Technology and me, sitting in a tree.
I’ve been a technophile for most of my life. My parents were both immigrants to Canada who’d managed to achieve a good life. They wanted their children to have the same fortune, and one of the methods they felt would help achieve that would be to help us would be ready access to and knowledge of technology.
I was sent to summer computer camp for several years, which had a curriculum that included Logo in the morning and A/V components in the afternoon. This could be something educational such as tvo’s Bits & Bytes or something more populist like Tron or Wargames or even, God forbid, Electric Dreams.
Summer camp was never the most intense of experiences.
As I’ve grown, I have never found technology to be something I feel uncomfortable with. I am not really an early adopter, primarily because I have no idea how those guys afford it. Plus, I’ve been burned once or twice by the fallibility of first generation technology. Let someone else do the public Beta testing and reap the benefits of their experience.
I’m very comfortable with technology right now, at least in terms of consumer electronics. I’ve had an iPhone for the past three years, and I can use the phrase “there’s an app for that” with barely a tinge of irony. I often will have an app or two that will be useful for whatever purpose we’re looking for.
I have never found it difficult to poke and prod within technological areas. I like trying high tech toys. I find it easy to acclimate to various web technologies. I’ve found it easy to become used to various publishing platforms, from a half dozen blogging services (my Livejournal turns ten next year!) to Twitter to various Wikis.
I am even a fan of technology news. I like listening to podcasts on technology, preferring the weekly shows from two public broadcasters, Spark from the CBC and Search Engine from tvo.
I like keeping up on news by my former Realms editor Pete Nowak. I’ve been reading Wired (intemittently) for the past two decades, although I tried to subscribe to it earlier this year and have been finding delivery to be erratic at best. That’s somewhat odd, since the magazine does work best in digital formats, but I’d still like the book to be delivered.
I find the world we live in a fascinating place. I know it’s a joke, but the hoary punchline about “where’s my jet pack/flying car?” is one I’ve tired of. Honestly, people can’t handle two dimensional travel, , much less navigate in three.
I’ve learned one thing over the past few decades; predicting where technology will go is a mug’s game, and one I’ll have no part of.
Moore’s law will likely remain a constant for the foreseeable future (it is apparently slowing down, which is not stopping), which will affect the technologies we have available.
Will we see nanotechnology start to fulfill the visions of Sci-fi writers? The non-apocalyptic ones, at least. What effect will 3D printing have, since we can produce products in our own homes? Will we be able to keep up with our energy needs, as the developing world continues to develop at breakneck speeds?
I have no idea. I do know that it’s going to be great watching it happen.
I was sent to summer computer camp for several years, which had a curriculum that included Logo in the morning and A/V components in the afternoon. This could be something educational such as tvo’s Bits & Bytes or something more populist like Tron or Wargames or even, God forbid, Electric Dreams.
Summer camp was never the most intense of experiences.
As I’ve grown, I have never found technology to be something I feel uncomfortable with. I am not really an early adopter, primarily because I have no idea how those guys afford it. Plus, I’ve been burned once or twice by the fallibility of first generation technology. Let someone else do the public Beta testing and reap the benefits of their experience.
I’m very comfortable with technology right now, at least in terms of consumer electronics. I’ve had an iPhone for the past three years, and I can use the phrase “there’s an app for that” with barely a tinge of irony. I often will have an app or two that will be useful for whatever purpose we’re looking for.
I have never found it difficult to poke and prod within technological areas. I like trying high tech toys. I find it easy to acclimate to various web technologies. I’ve found it easy to become used to various publishing platforms, from a half dozen blogging services (my Livejournal turns ten next year!) to Twitter to various Wikis.
I am even a fan of technology news. I like listening to podcasts on technology, preferring the weekly shows from two public broadcasters, Spark from the CBC and Search Engine from tvo.
I like keeping up on news by my former Realms editor Pete Nowak. I’ve been reading Wired (intemittently) for the past two decades, although I tried to subscribe to it earlier this year and have been finding delivery to be erratic at best. That’s somewhat odd, since the magazine does work best in digital formats, but I’d still like the book to be delivered.
I find the world we live in a fascinating place. I know it’s a joke, but the hoary punchline about “where’s my jet pack/flying car?” is one I’ve tired of. Honestly, people can’t handle two dimensional travel, , much less navigate in three.
I’ve learned one thing over the past few decades; predicting where technology will go is a mug’s game, and one I’ll have no part of.
Moore’s law will likely remain a constant for the foreseeable future (it is apparently slowing down, which is not stopping), which will affect the technologies we have available.
Will we see nanotechnology start to fulfill the visions of Sci-fi writers? The non-apocalyptic ones, at least. What effect will 3D printing have, since we can produce products in our own homes? Will we be able to keep up with our energy needs, as the developing world continues to develop at breakneck speeds?
I have no idea. I do know that it’s going to be great watching it happen.