One of the interesting cultural phenomenon’s that I am following is the constant turn over in technology and the seemingly constant need for a certain section of the U.S. ( and other western countries) population to possess the latest gadget or version of that gadget. The Ipad sold a million units within the first couple of months. Just when Apple computer thought it’s IPhone would be the dominant smart phone for the next several years, Google released the Android operating system which, within a year, has overtaken the IPhone to be the number one smart phone in the world. Until last year everyone was happy with their latest and greatest HDTV, but now slicker, larger, 3D TV’s are marching into local retailers like a hoard of locusts making consumers feel that their 56” widescreen is out of date.
And it is not just the technology that is changing but it is the speed at which it is changing that is becoming an ever increasing issue. The founder of Intel once said that computer speed would double every 18 months (Moore’s Law). In the early 1970’s when this was first uttered it seemed like an astounding rate of change. However, while this law has held true for CPUs and memory chips, 18 months now that seems like a very long time to wait for a new version of a device. As technological devices are now not as tied to CPU’s for advancement in performance, analysts and hard core audiences (groupies) expect a new and better version of their favorite product at least once a year, or sooner if they feel that the completion has produced something significantly better. The Ipad was released in July without a camera, USB port or memory slot. Now the Ipad’s competition, Android tablets, are being released with all of these features, and technology magazines are predicting that Apple will be forced to upgrade the Ipad by January instead of waiting it’s customary year before releasing an upgrade.
Is it just me or is everyone having a hard time keeping up with this? I thought technology was supposed to make my life easier. . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment