Going Tech

Who would have thought we would be so tech savvy in 2010? I know while folks were settling across the Midwest in 1877, they were thinking about enough hay to get through winter, let alone the very first piece of media technology! This picture is of Thomas Edison’s tin foil cylinder phonograph. Looks like it weighs a ton!

With the invention of the first computer in 1941, designed to break German Enigma codes, everyone can access and own their own version of The Colossus (personal computers anyway) as a desktop, laptop, notebook, or even hand held version. What fun would a personal computer be without access to the world? The internet bridges gaps between people with networking web sites like Facebook and Twitter, connects businesses like LinkedIn.com, and allows us to research history like, “What is an Enigma Code” on search engines such as Google.com. The wave of technology has swept hard and quick through our generations with media tech devices like the IPod for music and videos, and the all purpose cellular phone. Cell phones can now capture pictures much like their digital counterpart the digital camera, and record video as well. Oh and we occasionally use them to make a phone call or two.

I strolled through an indoor mall just this weekend, and stopped dead in my tracks. Standing not two feet to my left was coin operated pay phones. Once upon a time I would be searching the McDonald’s and convenience stores for a pay phone when my car broke down. Hey, that was only 1993, not so long ago…ahem. Some of us would not know what to do without a cell phone. We even keep them charging in our cars for those lickity split emergency situations….If our phone is out of power, well we know someone else very close by will have one in their pocket for sure.
Some folks not traveling to settling down in the Midwest might be just traveling through to see some very old sights like the Grand Canyon. The use of satellite communication and GPS navigation systems are almost a guarantee to be included in any new automobile purchase. Web sites like Google Earth displays satellite pictures as close as your license plate on your car parked in your own driveway. Creepy…but hey, we’ve all done it, haven’t we? Maybe we’re just exercising our inner 007?

With the technology bursting at the seams these days, it is nothing to see a young kid walking down the street using all four media tech devices at once. No wonder he doesn’t hear the ice cream truck anymore. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather take a break from the internet and actually chase down an ice cream truck right about now.