Give one example of a difference before and after the Information Age.
Today we live in what is commonly know as the Information Age. The Information Age refers to the period of time where information rapidly propagated. At that time, information was evidently a scarce resource, sparking competition among companies to find ways to allow faster and wider dissemination of information that were previously thought impossible.
This led to the invention of machines used mainly for information processing, namely the typewriter, the calculator and the telephone.
In the 19th Century, with the development of wireless transmission of information, the ability to relay vocal and auditory information when combined with new recording technologies, the radio was invented. Furthermore, television followed, enabling visual graphics to be displayed alongside sound. With further advancements in technology, we are now able to see both cable and satellite television providing massive amounts of information and entertainment to audiences worldwide.
Present day technological developments have enabled the birth of personal computers in our homes, schools and workplaces, while using communication devices known as modems to access even more information via the Internet.
As a result of the emergence of these new technologies, we are now constantly bombarded with information in vast quantities that we were once inaccessible to before the Information Age.
What do you think the Internet will be like 10 years after? 50 years after?
The Information Age continues on even today, and technological advances have made way for even higher speeds, and more efficient of the spreading of information. The Internet has grown from a mere idea motivated by the need to interconnect communication networks to our current existing ubiquitous communication web joining people, businesses, and organisations by various forms of electronic equipment in a common system.
Based on the integration of wireless, display and Internet access technologies, the ‘fantasy’ of connecting and interacting with the world around us is already starting to become reality. I would not be surprised to see this trend continue its ascend in the next 10 years, 50 years.
First of all, the Internet will definitely be more deeply intergrated in our society and physical environment than ever before. High speed connecting computing devices would proliferate and become embedded in electrical applicances, cars, phones and even clothes. For example, Bluetooth™ wireless technology connectivity would be incorporated in more devices such as earphones, flat-panel televisions, printers, and digital cameras. This is the vision of anywhere, anytime connectivity through wireless technology.
However, increases in connectivity provide us with greater and easier access to products and services, as well as increased surveillance. At that moment in time, there may be a loss of personal privacies. Knowing what you are using is linked to a greater authority elsewhere would lead you to think that your every move is being watched by someone. There should be a greater effort made to control the use of these surveillance methods such as the implementing of regulations and laws to avoid an infringement of people’s rights to free speech and privacy.
