Happy Technological 2011

Happy new year!
Well, I am 9 days late but it still counts as a new year. 9/365... that's a small fraction of a year.

Anyways, I hope I have a good year or better year. Not necessary the best but better than last quarter of 2010 for sure.

Hmm... why am I writing this again?
Oh yeah, I am going to talk about technology.

Few days ago, Research In Motion (RIM aka Blackberry company) announced the PlayBook. Yet another tablet to challenge the insanely popular and successful iPad. I am excited about it because RIM has some nice invention lately with the BlackBerry Torch and now the PlayBook. I like Apple, too, but I don't like it as much when too many people have it. I'll wait for the iPhone 5 or iPad 2 to come out.

Let's veer off the technology topic just a bit. 10 years/ a decade ago in September, 9/11 happened. 10 years,  that's how much I've grown old. It still seems surreal about 9/11. I was at school watching the rarely-used CRT TV in the hallway thinking it was a hoax.

10 years later, what do we have for technology? Plasma TV, LCD TV, LED TV, LED 3D TV. Just short 10 years and technology has advanced so much. From a bulky computer monitor, we now have flat screen monitor with HDMI adapters to connect to TV, TiVo, PVR, HD monitors. Let's not forget the laptop, netbook, smartphone, bluetooth and now tablets. We advanced so much in technology that we can't possible catch up to it. One minute you have the latest technology, the next minute your product has be up-staged by an upgraded model. Technology goes by so fast and yet our living style doesn't change much. We still stuck in traffic jam, we still manage to wake up late and late for work or school. Does all these technology really help us improve our lives or they are just there to entertain us as we gradually distance ourselves from other human beings? We are always too occupy with Facebook or Twitter and Internet. We play video games online at home. We play sports at home on Wii Sport. We don't go out and see the society anymore. Even when we do, we'll be looking at our smartphones, texting or going online instead of talking to the person in front of you.

Here's a great example. During the holidays, I witnessed (I assume they are a young couple) a table of a 20ish boy and girl at dinner having dinner. They had brief conversations during dinner. After the meal, they each whipped out their iPhones and go online or text each other, I don't know. The point is, there are facing each other and yet they prefer to play with their phone rather than having a conversation. They don't hate each other or bored of each other so why is there no conversations between them? I don't understand the mind of teens, maybe I am getting old or just traditional. I still prefer the conversations over and during meals instead of playing on my phone.

It's nice that our technology helps improve our entertainment aspect of life but I don't think it hugely affect our daily normal routine. Sure, it's ironic that I am blogging online but I've been doing that for years now. It's just a different domain from 10 years ago but overall, nothing has changed. For me, I don't really NEED the best technology in the world. I want to but I don't NEED it. Sometimes, we should be thankful for what we have now and not be too greedy. We are already living a healthier life than our grandparents. We may or may not be happier but theirs were definitely simpler. Perhaps, our generation becomes less patient at the same time since everything is so fast; any delays are not acceptable.

P.S.: I am not going to argue about medical technology and how they improve our lives until they find a cure for AIDS, HA! If I do, it'll take a long time to type.