Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
I woke up this morning (Feb. 19), hit random play on my CD player, and laid there in bed not ready to get up just yet.
Eve 6, the New Radicals, and Soul Coughing were in the player. One song would play off one disc, then when that song was over, the player would move the CDs around and play another disc.
Not only can my CD player play CDs at random, it can also turn off and on when I want it to; record a CD onto a tape perfectly; and several other operations that I am not sure I know how to explain here, so I won't. There are also CD players out there that can hold 100 to 300 discs and play them randomly, too.
I really want one of those soon.
While a CD and CD players aren't anything new, it had me thinking about technology in general and the operations machinery can perform nowadays.
Coming to a household near every one of us soon are digital televisions. They will be replacing the old stand-by televisions, though they will cost around $5,000 to $10,000 per set. By government mandate, everyone will have to have one by 2006 if one wants to watch television as all stations will be required to transmit digitally. There will also be a device one can buy to add to their current sets to receive the digital transmissions in lieu of a new television set, though it may cost a few thousand dollars, too.
Without the attachment, or without a new digital television, the only thing we'll be able to watch on the old televisions are movies from our old VCRs. VCRs are being replaced by DVDs, so their importance won't last much longer either, though.
If I don't buy a digital television, I'll have to say good-bye to some of my favorite shows -Ê"X-Files," "Ally McBeal," ESPN college basketball, "Felicity" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (if they are still on the air).
Instead of television, I could get my entertainment from the Internet. Websites are capable of playing videos, songs and gimmicky animation. There's not much one can't get off the Internet, provided one's server doesn't continue to go off-line. As more people continue to go on-line, getting kicked off a server seems to happen more and more.
Technology isn't all barrels of fun, though. There is a lot of technology being used to spy on people - what people are doing, what they are saying, etc.
Driver's license photos will soon be digitally taken and will be stored in a national database. According to a CNN story I read over the Internet Thursday, Image Data LLC not only helped the U.S. Secret Service set up the process in such states as New Hampshire, but also bought millions of the photo identifications. The database has already begun in some parts of Indiana and in the next few weeks will be a common practice throughout the state.
Personally, while I understand the database can protect American citizens in some ways, the issue of privacy becomes a concern for me. The government already knows how much I make a year, where I spend my money, how I spend my money and when I had my last traffic accident. Do they really need my driver's license photo in a computer database?
With their satellites, government can also probably pinpoint my location in a heartbeat if they really wanted to or even take my picture. All of this because of the major advancements of technology that occur daily.
If we want to live in an age of technology, though, we must realize there are people and groups who will abuse the power of technology. It's a scary situation and sometimes hard to believe, but the culprits are not going to go away anytime soon.
Then there's the question of Y2K.
For those who have been out of this world the past couple of years, Y2K is the computer glitch that when the clock on everything computer-operated hits 12 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2000, the computers will read it as Jan. 1, 1900, and everything will shut down. Some people claim their money will be lost at their bank, ATMs won't give money, air traffic controllers won't be operational, etc.
Fortunately, many companies and government agencies have been working on solving their problems. By the end of the year, it won't be as bad as many people think it will be. It will not be the end of the world.
And even though it is abused by some, and computer makers didn't think too much about Y2K when they were designing computers, technology is still pretty cool. There are digital cameras, faster computers, the Internet, smart cars, cellular phones and voice-activated toys. Microwaves can heat up food in a matter of minutes, and lasers can cut into people precisely during surgery.
Even the Power Macintosh I'm typing this editorial on can perform more functions than computer makers 10 years ago probably ever thought about. Hand-held calculators are becoming more and more like computers.
I enjoy technology. I've experimented with various forms of it and learned to use aspects of it I never knew would even exist when I was in Elementary School playing "Oregon Trail" on the computer. And while it does get abused for the wrong purposes, overall it goes to show how much man has came along since the days of sticks and stones.
So, bring it on!
I'm ready to talk to my computer and have it write for me. The programmed automobile will be a way for me to eat lunch without having to drive. A cellular phone the size of my wristwatch will not only be portable, but will also be handy should an unfortunate accident occur.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
