and/or Google is causing people to be disengaged and poor readers. So the question is this: Where do I stand? As an avid user of internet, google, and many different forms of technology, I agree with Shirky.
With technology, people have the opportunity to further their knowledge at any point. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips. Shirky points out, “We are living through a similar explosion of publishing capability today, where digital media link over a billion people into the same network. This linking together in turn lets us tap our cognitive surplus, the trillion hours a year of free time the educated population of the planet has to spend doing things they care about. In the 20th century, the bulk of that time was spent watching television, but our cognitive surplus is so enormous that diverting even a tiny fraction of time from consumption to participation can create enormous positive effects.” We may not obtain all information from the internet. Like Shirky says, people spend much of their time watching television. However, they are still learning more than ever before.
In a world where technology is constantly changing and advancing, people are required to stay on their toes. The advancement of technology is encouraging people to think in different ways and further their education, not only technologically, but in other areas as well. Shirky states, “The past was not as golden, nor is the present as tawdry, as the pessimists suggest, but the only thing really worth arguing about is the future. It is our misfortune, as a historical generation, to live through the largest expansion in expressive capability in human history, a misfortune because abundance breaks more things than scarcity.” Shirky is right. We have the opportunity to look to the future as we better ourselves and further our education.
With technology, people have the opportunity to further their knowledge at any point. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips. Shirky points out, “We are living through a similar explosion of publishing capability today, where digital media link over a billion people into the same network. This linking together in turn lets us tap our cognitive surplus, the trillion hours a year of free time the educated population of the planet has to spend doing things they care about. In the 20th century, the bulk of that time was spent watching television, but our cognitive surplus is so enormous that diverting even a tiny fraction of time from consumption to participation can create enormous positive effects.” We may not obtain all information from the internet. Like Shirky says, people spend much of their time watching television. However, they are still learning more than ever before.
In a world where technology is constantly changing and advancing, people are required to stay on their toes. The advancement of technology is encouraging people to think in different ways and further their education, not only technologically, but in other areas as well. Shirky states, “The past was not as golden, nor is the present as tawdry, as the pessimists suggest, but the only thing really worth arguing about is the future. It is our misfortune, as a historical generation, to live through the largest expansion in expressive capability in human history, a misfortune because abundance breaks more things than scarcity.” Shirky is right. We have the opportunity to look to the future as we better ourselves and further our education.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)