JoJo's Blog- Peek into my Life

Week 1 Ubiquitous

Since the Weiser article was written in 1991 and certain technology advances mentioned were expected to start taking off in 1994 that I myself have not come in contact with, I wonder if we are behind in our technological advances or if Weiser and others were just getting ahead of themselves. I figure that some of the ubiquitous technologies mentioned in the article probably have been attempted but because of glitches and realizations of the negative consequences, there have been delays concerning the devices being revealed to the public. It seems as if at times they already have the technology figured out, but they just choose to keep it in the closet until they believe the public is ready and can handle it. It is terrible for a person to invent something and get it rejected just because it is ahead of its time.

Another issue is if the different types of technology will actually become ubiquitous quickly or if they will take a while to if they are only affordable to the wealthy. There is a chance that these devices may not even be accessible to the general public. Whichever the issue, the technology must be presented in a manner that does not overwhelm or annoy people. The technology should be uniting people instead of creating gaps between the young and old or the poor and rich. As long as a sense of humanity is not lost within the technology and preventions are made to defeat those with mal intentions, the technological advances will at least grow on people until eventually reaching “ubiquitous status”. Since the media is so influential even if on a subconscious level, ideas about the worst that can happen with technology gone wrong surpass that of the benefits. The “Twilight Zone” and other Sci-Fi shows come to mind. Instead of viewing these new types of technology as tools we will use in our everyday life that at times we feel we can’t live without, we are afraid at some level that it can get out of hand and we will lose the control, we value most.

Most of the devices described I have to admit did sound appealing but some were a little out there. For instance the doll that has a budget and can spend money to buy its own accessories caught me off guard. I had to start laughing because Americans are already viewed as very materialistic and to have an inanimate object spending money on its own behalf is going a little too far. I did like the idea of the thermostat being able to bargain and control how much money was spent on heat. It is very practical and can help people keep a budget. My mom would really enjoy that since I freeze all winter at home because we are trying to manage how much is spent on the heating bill but it doesn’t deem to help.

While reading the articles I kept thinking about the book “1984” and how it would be so much easier for the government to undermine our right of privacy. If all this technology were available when “1984” was written I wonder how much different it would be.