I guess it might depend on how old you are and what you grew up with, to me technology is changing faster than ever. Every time I turn around I hear about something new. Sometimes it amazes me, and other times I think oh my goodness what is the world coming to? Not to mention every time I turn on my computer there seems to be an Annoying Frequent Software Update.
I don’t know if I should consider it lucky or unlucky, but I am old enough to have grown up before the internet that we know today even existed. Some would say: “That’s not lucky. I couldn’t live without it”. That may be true for a lot of people now, but when there was no such thing it wasn’t a big deal.
Some people say that the internet and technology makes things faster, easier, and more efficient. To me it depends on what you are talking about. I recently had to make some quick online decisions in a short period of time. It was a little convenient, but it wasn’t exactly a fast and simple process either.
When the internet started to come about and evolve with the whole dot com boom things were obviously much simpler than what they are today. At least in terms of programing languages and what you could do. In the early internet day most people and even business had to work with standard html. The only database driven sites that I can remember were in use by big companies and corporations, and there were few of them that could do it at the time.
For a while there I can remember cgi and perl programmers were in high demand, and you could get big bucks if you were experienced. That didn’t last too long, and I can’t even recall the last time cgi or perl programming was even mentioned anymore.
I almost think it was an ideal time to learn about internet technology and programing. It was much easier to learn because things were moving at a much slower pace than what they are today. When a new programing language came out you actually had time to learn it.
Now you almost don’t get enough time to learn it before it changes or updates. Keeping up with all the changes can be a challenge.
Don’t forget about all the different web browsers either. Although they are better than what they used to be, there are still some differences and compatibility issues. Just keeping up with the differences from one browser to the next, not to mention multiple versions of each is a nightmare. I was reading something the other day that said you could use this code with Firefox and Chrome, but not with Internet Explorer. Another post was a compatibility chart for javascript functions. That one was really confusing. It went into different versions of compatibility for the more popular web browsers. Keeping up and trying to remember all of those so you can create things with the best compatibility ratio is a real pain.
Even though I grew up before all of these programing languages and got to learn them at a much slower pace they are becoming more and more difficult to keep up with. I couldn’t imagine trying to figure many of them out from day one now. It’s not impossible, but it can be overwhelming and confusing if you have little or no experience to begin with.
I can only imagine what the next 5 to 10 years will bring in technology, programing, and more.
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27 comments
This doesn’t surprise me at all – the more equipment evolve, the easier it is to invent stuff. For some reason, now I’m glad when I see new software updates. New features make work easier.
To speak meaningfully of living in a period of abnormally fast change, we need to have some meaningful (if rough) measure of how quickly technology is really moving.
Technology is surely changing fast. These are latest software, gadgets and so much of it coming in at such a speed.
I was in the Internet writing business in the late 90s and back then it was hard enough trying to make sure everything we produced was compatible with the few browsers available (I believe it was Netscape and IE.) I can’t imaging how the tech writers of today manage it with so many different flavors of browsers and add-ons that seem to change every month.
Yes, the technology is moving fast these days. New RRAM is on the way, the new iPhone 5 is coming soon and much more. Now new software updates is coming sometime twice a month, compare to twice a year a couple of years ago.
My parents are terrified of all this technology. Likewise, 20 years down the line, my son might bring me a gadget that might terrify me. Technology is indeed moving too fast-sometimes that is a good thing-and at other times it is bad-like you have aptly said here in this post!
Good article that addresses anybody that uses technology on a regular basis. Improvements have made things much easier for all of us but with this extra convenience comes the updates and patches that are needed to ensure our technology performs the way we want it to. This will be a pattern for the future as updates will always be required
The rapid advancements in technology sometimes make me feel old. Younger crowds know more of the newest technology than myself:( It is at times really frustrating. We need to update ourselves to dynamic technology changes accordingly.
Thank you for this post. I definitely agree that technology is moving faster then ever, there is always some new advancement, that is shocking everyone. I am looking forward to what the future holds for technology, I love it and do no understand why people would be negative about it.
I’m 27 years old, and I too remember the early days of the internet, and even before the internet really became available for personal use. I remember my parents computer running the 56k modem and taking 15-20 min or longer to download a single mp3.
That being said, I agree that before the internet, people were fine without it. BUT, now that we have the net it would be very hard to take away because we rely on it for so many things. Instant news, instant stock coverage, instant messageing… Everything!
I have seen the era when there was no Internet and just as I grew up and by the time went to college, the world was changed and it seems I have seen the change from starting Internet to its boom. And I do consider myself lucky to see the growth.
Times sure have changed. I am glad I that I am old enough to know a world without the internet and ever changing technology. I can’t even imagine what the next 10+ years may bring.
I’m so old i remember my first home games console “pong” and i thought that was amazing, nowadays i watch my sons playing a football game and thinks its a real game. i cant keep up with tech although i try, i just use it without a clue how it works. What tech will be like in 5 to 10 years time is beyond my imagination and we will just have to wait and see
The problem isn’t just how quickly technology changes but how many things there are to think about. Take web development as an example. If you develop a website you have to think about how it will work in every browser (including different versions of the same browser) and how it will work on mobile (plus a lot of other things). Man, I sound old!
I hear you there. I have the most problems with Internet Explorer compatibility. I gave up on IE6 years ago. I rarely bother with IE7, and I am close to discontinuing support for IE8 in favor of IE9 and above. I rarely have any problems with Firefox or Chrome regardless of the version.
Technology is surely advancing at a faster rate than ever! and it definitely can be overwhelming with all the changes that come along with it. But, you just have to keep thinking what we would do without it. It is the source of so much information.
It’s actually not that surprising now, maybe a few years ago it would make impacting news. Technology is almost as if catching up to us, which makes it a bit scary too.
I think that you have written true. Technology is simply running. We can not stop it!
Technology is running very fast indeed. As you said you had time to learn a programming language and updates were really unusual. Nowadays things change very quickly and it’s difficult to keep up with it.
Technology is boon to human being. It is something that normal people can’t think of it.
It is beyond there expectations.
I think all this technology is a good thing, but it can also isolate us. Sure, we are all connected, but there is definitely less face to face contact then there used to be. Even telephones… nobody talks anymore, everyone just texts. It is all so impersonal. Good and bad I guess.
Talking about the “pace of technological change” is only the tip of the spear of MBA-speak that is stabbing the academy.
Cool resource!
Technology is evolving fastly .Just like the evolution of human race.I feel this is also an evolution.
well the fundamentals to the evolution of technology over the last few years is defintiely the Internet…it is this that has set the foundations for the years to come…
I have gone a year without using a “cell” phone of any type. A bit ironic since I met someone online in 1997 and we had a long relationship. We would never get off the ground today. I am a conversationalist. People are foolish to think they can get to know anything about someone via texts and maybe a five minute phone call. People made fun of me for online dating in 1997. Now it is all the rave.
I am not exactly tuned into the whole cell phone and text message thing myself. I don’t even know how some people get a story strait half the time. Even online they tend to just skim an article. Many times a news article is misleading and you really need to read it entirely to get it strait.
Technology is all about Updates. Yes, Its moving faster then the past time. We will notice more revolutionary gadgets in future. I luv Technology until it doesn’t get misused.