Monday, January 4, 2010

Technology in the last decade

Ray Kurzweil, a recognized innovator and futurist, stated that at the current rate of progress, the entire 21st century would be equivalent to 20,000 years of progress in the 20th century! According to Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author: "The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but men will begin to think like computers".
Travelling down memory lane and wondering over how our lives have been changed by technology in the past 10 years, one couldn't help getting the feeling that somehow that decade has been more about information technology changing our lives, far more than we had anticipated.
By July 2009, the number of mobile phone users in Pakistan grew to 95 million subscribers from less than 2 million in 2002. More interesting, however, is that over 58% of the poverty-hit populace owned a mobile phone.
Access to basic technology is no longer a status symbol. The focus has shifted from earning the opportunity to own and use technology, to the prerogative to choose among technology products. Previously, having a computer and a nice and stable internet connection was not a priority. Now it's a necessity.
We continue to perform the same tasks, facilitated by technology; and though now we have updated versions of technologies from our past, they will soon become obsolete - this time, in less than 10 years!