Technology Is Shrinking, But Growing In Power & Influence

With most of today’s technology getting smaller and smaller, the power and influence of it in our lives keeps getting bigger and bigger. Nowadays we need technology. It seems like we can’t live without it. Let’€™s take a look at some items that have gotten smaller and more important, as technology and time have advanced.

Computers

Remember that huge desktop computer that you used to have? You’d brag to everyone about the 400 megabytes of RAM that your system had, and your new color screen. Well, today you can have a laptop that is infinitely faster, more useful and it’s portable, so you can use it for business or just for fun. In an increasingly paperless world, computers have become much more important than before. For work, school and other modern communication, you need to send in electronic copies of papers, resumes and other professional forms. Laptops have become the primary way of doing sending and receiving this kind of information, and their portability has made it much easier for us to communicate, as well.

Video Cameras

I realize that not everyone uses video cameras in everyday life, but sending and sharing videos has never been more common or easy, as it is today. If you wanted to record something, you’€™d have to lug around your huge video camera, along with the VHS tapes that you’d need to record with, and hope that something worth recording happens. Now you can make digital videos of high quality with an iPod, iPad, your phone, or a flip cam. There are even video cameras that are made specifically for extreme sports. With a couple pushes of a button, you can record a video and post it on YouTube, all in just seconds. Instagram, vines and other social media have made it easier than ever before to share your videos, too.

News got released earlier this year the that Chicago Sun-Times fired their entire photography staff and decided to train their reporters to take pictures and video with their iPhones. This isn’t the first time it has happened, but this time it got a lot of attention. This digital revolution has only fanned the flames of the mobile technology expansion, and with the invention of Google Glass and reports of the upcoming iWatch, it will only get smaller and more mobile.

Music

Way back when, people used to have to haul around a boom box€, if they wanted music on-the-go. We went from the boombox to portable tape players, and from those to portable CD players, otherwise known as discmans. The problem with a discman was that if you were walking or running, you’d scratch and damage your CD, making it hard to use again. We couldn’t settle for that, though, so we improved the portable CD player to a new MP3 player that can fit in your pocket. Your music can’€™t be scratched, you can play games on it and even get on the internet, in some cases. MP3 players have become an item that you simply can’t leave home without.

Phones

About 20 years ago, the only phones that anyone had were landlines. Cell phones were impractical, hard to carry around, had bad service and sky high prices. Cell phones shrunk, we started getting better service providers, and cell phones were changing the way we communicate. Flip phones, slide phones and touch phones started coming out, and before you knew it, everyone had a cell phone. Home phones started going extinct, and normal cell phones turned into smart phones. Smart phones have become so powerful, important and used that we have to recharge our phones 1-3 times a day. You can check your bank accounts, record videos and even control your home security, all from the palm of your hand.

Seeing how small our technology has become, in the last 20 years, is fun. It’s also a bit scary. If we are already this dependent on technology, imagine how we’€™ll be in another 20 years. It’s also fun to think about. There will be plenty of new devices that will help to make our lives more fun and convenient.