I think it would be safe to assume that, for 14 hours a day, there is a computer within a foot of you. It could even be under an inch! That tiny box in your pocket has more information in it that any person could have learned in their entire life 30 years ago, and with a few swipes of your finger on a touch screen, you can access any of it. Or you can communicate with people anywhere in the world. It has brought dictatorships to their knees, it has connected humanity, it has given many people a job, and yet we still just watch cat videos and read tweets. My idea for this blog is the internet. It can be our friend, our enemy, and it will shape tomorrow.
In 1969, just a few days after the last of the hippies left Woodstock, a silent (revolution) took place at UCLA. “LO” was typed into the very first computer by professor Leonard Kleinrock. It continued to crash before he could finish his word “LOGIN”. Eventually the system worked, and the infant internet was born. Twelve years later there would still only be 213 computers. Fourteen after that there were 16 million, and by today there are over 1.7 billion people who are connected.
So there’s for the past, what about the future? Quantum computing is supposed to be this amazing new thing happening right in our town, but I know absolutely nothing about it. All I got from looking it up was that it’s really fast and can factor huge numbers very quickly and overpower classical computer immensely. If anyone knows a thing about it, please comment. I’d love to figure out what all the fuss is about.
So quantum aside, I really don’t know what is next for the internet. Kansas city now has Google Fiber, the fastest connection in the world. So I’d be surprised if nothing came out of that. Also, SOPA and PIPA failed, which would have sterilized the best of the internet through copyright law.
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| Google Glass is so cool |
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| But this cat is cooler |
The internet is a fantastic thing. My dad sometimes can't believe how far technology has come and is amazed at my iPhone.
ReplyDeleteI hope the internet remains as a way of helping society progress rather than hinder it. I think that we can use it 100% to our advantage in a positive way. But hey, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wish to take over the internet (Cough, SOPA, cough, PIPA)but as long as people want it free it should stay that way, right? Well as Eric Schmidt once said, "The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had."
The freedom of the internet is a beautiful but fragile thing. One look at countries like China or Iran where the government heavily monitors the internet shows us how easily the liberty we take for granted has been lost. Even the SOPA-PIPA bill is re surfacing in various different forms. I hope that the freedom we experience online never diminishes
DeleteAs much as the internet and technology has brought us forward, I think that in many ways it has brought us back. Once upon a time, kids were constantly outside running around and playing with their friends. Now, they message each other from their houses where they sit all day. Not only that, but when we actually spend time physically together, we're so preoccupied being connected and doing stuff on our devices.
ReplyDeleteI think it'll will be interesting to see where technology will continue to take us in the next few years.
I totally see what you mean, but I think it's a two way street. The internet has made us both more connected and less connected, by letting people talk without ever leaving their basement, but also by allowing people who feel alienated to find a community and peers online. I guess you could say every acton has an equal and opposite reaction, even in a social context.
DeleteTechnology and the internet astounds me. What's crazy is that now even little kids are using emails in their classes, and getting phones and ipods. I think we're starting to really take it for granted though, and the younger we introduce technology to kids, the more they'll take it for granted. It's really important that we don't let it take over our lives. It's great for progress and being more efficient, but it can never replace exercise or real human interaction (even with skype) or give you experiences that you can fully appreciate.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Skype is a crappy replacement for real communication. I have even heard some scary rumours of companies buying hundreds of hours of skype calls to screen for advertising ideas.
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