Here we are in 2010, with the ability to do so much with technology. We can order movies online, submit pictures via the web to be printed and ready in an hour, send a text to the smoothie king and order a smoothie before we ever show up. We can do so many things in the interest of luxury and convenience that we could not do many years ago. I still remember the days when I was using the "Mario Teaches Typing" program to learn how to type on a computer. Tough to imagine going back to that point.
But lets do that for just a second here. Technology has in some way, shape or form affected our lives either positively or negatively. Instead of writing about the pitfalls of technology, or the strain on the workforce, I want to look back to a time where we were not so tech oriented. I would like you to share something you believe you could not have achieved without technology that you consider a big deal.
I'll start off with mine. In 2002, when the US decided to invade Iraq, my father was posted to Iraq for work. I was worried because of the impact of the war and there were serious safety concerns. We did not want him to go, and then at one point we tried to get him to quit so he didn't have to go. He eventually did leave to go to Iraq and left us at home. We were worried sick about the impact of the war. Our concerns were eased when my father purchased a Thuraya. Here is a link if you don't know what it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuraya. This was basically a satellite phone that allowed him to cal us from wherever he was in Iraq or any neighboring country he was in at the time. Truly a lovely bit of technology to address the needs and concerns of a family with a loved one in harm's way.
Looking forward to hearing your stories.
Not a particular story, but something that has been a major change over the last 15 years. It used to be the only sources of news were the newspaper in the morning, TV news at night, and radio in the car. Now we can get any news we want, for any location we want, anytime we want, anywhere we want. Now the newspaper is obsolete, TV news needs to be innovative if it wants to be relavent, and although I still find radio to be relavent we can use a smart phone to get the same info in the car (hopefully not while driving). If I am on vacation it is very easy for me to now keep up with what is going on back home. I remember my parents would have to go through all the papers the neighbors collected for us to find out what happened while we were gone, now just check a website every day on a smart phone or in an internet cafe.
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