Generations and Technology

Do you remember when you were a kid and your dad or grandpa would talk about 'how easy kids have it these days'? And about how much technology has changed ("when I was your age we didn't even HAVE a TV!"). Well I think I might finally know what that is all about.

I got thinking the other day, do you remember when you were a kid and you had your picture taken? Depending on your age, chances are it was either on a Polaroid or a big old camera that you had to take 24 pictures or whatever, and then take it in to get developed. In the latter case, it could be several days before you had your pictures back.

Eventually there came along 1 hour photo finishing.........amazing! You could fill up your roll of film on your giant camera, take it in, and have your pictures back within and hour. You still didn't know if the pictures you took would turn out or not, but you would find out within an hour (give or take).

Do you remember when Digital Cameras came out? Although extremely expensive, they were all the rage. You could take a picture and INSTANTLY see how it turned out. Plus, you could delete the pictures, take new ones, print them yourself......everything is quicker and easier for the user.

As if having this technology wasn't enough, digital cameras got smaller....and smaller....and smaller. The one I have now is only slightly larger than a credit card, and less than an inch thick. And even that camera is a couple of years old now. Digital cameras even appeared in cell phones. At first, this was an 'exclusive' features also for people with expensive phones....but now just about every cell phone has a camera in it. I know older people that use cell phones that didn't even KNOW that their phone had a camera....it's just a given now.

So now, you can actually take a photo or someone or something and have it uploaded to Facebook within about 30 seconds (including the time it took to take the picture) - all wirelessly. And everyone on your Friend's List can view it instantly.

So back to 'when you were young'......I know that I personally (and this just isn't in regards to cameras, but any product really) think WOW....I don't know how they could ever improve this product. But in the example I just gave you above, products evolve until they barely have anything in common at all with the original - other than the function.

One thing I always think about now is cars - how could they POSSIBLY change the looks or add more features to today's car models to keep them fresh for another hundred years? Look at what cars looked like in the 80's to what they look like now. Every single car looks like a high performance race machine....even a Toyota Corolla for crying out loud. And these cars have everything. They will do everything but scratch your nuts....and there is probably a European model that will even do that (or a Kia that does it unintentionally due to shoddy workmanship). So how can cars POSSIBLY evolve from here?

I guess we'll find out.