Let me begin with a praise, to the greatest of all technological/conceptual Inventions: The Internet.
After which, I shall take you through a semi-scientific, partly Design and partly analytical journey about technology, my memories and my takes on technology etc. Welcome...
An Ode to Internet...
"I was a kid, so was She. She was everywhere in her developmental changes, I was in India travelling a lot as my father works with a bank. I have seen places and she prevailed in all places.
I was young, so was She. She matured and became the daughter of every household. I matured and became the man of my home, just the way you grew up to be a respected man or a woman.
I fell in love with this lady. She was wiser, she was accessible, she answered to everything asked and she made life easier. We made out big time. Behind every man's success there is a woman; and there she was for me, The Internet.
She lost her virginity when she turned Web2.0, she became social, and then... a socialite. She has now grown to be the extension of the human mind and intellect itself. I am happy that she will be holding my photos and memories, my blog-posts and the digital version of my paintings, designs for the ages to come, even after my death. In essence, my biological form may perish, but not my digital existence that she nourishes and holds with selfless love.
From a kid, to a girlfriend, to love to Mother...what a journey!"
Yes, changes happen everyday. Change is the only Constant. When I read about the Indiblogger-Dell "Change is Easy" contest, probably very late compared to the early birds who had already blogged and managed to get a handsome number of votes, I thought should I really blog about this, especially when it is soooo late?!
Nothing wrong! I felt. Some issues need to be blogged about, for the sheer joy of talking about them.
And what technology has done to our lives, is undoubtedly one among those "
Gem" topics that needs to be blogged about.
About Internet...
To talk about what Internet has done to our lives is beyond the realm of appreciation! It is like an attempt to appreciate '
Breathing', and the greatness of it! However lets go a step beyond and attempt it.
"While breathing stops once we die, our Intellect continues to exist in Internet, assuming a lustrous digital permanence"
How can this beautiful Change, the manifestation of intellect of Mankind be ever described with mere packets of knowledge called "words"?! However, this no doubt is the biggest revolution that has touched human civilization. We can't re-write human history ignoring the Internet can we?
----I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E----
Computers...
Lets make an attempt to list all that have been replaced/reduced (for more efficiency) by the advent of computers, laptops and tablets (the distinction is becoming less perceivable day by day!).
Paper, pen, clocks, watches, time piece, postal department, pen friends, paper pulp books, paper pulp mails, millions of litres of diesel and petrol in transporting the above said etc!
However, technological evolution like biological evolution, keeps its oldest members alive. Technology never preys on older technology.
Q:How?
A:Here we go...
- We type a lot, does that mean we haven't bought a pen in the last month?
- Typewriters are long gone. Take a look at your QWERTY keyboard. Are they really gone?!
- NEVER: Technology evolves, sometimes in form, sometimes in soul. But they religiously abide by the laws of Skeuomorphism.
Lemme give a priming info about Skeuomorphism from Wikipedia...That should help you to relate better.
A skeuomorph, pronounced /ˈskjuːəmɔɹf/ skew-ə-morf, or skeuomorphism (Greek: skeuos—vessel or tool, morphe—shape)[1] is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues to a structure that was necessary in the original.[2] Skeuomorphs may be deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar,[3] such as copper cladding on zinc pennies or computer printed postage with circular town name and cancellation lines. An alternative definition is "an element of design or structure that serves little or no purpose in the artifact fashioned from the new material but was essential to the object made from the original material"[4]. This definition is narrower in scope and ties skeuomorphs to changes in materials.
Q: Alright where is the above mentioned in computers?!
A: Here we go...Again!
- QWERTY keyboards in old typewriters and today's state of the art technologies.
- Stone tablets with engravings, are now the tablets we use, only this time made out of more subtle materials like plastic and silicon!
"both of them were designed to hold information"
- There is no pulp, paper or ink in today's ebooks. Its just well controlled flow of electrons and flip flops! Yet...how do the papers flip in ebook readers?!
My One Good Old memory! (actually...that five years ago ;) )
It was about five years ago, in my college years, I got an acer laptop. A silver colored one. Dell was my desire, but it was expensive and I was a newbie to computers and my dad was a newbie on spending a single large amount on a youngster who never exhibited qualities of Return on Investment :)
(Of course, my dad is very happy with me now, though!) So... it was an acer.
My dream was a pure,
white minimalistic Dell model (today's designer version didn't exist then).
I also bought a
Faber-Castell marker pen, black. I also have a
right brain (attributed to creativity) which is a bit crazy. One day, all the three namely, the right-brain, the marker pen and the laptop thought about adding value to each other and hence was born my first Designer laptop! I have added the picture for you here...
I often used to say...
" I used to taste colors and smell words, they called me schizophrenic and synesthetic;I now do the same and they call me a designer! "
I still remember the criticism designing on a lap-top won me in my college hostel! But, there was one brand which made a bold statement in just a year after that. "
DELL". You can click the image below, if your Right-Brain tingles and you wanna buy one, it is
hyperlinked.
And the guys told me..."Saala, Ram ka laptop tho tab se eisa hii hai!"
I felt happy. Thanks DELL!
Given below is a Dell's take on Skeuomorphism.
Compare the above with the following...
"Designs, beauty, aesthetics and innovation is something only Human minds can comprehend and appreciate. When was the last time you saw a dog innovating the way it eats and exists!?
This is the single and the most important factor that propels technology to keep changing, and evolving. I am happy that Dell has appreciated the element of design on otherwise boring Laptops, which have a reputation for being manufactured(not crafted) in Black or Solid colors like blue, green (claiming them to be major design changes)!
When talking about change, we here are not talking about Climate-Change, or Global tectonic plate Changes! It just a smooth and comfortable technological change. Lets Embrace every one of these changes with uninhibited love and lets mature with technology, as it does with us
Thank you!"
This article was written for "Change is Easy" contest by Indiblogger.in and DELL.
If You liked the article please use the image below, to Cast me your votes. I could win something useful for a designer! Trust me it only takes a minute! I will give you "design" choices again...click on whatever you like...
"All roads lead to Rome, All the links lead to the same!"
_____End of Article___
We are what we read, below are some of the articles I remembered to share with you as I was writing this blog-post, have fun reading them too!
Related interesting reads...
http://bitly.com/inspiron
Pritish Nandy's Blog-post on Internet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph
http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=66232
