The Technology Paradox: The Future Of Technology

If you’re reading this post, to a certain degree you’re a technophile, gadget lover, or just found me via a search engine (if so, welcome).

If you are a technophile or a gadget lover like me (I’m kinda both), then you’ll find that reading about technology, scoping out your next buy, and of course using your tech are all part of something between a hobby and a lifestyle.

But is there a point where we’ll all get sick of it? I can hear many of you screaming “never!” at me, and I know that it seems insane for a gadget worshipper/blogger to come out with this kind of stuff, but I have reason, too.

Simply put, I think that we’re living in an ever-expanding bubble when we think of technology.

Verizon Wins 700Mhz Auction, And Why That’s Not So Great

What Just happened: Just as Gizmodo, and to a lesser extent I believed, Verizon has won the auction for rights to the 700Mhz chunk of the US airwaves. The Giz has a handy guide here about why that’s important, and what it is.

Why that’s not so great: Simply put, Verizon doesn’t really change things.

When Google threw their hat into the ring, opinions were divided on whether it was purely to save face, but I thought that a Google-owned 700Mhz band would have been far more interesting.

More info after the jump>

eStarling Addresses Product Issues

Yesterday, I talked about holiday tech meltdowns, and noted that many readers had been having issues with technology they had bought over the holidays. Such woes included WiFi picture frames being unresponsive, and mini helicopters catching fire when charging.

Here are some of the complaints from readers:

“… E-mailing pictures fails most of the time, the server responds with denial of service frequently because eStarling frames apparently sold well this season. RSS feeds didn’t update at all … duplicate pictures from the RSS feeds.”

- Thanks to John Jeandron

“… charging when we realized, as we were leaving, that it was on fire on the table …”

- Chris

Well, whilst Air Hogs (Maker of the Havoc Heli mini helicopter) were not available for comment (I’m still trying to contact them), spokespeople for eStarling contacted me back with statements.

Holiday Tech Meltdown, Holiday Gadget Horror Stories

Reports are coming in from readers of holiday purchases gone horribly awry.

It seems like some readers have bought gadgets as gifts, only to have their holiday dreams of gadgety fun cruelly dashed. Some gadgets have been more or less rendered useless, whereas others have even caught fire.

One example is of the eStarling WiFi digital picture frame (review here):

“Bought one of these for the parents, received in advance of the holiday to set it up and try out. All worked as advertised….until yesterday. E-mailing pictures fails most of the time, the server responds with denial of service frequently because eStarling frames apparently sold well this season. RSS feeds didn’t update at all yesterday and today there’s duplicate pictures from the RSS feeds. Uploading isn’t much better given the server times out and you can only upload 4 pictures at one time. Sad ending to what appeared to be a great idea and terrific gift…imagine a digital frame that the not-so-tech-savvy parents could enjoy. Keep imagining.”

- Thanks to John Jeandron

A Darker Tomorrow

It’s been the subject of many science fiction tales across the years, but what exactly will happen in 45 years, when the first fossil fuels begin to run out?

Put simply, the world runs on fossil fuel – petrol and diesel, coal-fired power stations, plastics from oil – to exist. Chances are, you’re using a machine that was delivered by a fossil fuelled truck, made of parts shipped or driven, or flown on a fossil fuelled transport method, and made of plastic from oil.

We have grown our entire lives dependent on this fuel source, mostly unaware of the impending disasters that we may face when this drug runs out.

A closer look at Android

Recently, a video surfaced on YouTube.com, of Sergey Brin and Steve Horowitz giving a video tour of Android, Googles new operating system for mobile devices.

In case you missed it, here’s the video:

There’s a look at the ‘home’ screen, a kind of desktop, with a bar of icons that you can scroll across for applications like web browser, folders, contacts, and a wallpaper image.
This appears to be quite standard approach, not an attempt to emulate desktop icons in any way. It looks quite minimalist and utilitarian, with a thin information bar at the top, giving battery life and signal strength, the time - and a square ‘G’ logo.
This seems to me like a better approach to mobile software, keeping the interface uncluttered to allow faster access to the information that you want - very Google.