Courtesy of Personal Tech Pipeline
During the 1950s, American popular culture became obsessed with visions of a fantastic scientific future. By the year 2000, the lives of ordinary people would be improved by nuclear-powered cars, food made out of sawdust or taken in pill form, underwater or skyscraper homes, "Smell-O-Vision" and mail delivered by rocket ship. Most of these visions never happened, mainly because they tended to be based on post-WWII desires, tastes and technology, rather than our own. If these products were available now, would you want them? A half-century ago, few visionaries foresaw millions of teenagers walking around with camera phones in their backpacks, cars that tell you how to get to your destination, or then-unimaginably powerful fingerprint-secured pocket computers. And the Mother of All Personal Technologies — the Internet — well, almost no one saw that coming. The future of technology turned out to be far, far better than anyone imagined. We live in an age of breathtaking technological advancement — of space-traveling robots, nano-technology medicine, and genetically engineered crops. Though big tech is important, what most of us really care about is the small stuff. The smart phone in your pocket, the GPS in your car, and the digital camera you use to take pictures of family and friends. Your own PCs, entertainment systems, media players, handheld messaging gadgets, portable game devices, personal area networks, wired clothing, intelligent and internet-connected home appliances, home security systems, personal robots, telematics, and biometrics are the most important technologies on Earth because they affect your quality of life every day. They're part of you. But what about the future? Forget about the next 50 years. In just the next five years, we'll see all manner of amazing innovations come to market at affordable prices: Smart clothing that tells your washing machine what settings to use, wireless electronic paper, 10-megapixel camera phones, voice-controlled home appliances, holographic entertainment, automobile auto-pilot, thought-activated game controllers, and wireless money. You'll first hear about these great gadgets and technologies right here, coming down the Personal Tech Pipeline. We'll cover them when they're still in the labs, when they come out as prototypes, and when they become available for purchase. We'll help you choose where to buy them, which ones to buy, and then tell you how to use them. The year 2000 is ancient history. And the personal technologies in our lives are changing everything. Fasten your seatbelt and hang on. It's going to be quite a ride.
What Is Personal Tech, Anyway?
At Personal Tech Pipeline we define "personal technology" as any mechanical or logical system that enables your brain to access and use one or more microprocessors. That sounds abstract maybe even a little crazy but hear us out.
If you were born with a photographic memory, you wouldn't want to carry a PDA. But you weren't, so you do. The PDA's user interface, as well as its system and application software, essentially enable the wetware between your ears to be upgraded with the processors and memory chips inside the handheld computer. "Janet Biffendorfer. That name sounds familiar. Let me see ... oh, yeah. I met her at business meeting three years ago on August 13 at about 2:30PM when I was visiting Colorado Springs. She was marketing director for Gerbils R Us. Her office phone number was 719-762-4434 and her e-mail address was jbiff@gerbilsrus.com."
Total recall is a wonderful thing. And if you carry any kind of PDA, you've got it.
In addition to photographic memory, personal tech can entertain, guide, teach, and protect you. And, perhaps most importantly, it can give you the power to communicate with just about anyone you want over vast distances, anytime, anywhere.
