Monday, May 08, 2006
WSJ?OTD
"Which technology development has had the most effect on your day-to-day life? Cellphones/PDAs; Downloadable music; E-commerce; Email; Internet search"
Tough question.
All of them have been important. But most?
I could start with the lowest and that would be downloadable music.
I have tried. God knows.
But I am still using CDs and still buy them occasionally. I also like some of the new music DVDs. You can see what you are eating.
I am an iTunes subscriber but I rarely buy anything and, if I do, it is one song. That is a convenience.
iPod? No no no no no.
I hate all on-body musical devices; on me and on others. What a social wrecker. And dangerous.
I see bikers and walkers who don't hear a fucking thing. A car rushing at them or me saying good morning.. I am not even sure what a PDA is.
Next least would be mobile phones.
We have simply changed technology. Zero life impact except that I can make frivolous calls from my bike or on a walk.
I suppose it would help in an emergency but we have not had one yet, although a close friend has and it was very important to him.
Next up would be Internet Search.
Yeh. I use it. It is handy. But life transforming. Not as much as the others below.
E-Commerce. Yes! I do not shop in the agora any more. Great for a mildly agoraphobic person. I hate shopping.
On the net, no one bothers you while you browse. There are tons of sites to evaluate your purchases. It is safe. No one will copy your CCN.
I am convinced it is safer than a retail store in that respect.
The top? Email. And that includes commercial and non-profit and news email. I use it regularly and go into withdrawal panic when it is down.
It is certainly not dramatic as a tech breakthrough. It has been around awhile. And, it is the one that I have been using longest. And I use it instead of the phone and it supports e-Commerce. So it has to be the winner and my choice.
Others chose as follows: Cellphones/PDAs: (15%); Downloadable music (0%); E-commerce (6%); Email6 (44%); Internet search (34%)
