Technology Is A Wonderful Thing - Isn't It?

[ColinJ]

My niece spends half her life texting/emailing/tweeting to/facebooking at (?) her friends. One Christmas, we had a family-and-friends gathering to which a long-time-no-see friend of my niece was invited. They greeted each other with hugs and excited chatter. 5 minutes later, they were sat next to each other with blank faces, staring down at their smartphones, and busy telling all their absentee friends what a great time they were having!

 

[Tyke]

In the early 1970s, when computers filled buildings and cost millions, I told a schoolmate that within our lifetimes, computers would be small enough to fit in a suitcase, be powerful enough to compose electronic music on, and only cost about £25k. He laughed at me!

As we now know, it actually happened 3 times quicker, they are a mere fraction of suitcase-size, and can be bought for far less than 10% of the price.

In the early 80s, I told my girlfriend that within 20 years, we would have affordable handheld devices that could be used to talk to people pretty much anywhere on earth, watch films on, take photographs, perform complex calculations with, listen to music on, etc. She thought I was mad!

I have a smartphone which can do all of those things. It weighs 100 g, is the size of a small bar of chocolate, and cost me only £75 on eBay!

I admit that I did not anticipate the internet/web or GPS.

My forecast for the next 25 years ...? You aint seen nothing yet!

You aint seen nothing yet was 1983 not the future. Bachman Turner Overdrive.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Next you'll be telling me we will be able to hit a button on the wall and a light will come on and we will no longer have to fiddle with smokey globes, trimming wicks, smelly paraffin and matches.

Woah WOAH! Steady on there buddy, lets not get too carried away!!

You aint seen nothing yet was 1983 not the future. Bachman Turner Overdrive.

Unfortunately we saw (and heard) too MUCH of it!!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

My forecast for the next 25 years ...? You aint seen nothing yet!

Depending on how quickly the rare earth minerals all these things rely on run out.

(Note: This is a genuine concern in scientific circles as most of the ones used in electronic devices are becoming scarcer and almost none of them have substitutes).

 

[ColinJ]

Depending on how quickly the rare earth minerals all these things rely on run out.

(Note: This is a genuine concern in scientific circles as most of the ones used in electronic devices are becoming scarcer and almost none of them have substitutes).

Sounds like there will be a lot more recycling of electronic devices then!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Sounds like there will be a lot more recycling of electronic devices then!

Indeed. There is already a thriving industry in reclaiming metals out of mobile phones as apparently there is more gold in a ton of mobiles than in a ton of gold ore.

 

[byegad]

Twitter is good for keeping up to date with certain things though.



..... And half of them will probably still prefer playing with the box!!

I have little interest in the breakfast of so called celebrities. So not really convinced. But open to a good example or two.

 

[ColinJ]

I have little interest in the breakfast of so called celebrities. So not really convinced. But open to a good example or two.

I am not interested in celeb breakfasts either but I was quite impressed to be able to find out on Twitter what had happened in Hebden Bridge one day within an hour of it happening.

The pedestrianised area was cordoned off by the police and I had to come home a different way. (It turned out that some twonk had tried to drive the wrong way into a car park, met an oncoming vehicle, stuck it in reverse and drove backwards over a teenage pedestrian, amazingly not killing her!)

 

[byegad]

Sounds useful, however I'm not sure I could endure the rest. Any other good examples? I may yet tweet!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have little interest in the breakfast of so called celebrities.

Neither am I!

So not really convinced.

Yeah because that's all twitter consists of...

But open to a good example or two.

There are loads of useful things on there, depending on what you are interested in, its a useful platform to follow the progress of something that, say, NASA are doing, etc etc.

I haven't been on it in ages though, purely because my account didn't seem to be working properly (so I couldn't see what Slebs were having for breakfast!
Ironically though, I followed Graeme Obree on it, and all he seemed to talk about was his latest fitness nutrition plan!
It was quite a let down, considering he was building and testing his bike for the Speed record at the time...

Various random people followed me for no real reason, including, would you believe, a certain Yoko Ono! Unlike her late illustrious husband, I couldn't for the life of me imagine why, but she did!

She didn't even speak to me either!).

however I'm not sure I could endure the rest.

You don't have too, you pick who YOU want to follow!

 

[ColinJ]

Sounds useful, however I'm not sure I could endure the rest. Any other good examples? I may yet tweet!

Another local one - when storms hit a few weeks ago, my mobile lost signal. Twitter had various people including Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team asking about it. (I have just checked their Twitter feed again and found that they were featured on the BBC's Helicopter Rescue show recently so I must watch that on iPlayer.)

 

[vernon]

In the early 80s, I told my girlfriend that within 20 years, we would have affordable handheld devices that could be used to talk to people pretty much anywhere on earth, watch films on, take photographs, perform complex calculations with, listen to music on, etc. She thought I was mad!

I have a smartphone which can do all of those things. It weighs 100 g, is the size of a small bar of chocolate, and cost me only £75 on eBay!

I admit that I did not anticipate the internet/web or GPS.

My forecast for the next 25 years ...? You aint seen nothing yet!

You read Vannevar Bush's paper "As we May Think" published in the Atlantic Monthly June 1945 before repackaging his ideas didn't you?

He predicted the Internet, Wifi, PDAs multimedia, Wiki, helmet cams, digital photography, and hypertext abeit in different guises and sometimes in anogue form. The paper is worth reading if only to be able to recognise the massive leap in technological capability since the end of WWII

 

[byegad]

Neither am I!



Yeah because that's all twitter consists of...



There are loads of useful things on there, depending on what you are interested in, its a useful platform to follow the progress of something that, say, NASA are doing, etc etc.

I haven't been on it in ages though, purely because my account didn't seem to be working properly (so I couldn't see what Slebs were having for breakfast!
Ironically though, I followed Graeme Obree on it, and all he seemed to talk about was his latest fitness nutrition plan!
It was quite a let down, considering he was building and testing his bike for the Speed record at the time...

Various random people followed me for no real reason, including, would you believe, a certain Yoko Ono! Unlike her late illustrious husband, I couldn't for the life of me imagine why, but she did!

She didn't even speak to me either!).



You don't have too, you pick who YOU want to follow!

Like Facebook???

I'm on that and find their 'system' overloads me with 'comments' made by people I've never heard of and adverts for things I don't need or want. I know I can 'choose' what I get but it seems a very imprecise art to get what I do want plus the rubbish or next to nothing. I feel their privacy tools are akin to performing a cornea transplant with a two handed sword.

 

[rbreid]

Technology Is A Wonderful Thing - Isn't It? .................. NO!!!!!!!!!! Or to be more accurate, rarely.

 

[Alex H]

It mostly pi**es me off to be fair.

Why cant all pc's, tablets, phones just use a bloody standard.

Each have their own little agendas grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

but that's the brilliant thing about standards - there's so many to choose from