Internet Advancement

My experience with blogging has just begun with the start of this class. I know a decent amount of information regarding technology, with the exception of the blog. It is difficult for me to relate these articles directly to my blog, but I am able to relate them to my other technological learning’s.

I very much enjoyed the article by Bush. I found it very interesting to see the views on “the future” from way back when and to compare them to what we actually have and what we still see as futuristic. In the first section of Bush’s document, we talk about how research has increased man’s control of material environment. I compare this to Wikipedia and search engine websites. With the development of Wikipedia, man is able to have control over not only his material environment, but also of the research, content, quality, and accessibility of that information. In the next paragraph Bush talks of science providing the swiftest communication between individuals. Back then; they had the postal service for text deliveries. Today we have our cell phones, emails and blogs - a billion times faster and more convenient. This technology could be troublesome for future generations in that communication through text is becoming faster, easier, more widely available, and, worst of all. The norm. Instead of seeing someone about problems you are having, our technology provides us with the information we need for self-diagnosis. Instead of seeking help from professionals, there are now websites ad blogs dedicated to “self help” and expression. For instance, Depression is a serious condition that requires help from a doctor. I have accidentally run across negative blogs in which the author obviously needs help, but is using a blog to vent.

I find the second section of Bush’s writing somewhat humorous as he speaks of photography. If only Bush could see what we have today! Instead of looking around the room and seeing people with walnut sized cameras strapped to their heads and a cord down their sleeve, I am staring at a computer monitor with a camera on its “forehead”. Instead of the camera taking pictures that are 3mm squared, the camera itself is 3mm square. And instead of processing my computer screen in a liquid processor, it “dryly” appears on the screen instantaneously! Imagine that, Bush! A camera now a day is more common than a wristwatch.

When I imagine the machine that Bush speaks of in section 3, I imagine the episode of “The Office” where the boss uses the speaking feature on his computer as a gag in the office. My Uncle is a computer nerd and actually helped design and sell a computer program that you spoke into and the computer typed your words. At the time it was revolutionary. It was thought to change the future and the way we process our words. Unfortunately, it was more fun to play with and laugh at as it rarely got your words correct.

I feel that the internet and technology in general at the level we are at follows Hawthorne’s approach as I see it as a helpful tool, but I have also seen it grow and expand over the years and become a threat to social and domestic life. As I stated before, the process in sending text messages has taken off over the last 4 years. I can remember life before texting and having to limit my texts since they were 7 cents each. Now it is unlimited and out of control. I find it very common to text rather than talk. For instance, I got a new cell phone last Saturday and I have sent and received almost 280 messages and spent about 1 hour and 30 minutes of talk time. I think that in the future it will get worse and worse. I imagine that there will be a day that it will no longer be nerve racking to ask someone to prom. Instead, you can do it through text and not face-to-face. I feel that it will reach to a more sophisticated level too, especially as generation Y ages with our history of text messaging. I also feel that the Internet is hurting family life. Growing up I was limited to the time I spent online, but now with Wifi, there is no time limit. You don’t even have to be home in order to surf the web. With messaging becoming so popular, so fast and so common, we can only wonder where we will be able to expand from here. The possibilities are endless!

Lindsey Harkins

I cannot remember my very first computer experience, but I can, however, remember my early days using them. In 3^rd grade, I remember going to the library’s computer lab to play games (especially Oregon Trail and some science game). I remember in the computer lab there were two “special” computers that had a dark blue screen with white text, as opposed to the black with green. Obviously those two blue ones were fought over.

We had a similar computer at my house, but we didn’t own any games, therefore I had no interest. The “coolest” computer I had ever seen was my cousin’s when I was in about 5^th grade. It was the more modern computer/color monitor set up, and they had great games! One game I really liked was Put-Put. He was a purple car that went on a different adventure each disk. Soon after, we bought a “cool” computer like my cousin’s, Put-Put, Barbie magic Hairstyler and other games for our home. We also had a program called Print Shop Deluxe, a basic word processing/creative-printing program. I still remember the themes, borders and backgrounds you could choose from.

We finally got Bellsouth Internet in my house when I was in 5^th grade. It was dial-up and it was slow! I remember (as with most everyone) the dial up sound. That terrible sound! The computer was in my parent’s bedroom. I don’t really know why. We only had the one phone line at the time, so I would have to ask permission from my parent to make sure they weren’t expecting a phone call. After my mom and dad got cell phones, we would call forward the phone line to the cell phones. In 6^th grade I got into email, MSN messenger, AOL messenger, and selling/trading my beanie babies online. I used my instant messenger’s until my parents went to sleep or told me I couldn’t be on any longer. My restriction when I got in trouble was “no Internet”.  I think my first email address was lindsey_loo_hoo@yahoo., and I can’t remember the day that I stopped using that address. It was probably when I started to mature a little! The problem is that my AIM name is lovelylindsey***, which I wish I could change but I have it so well established that it’s hard to now. I should have thought about that in 6^th grade. I wasn’t allowed to download Napster, but my cousin was. I also wasn’t allowed to listen to rap, but my cousin was. You can probably guess where I went to download rap songs. It was rare though, since my cousin was in Charlotte. I had two “mix” CD’s that were purple and they were so cool!

Late in 1999 the Internet changed my family’s life. We searched adoption agencies and came across a picture of a tiny Vietnamese baby that is now my little sister. By this time the Internet was developed enough that we used it during the adoption process for booking flights. I guess you could say that the internet has changed my life!