Tech'no'logy??

“Harry checked the 3” screen on his tiny pocket device once more. No, there was definitely no movement inside the room. Perhaps this was the right time to make a move. He whipped out another gadget shaped like a pen. The instrument remained silent. This meant that there was no door alarm in operation.”

No, you haven’t read any fragment from J.K.Rowling’s latest Harry Potter book. This is the technological era and nothing but everything is possible here. Welcome to the real world of sensors, cameras, surveillance units and a gazillion other things which could fit into the size of your palm…as long as you pay for it. But nowadays, different companies and technological giants are falling over one another to give the common man his dose of technology at prices that do not burn a hole in his pocket! For instance, you could purchase a simple surveillance camera for a little over $40. For the technology geek, this must be the Utopia people once spoke about. Everything is possible at not-so-exorbitant costs and it feels like living a dream.

Not surprisingly, as much as we have advanced in technology, the levels of our privacy have taken a mighty dip. Everything everywhere is taped. You always knew that stores like Wal-Mart needed electronic surveillance cameras because they were huge and the staff couldn’t possibly check all corners of the store. At least that’s normal. But you can bet your last dime that the quaint little Bishop Street Café that you so serenely sip coffee in is also bugged. Where ever you go in public, you better watch out. The road, the banks, the stores, the offices, the schools, maybe even the washroom of the restroom is bugged! You need to watch your step for certain. And this is just the surveillance bit that I am talking about. I haven’t even started on what you cute little laptop can do if forced to. Any chat conversation, URL’s that you may have visited, your email accounts, why, even your system can be hacked by someone who probably doesn’t even know you but is out for some fun! Who ever heard of a non-living thing having a cold, no… that’s not what it’s called… a virus? If that’s not enough, you virus scanner may actually carry spy ware itself.

We obviously cannot resort to the good old days of calculators and typewriters because we have been spoiled rotten by our technological friends… so much that they form a major chunk of our lives and we literally wouldn’t have a thing to do in the weekends without our weekends-free cell phone schemes! And the Internet certainly ranks as one of the best discoveries of the past century which makes it just a one-click issue to say, find the meaning of a word your English whiz-friend used. Just tap a query in Google! And it’s definitely made the world a much smaller place and reduced the cost of so many things. With stuff like VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), International calls have been made almost as cheap as local calls… what more could we ask for???

As much as technology is absolutely necessary and shows the level of development of this modern world, I think it should be embraced as a whole community according to the utility. As a commoner, most of us are unaware of the actual advancement that’s going on, on the other side and we certainly aren’t going to use it right away till some good-old friend brags about its pros to us. But we might as well be aware… who knows maybe the next dance party you attend might be taped live and transmitted across the Internet live for millions to see. I wouldn’t want to be caught dead in such a situation, would you??