the end is nigh?
April 18th 2007 02:48
all in one mobile technologies
as a uni student, a few years ago the emphasis that was pushed at us was one that encompassed mobile technology and introduced the idea of convergence. at the time i was a little hesitant of this and couldn't understand what the idea was. however as time passed i could see what they were trying to educate us with, and now there are university studies backing this along with generations of users feeling the brunt of not being able to use computers.
until now the only access that i have had via 3g is google searching, sport updates, and episodes of big brother. this is a fully intergrated information system that does render the old computer useless. is this all we use computers for these days?
the fact that japanese students graduate high school without learning how to use computers is something that is very interesting in regards to communication trends. although it seems a long way off, i feel this is where it lies in the future. until recent, i always had friends upset with me because i hadn't checked my emails for a few days and was missing events and meetings and things. i would simply reply that i was too busy to sit down at the computer for a couple of hours and check my emails and that i needed something more mobile. this is apparently how some parts of the rest of the world operate.
if you could integrate fast internet access to your mobile phone, with all of your goodies, would you do away with your desktop/notebook?
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Comment by Anonymous
ah convergence...an altruistic pursuit. Standardisation to improve communication methods, trying to make the information consumer's device agnostic to how the information is brought to them. A great idea in theory but in practice, but $$ gets involved in the decision making. I mean look at web browser and web server technologies. More than half of the world uses IE, so web sites are built with technologies compatible with IE. 'So what if Safari or Firefox cant display that funky Drop down pop up box on your web site...I mean who uses that stuff anyway' (sarcasm). Sheesh...did you know that IE8's focus on XML , allegedly means IE wont support Flash. Even in IE7 there are reports of SWF and Flash interaction being disabled out of the box (a lot to do with EOLA Really Long Link
Really Long Link
But I digress....you are discussing the more important subject of people embracing technology to improve their lives. There's pro's and con's in this debate. The advantages would seem obvious (oh by the way check out the new Nokia N95, bulit in GPS, Wifi and HDSPA mobile broadband, full browser...so you should always know where you are, why you are there, whats around you, and update content about it on wiki pedia!...and yes Hutch Australia has faster than 3g access now!)
There's the age old question...do you own technology or does technology own you? i.e. your remark about checking emails. After years of being under the thumb of the email mistress, I'm sort of like you now. I may not check my emails for days, but thats mainly because it usually brings me work. Dont read emails on Friday because Its the only way to have a weekend! With that said, I tell my friends if they have something important to say, text me (embarrassed look)
And I'm glad to hear there is a bastion of schooling not being diluted by the technology age. Surprised its Japan though. I was reading this article today.
Really Long Link
This stuff pisses me off. I hate the fact that a high percentage of little un's will be totally illiterate after 12 years of schooling. Forget about books being produced in 4 different languages, next thing will be "to kill a mockingbird" in text speak. 2 kill a mokinbrd iz a gr8 buk m8!!
Ian
Comment by Damo
Emails suck because they are modern Boondoggling. Work created to fill in time.
Personally I think that PC's will be with us for a while longer. It is all about grunt and style these days. How big is your screen? I like the look of your case with the inbuilt fishtank. My future mobile has a tooth brush and shaver but I still can't work out how to make a call.
Computers may be like the Cadillacs of the future. Bigger for the sake of being bigger and fins.
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
thank you for finally writing your thoughts on my blog and not in an email to me!!! now all you have to do is create yourself an account and put in a little picture!
firstly don't get me started on internet explorer. what a crock! even today i lost an article that i wrote for this blog as my uni only provides us with explorer. it just decided that it would stop working..... but at least it asked me if i wanted to tell someone at the end!
but to complement your thoughts on the $$, it is an expensive exercise, and one that always will be. if a technology company creates a certain piece of technology, chances are they have already created the next 5 updates before the prototype hits the shelf. why then would they hold off on releasing the latest technology? well they spent so much money developing each one they have to cover costs somehow. so we as consumers pay far too much each time 'techers has a sprog'.
it is nice also to know that australia are picking up its game with mobile technology. we really need to to stay remotely on par with the rest of the world. so many goodies being developed everywhere else, and unfortunately our infrastructure lets us down every time.
my sentiments exactly. however i would read them if i had a mobile browser capable of doing this. but again, as a student, i have no money for luxuries such as this and have to rely on others to tell me how bitchin' it is.
perhaps we share different views on language and spelling? i think as communication speeds up, so too should the language involved in it. as the article stated, english and french are the only two languages to not to be updated! you know why the french wouldn't have done it, by why not english? however it is easy for me to say as i am fluent in both slow and fast forms of communication.....*lol* *wink* *smile* *nudge* *nudge*. maybe the japanese are on to something?
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
excellent use of the word 'Boondoggling'!!!!
so on sundays in the future we will get together with our big beards and beer bellies, and take our 2010 g8 for spin down the information super highway? talk about when we had 10gig of ram and terrors of hard drives! then donate all the money we raised to some charity for children.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Anyway, what about doing work? On a PDA or a mobile?
I don't much like cell phones, though it sounds like Korea has teched up ones... Korea is pushing the envelope!
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
as you obviously know, i am in korea at the mo' and i haven't seen a games console since i got here. it is all pc gaming crazed people here. although i did see a psp on the train the other day. however with xbox 360 and ps3, they are really pushing into this gaming market, so we are seeing people starting to shift away from their desktops and move to their 'converging' xbox. i just think the gaming culture here in korea is very concrete solid with how it operates (i.e. networked computers), and is influencing other gaming countries like germany, switzerland, and poland.
personally, i can't imagine firing up final cut pro on my blackberry and cutting yesterday's shots on the train on the way to work in the morning. so i think for applications such as these, notebooks/desktops will always have a place. i say that now but could be eating my words in two years time.
if you could have everything that you wanted in your cell phone, would you still not care for one? even if you could turn the phone part off?
Comment by The black man
Comment by Jonathon
Anthroblogogy
let's agree then that we could utilize a different interface than the screen of a cell phone (for example using this as a little processor/hard drive that you could then plug into a screen). concentrating on the mobile convergence that the cell has to offer, wouldn't this clearly outweigh what a static desktop could offer? i could then read the newspaper in the toilet, and not at my desk, for example. it won't take that long for grunt to be installed in these little tings. look at how the cameras have quickly improved with res size.
Comment by Tersch
**(((((In all honesty, laptops look set to take over desktops as soon as grunt is surpassed. I'm no technological guru by any means but this is how I see it....the interface (how we communicate to the computer) will be getting smaller for sure but we still need periferals, like printers, monitors, etc as you mentioned. Sure small little mobiles will let you gain information, play games, watch tv, emails...)))))))
**as I was writing this argument based point I realised I am thinking in old school ways. The way technology is going it is very plausible for mobile technology to become not only dominant, but useful as well. Connectivity is the key. With it all things are possible......and with bluetooth and wifi paving the way for wireless communication it'll all look very neat indeed, lol
I stand corrected and see the light Obiwan
aka theblackman