E-Paper
Race against technology
Technology is a fleeting illusion. Ancient wisdom dictates that it becomes obsolete the moment one acquires it. Yet the desire to remain updated remains stronger than ever.
Technology is a fleeting illusion. Ancient wisdom dictates that it becomes obsolete the moment one acquires it. Yet the desire to remain updated remains stronger than ever.
Man is forever searching for the ‘right’ technology that suits his work and lifestyle. But the dynamics of technology are always a step ahead of our evolving needs.
All exhibitions on mobile technology draw eager crowds of either those willing to upgrade to a higher technology or those who would find the experience a wee bit helpful in chasing their dreams. But here is where the catch lies.
Like all objects created and regularly updated by man, it takes only a flicker on the clock dials before the next big thing comes along and pushes the old out through the door. The joy of the new acquisition lasts but a few days, in some cases a few months, and then it is back to the shop again for the lucky ones able to afford the new craze.
Just where does this leave us? One would imagine that this race would leave many unsatisfied. Not many of us can boast of multi-million dollar daddies. So most of us end up with the ‘old model’ for the time being until the cash from the month’s salary finds its way into our hands. Then we can splurge.
But there is more to it than just the volatility of technology. In fact one misses the very function of it — that it is what technology does that makes it special and not merely the latest software that lies underneath the sleek carbon fibre body.
So while we get the latest GPRS enabled phone it is only later that we get to know that it will not run on pre-paid connections and a post paid rental for it will cost about Rs. 500 per month.
Now isn’t that way beyond the
Rs. 330 voucher one can afford every month? And what about the Nicam audio in the latest Sony model in television? Well, to me, a useless application as I understand most broadcasts are clearly mono and not even stereo. And that's the end of it. A technology gone waste.
In our mobile race, we had the colour screen, then the camera phone, now the swinging head and tomorrow...who knows?
And despite all the heartache, we are enthralled by the latest that hits the market. The point I’m making is that at the end of the day, no matter how extensive the features on a mobile are, we end up using the mobile as a phone and to send messages —the two most basic features available in the most ordinary of models. Yet the hankering of a ‘smarter’ phone is something that sways us ever so often.
A thought should be spared to the insecurity that follows when one is carrying an outdated phone. Such has become the fashion of technology, that until and unless you’re equipped with the latest, irrespective of whether you use it fully or not, you’re just not ‘with it’. The maxim is not that nothing lasts forever, but that nothing lasts at all.
