Brave new world

Technology. A scary word where I come from. New technology. Really scary.

It's a good thing I like being a little bit scared sometimes :)

Once upon a time not all that very long ago, within the living memory of people who like to think they're still quite young, we lived in a world of cutting edge technology. We had transistor radios that you could carry around with you in your bag, and listen to 5KA (on the AM band) anywhere you wanted to. No 8-track tapes for us, we had superior cassettes, and portable cassette players. Everyone knew someone who had a colour television, so we could all visit when there was something exciting on that we wanted to see. When we wanted to write to someone, we could send them an airmail letter, and it would reach them in no time at all. And when we wanted to find something out, we could go to the Library and look it up in books and encyclopedias, and in vertical files. All the information we needed, neatly clipped and contained in a handy manila folder!

Computers did exist, but they were spoken about in hushed tones.

I look at my life now and the technology I take for granted, and it takes my breath away. PCs, digital cameras, video cameras, mp3 players, email, mobile phones, the web - all so ordinary and every day. Commonplace stuff. Now we have little tiny devices we can stick in our back pockets that do all of these things at once. You can take photos, shoot videos, make phone calls, text friends, send an email, listen to music, download TV shows and browse the wonders of the web from something you can hold in your hand. Extraordinary. Wonderful. Scary.

It's a great time to be alive. Especially if you like to be a little bit scared sometimes.