Daily Hampshire Gazette
"Technology: It gives, and it takes away"
September 11-12, 2004

By Jef Sharp

High technology, once the province of an elite set of Ph.D.s and engineers, is now an integral part of everyone's life.

While most of us don't complain as we grapple with shortcuts and documents or as we seek better ways to send photos of the kids, there are times that we find ourselves dreaming of simpler times. Anyone who has spent four hours on the phone with tech support has lived through the downside of our new techno-culture.

While we might applaud a new advance in technology, we also discover that with that advance, there are more problems. Time-saving devices suddenly seem much more like time-wasters. We find ourselves leading a time-strapped, frenetic life in which our eyes are forever glued to a monitor or an ''options menu''.

All of which raises the question, are we better or worse with all these gigabytes?

Technological improvements have enabled us to feed billions, extend life and steadily increase human productivity. Scientists right here in our prestigious academic community are working on better ways to search the Internet, secure your computer, develop drugs and save the environment. Technology, not agriculture or industry is the driver.

If we can make fuel out of hydrogen, we might solve the other earthly messes we've gotten ourselves into, like dependence on oil, disposal of nuclear waste, land mine casualties.

There's also no doubt that high technology has revolutionized our working and playing lives.

In just a few short years, cell phones went from being the stuff of science fiction, to what they are today - affordable, easily used, and in practically everyone's pocket. We are no longer amazed at this communication breakthrough. In fact, we get annoyed if we lose someone when they go under a bridge.

Laptop computers are tremendously helpful. What a breakthrough! Yet how long did it take before we expected more battery life, more memory, more speed, DVDs and faster Internet connectivity? If a new laptop were developed that could brew a fresh cup of coffee, we would be duly impressed, at first, and then we would demand a latte.

With MP3 players, a person can carry around 1,000 songs in his or her pocket, ready to be played whenever, and in whatever order, they choose.

But with more technology and more products available, we need more time to research, learn, set up, maintain, upgrade, and ... well, call someone from tech support to talk us through the whole frustrating process.

High technology, of course isn't just about personal gadgets. The health-care and pharmaceutical worlds are advancing at a mind-boggling pace. In the ''good ol' days'', aspirin pretty much did the trick for a headache. Now, there is an entire aisle in the supermarket dedicated to headache medication. The downside? We get a migraine trying to choose from among all the remedies.

Even our food supply is in the high-tech mode nowadays. We can zap a pie for 30 seconds, and it's as warm as it would be after a half hour in the oven. Though one wonders, is it as tasty? Likewise, while food can be made safe through irradiation, there's nothing like a freshly picked, organically grown blueberry in its original pre-genetically modified size.

Higher agricultural yields can feed more people and reduce starvation. Farming technology has enabled the earth, our provider, to spill forth abundant quantities of wheat, corn and a myriad of hybrid foods. This has not only fed the world, but has pulled human resources from the fields and given them time for less critical pursuits, like reading or watching a movie.

Successful treatment of cancer is not to be underappreciated. It makes sense that technology would have a strong focus on keeping those who think up these ideas alive. After all, what could be more important than immortality? A good cell phone connection pales in comparison to 10 or 20 more years of life, especially when, at this rate, the last year or so promises to be almost completely drudgery-free.

Our life expectancy keeps climbing, which is a good thing, but not if we use all the extra time we have on earth calling our tech specialist asking how to deal with the latest Sasser worm or computer virus.

Like it or not, technology is here to stay and will most likely get more, not less, complex. It won't be long now before refrigerators know what to order, body parts are easily replaced and tiny nano-nurses are diagnosing the functioning of cells by surfing our veins. And as technology continues to astound us with solutions, it will surely burden us with more problems.

So where is all of this advancement taking us? Nirvana would be nice. Short of nirvana, a life of leisure would not be bad. Or as a consolation prize, everyone could really use just a bit more free time.

I for one say, march on, upgrade!

Jef Sharp is president and CEO of TechCavalry Inc., an on-site computer services company. He is chairman of Technology Enterprise Council, a regional association of information technology and communications companies, and a division of the Regional Technology Corporation.

For more information about TechCavalry, visit www.techcavalry.com or call 866 DATA FIX.