Internet

As I was my wireless device to access information on the Internet I began thinking about technology. I think that we just scratched the surface of a world mediated by digital technology. The places that the Internet will take us will be amazing. The synergy of all the pieces to the equation will be very interesting...

THE INTERNET. The Internet gives us access to information. It is constantly changing. In my opinion, it is alive and growing. For example, Google is one of contemporary time's most innovative forward thinking companies. The name of their company is a household name and a verb. "Google it". They have done a great job of indexing the Internet. As a result it is one of the most popular search engines. I recently had the opportunity to expose myself by letting Google desktop index my computer. It's interesting what they are doing. They constantly index the Internet and they are bringing other data to the Internet. For example, their recent initiative to scan libraries of books to make the text searchable. With blogs, our opinions and thoughts are capable of being searched. Eventually, virtually anything you can think of can be searched and found.
It also changes the way we communicate and the concept of self(we’ll save that discussion for another day).

PLUS

THE DEVICES. Our lives will soon be coordinated by the internet and devices which will let us have access at all times. For example, I am writing this blog as I am riding BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) soon after I am done I will post this to my blog. As a matter of fact before I got here I checked departure times on this same device. But devices will go beyond sending/receiving email, reading the news, or checking stock quotes. It gives us control. I am thinking about a world mediated by the Internet. There are other products such as, cooking ovens, refrigerators, and home security systems being developed that will allow you to turn them on and off among other controls via the internet. Also the computers in our cars will be much more complex. In the near future we should be able to get into our car, type in (better yet, via voice activation say) our destination, and it will shoot back the quickest route based on current weather and traffic conditions. Our mobile phones will become much more powerful (especially with the emergence of 3G wireless data networks) and allow us to do much of what we can do from our home computer while at the beach. Maybe while on vacation your PDA will notify you that someone has opened the back window of your home. So then you access your Internet based security camera and see someone lurking around. You then notify the appropriate authorities with a description. The term Internet appliance will soon be outdated because everything will have access to the Internet as a minimum standard. In summary, everything we do in a day will be assisted, mediated, accessed, or controlled by the Internet.

PLUS

GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT. Throw into the mix government involvement, regulation, and special interest. I don't much about this other than it will have impact.

EQUALS?

Is your first thought, this will be good or this will be bad? Opinions anyone?