Technopoly Pt.1

Whats up fellow bloggers? I know you guys missed me, so I'm back again and long overdue for my 4th career blog post ever. For this particular blogging assignment we were to read and critique the first half of Neil Postman's Technopoly. I flew through the first half of this book and found it to be a bit more interesting than the last Computers book. I think this is somewhat true because of Postman's strong passion and attitude for the subject of the conflict. Postman begins the book by analyzing the struggle between culture and technology throughout history. Postman argues that throughout history technological innovations have had ripple effects throughout society and culture that have, for the most part, gone unseen by the naked eye. He continues his argument by explaining how humanity has become too reliant on technology and new inventions are constantly replacing the need for basic human ingenuity. It becomes apparent as the book progresses that Postman takes a negative stance against technology. According to Postman's theories, I believe that the rate at which computers and various technological inventions are replacing actual human work is exponentially increasing. With this said, I think that one day there will be a time when technology is able to complete the majority of the basic tasks we presently take for granted today.

Computers Part 2!!!

I do not know If it was because I was nearing the end or I was slowing going insane, but I actually enjoyed the second half of this book. I think most of it had to do with the fact that I and most people of my generation are old enough to have seen or seen the effects of the computer boom. We were the last generation to have seen the world without the internet and the evolution of it's effects it has had on technology, culture and just the world in general. The second half of the book strongly exemplifies that the groundbreaking invention of the electronic generation was the microcomputer during the 1970's. Though it filled a whole room, this new computer was able to calculate things never before thought imaginable. The book goes on to further explain how competition between companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Apple fueled the constant urge for faster and more efficient technology. This helped computers get to the power level where they are today. One thing that I found particularly interesting that I knew about but never really realized, was the part the space race played in the evolution of computers. Our government would stop at no means to have the most advanced technology and computer systems in order to reach the moon first. Like I said earlier, I think I paid more attention and got more out of the second half of this book because I could relate to it more. Though it is somewhat interesting, it is kind of hard to really get into factual text about thousand year old counting bones. 

Computers pgs 1-83

Here I am back once again for my second blog post ever. Though I am quite excited to get back to the blogging world, I wish I had something a bit more exciting to write about. As an assignment, we were asked to read the first half ( pages 1-83) of the book Computers. I came to find that, like myself, most of the class had not yet received the book. I finally got it in the mail on Friday and had to cram to do this blog on Sunday. Needless to say I had quite the party filled weekend....NOT. The first five chapters of this book felt like I was reading the index of a history textbook. Though there were many extraordinary and interesting inventions and concepts discussed, I felt the book did not give the reader the feel and excitement that these inventions and concepts brought to society and culture during the time in which they were conceived. The author basically created a timeline that portrayed the rise mathematics and mechanics. I felt as if just when you were starting to understand and really feel the item they were talking about, the author quickly curtailed the subject of the text to the next historical subject. I did find some of the information and various random facts throughout the first five chapters to be fairly interesting though, for example, the invention of mechanical devices to the invention of electronic devices truly revolutionized the world market for the globalization of computers. I think the main thing overall the first half of this book made me realize is how far humans, as a species, have come in terms of technological advances and how we can take most technological comforts we have today for granted.

Internet Log

hello blog world, first of all, I must admit this my first blogging experience ever and I am going to try and write off the top of my head rather than pre-write something then post it on here. Over the past few days ( thurs, friday, and saturday) I have been keeping track of how long and in which ways I utilize technology, specifically the internet. Before conducting this mini study I felt that I was a seldom user that really did not spend too much time aimlessly "surfing" the net. I try to use technology and the internet towards productivity as well as attaining important and desired information. After the two and a half days of observing myself I came to find that in fact I was almost in a sense an internet addict if that makes sense. I found myself using the computer much more frequently than I had thought I did. I was also pretty shocked at the amount of time I spent on the computer just letting my mind wondering looking at Facebook or reading a mindless small article. You really don't realize how dependent frequently one uses technology like the internet until you really sit down and keep track of yourself. I really bet a lot of people out there would be even more surprised than I was to see how much time you can waste wondering the web. I am definately going to be much more conscience of how and how long I use technology such as the internet. As for my first blog post, I don't want to speak too soon but I think it was a success.....hopefully. Anyway I enjoyed it and I look forward to the next blogging assignment.


Mitch T