The Benefits and Consequences of How Far We've Come

This week we wrapped up the reading in Grant's book. The last few chapters brought up some very interesting points. One of the chapters was about the Internet itself. In this chapter, Grant brought up a term that I was actually unaware of. The term is "cyber-squatting". The whole idea behind this concept is that people will go out and take control over a domain name that they know someone else will want, and then hold out for as much money as they can get. This is much easier to understand with an example. The book used the example of www.whitehouse.com. If you go to this site you will find that it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual Whitehouse. It seems that the owner of this site is hoping that the Government will want to take control of that domain name, and will therefore have to buy them out to do so. This type of squatting also happens a lot with brand names and celebrities. The Government is now trying to regulate this and has created such things as the Anti-Cyber-Squatting Consumer Protection Act. This is aimed at allowing companies or individuals with a legitimate claim to a name or brand to take control of the domain name. This was an interesting concept to read about. I was unaware that all this was happening. It seems that people will think of anything to make some money!

In chapter 22 Grant talked about the term telepresence. Grant defined this term as, "a series of technologies that allow for face-to-face meetings between people who are separated geographically". This has become a huge benefit to the business world. Companies are now able to hold meetings with clients and other companies without having to travel to do so. This cuts down on cost of travel and fuel usage. This technology also allows users to pick up on nonverbal cues that they wouldn't be able to with the use of a regular telephone. This idea is also used for personal communication among everyday internet users. I talked in an earlier blog about the concept of Skype and all it's capabilities. People are using this technology to have more intimate conversations with loved-ones who are far away. My family is currently in the process of trying to explain Skype to both sets of Grandparents because my sister just had a baby three months ago. This technology would allow my niece to see my Grandparents and hear their voices at the same time and become familiar with them even though they are across the country. Of course to them it sounds very complicated, but it really is very user-friendly and doesn't require someone with a lot of tech-savvy to operate the program. This whole concept opens the world to so many new capabilities. For instance, the military is using telepresence in the form of telerobotics. They use this to diffuse bombs, and control vehicles. They are even discussing the idea of using this technology to replace aircraft pilots or even astronauts who put themselves in danger in order to do their jobs.
The book ended with some conclusions from Grant and a brief look towards the future. After reading this book, it has made me realize and appreciate just how many advances we have made in the area of technology. As silly as it may sound, I always looked at the Jetsons as the premium example of just how far technology can take us! And I used to think that I would never see anything like that in my lifetime. However, we are well on our way. We have the telephone that allows us to see the other person that we are speaking to, although it doesn't fly up to us on command(maybe someday!). We are continually advancing in the field of robotics, and we already have such things as the robotic vacuum and even a robotic lawn-mower. We still have a while before we reach the standards of Rosie the robot maid, but again, the beginnings are there. I've even seen advertisements recently about the advances being made in the concept of gesture recognition. The commercial used the examples of turning on lights, pushing down the toaster, and turning on music all with the simple wave of a hand. But of course the best concept from the Jetsons is the idea of the flying car. For years now we have heard rumors and whispers about exactly where we stand in the creation of such technology. I recently saw a video of a strange looking vehicle resembling a car that sort of hovered above the ground. Along the same lines, I have heard rumors of jet-packs of sorts that are being developed primarily for law enforcement. This would allow them to respond to emergencies faster and patrol larger areas with greater ease and less time spent. In other words, we are on our way with this concept as well. It is amazing the advances that have been made since I was born, and there is no telling what is to come next. I am grateful to all those brilliant minds out there who are creating these unbelievable things, and I believe the possibilities for the future are endless.