'How Technology Changed Society\r'

' by means of the years, weve watched engine room grow like a pip-squeak budding into adulthood: It starts out mostly repetitive and pooping, then crawling, gradu eithery learning to walk, and finally fitted to run at a speed we all wish we could keep up with. Weve fixn engine room fail, and weve seen it succeed. Weve poked play at it when it doesnt strike sense, and weve praised it when its absolutely brilliant. Weve yelled at it when it runs out of power, and weve fixed or replaced it when it gets run down.We spread over technology as a family member†level(p) if that is a little co-dependent. You atomic number 50t blame us, though; its certainly made aspects of our lives easier: Were no longer forced to accuse letters through the postal service, book vacations through travel agents, shop in stores, visit the depository library for research material, or wait for our photos to be developed. convey to technology, all of these activities can be performed either digita lly or online.At the same time, though, technology can make life more convolutedâ€especially when something doesnt take on right or doesnt do what its supposed to: Say, for instance, a GPS device tells you to turn the wrong way on a one-way street (yikes! ), or a computer erases all of your important data (ouch! ). Unfortunately, its non always easy to understand how a growth or service works, not to mention whether or not to hold off on adopting it until a bettor, shinier thing comes along. A perfect example is the ever-evolving exposure format.Weve gone from Betamax to VHS to DVD to HD DVD/Blu-ray to just Blu-ray (and everything in-between, of course). It can take years before a technology catches on, and even more time before we see a significant price drop. For the most part, however, technology does us more good than harm: Its reconnected us with old college roommates, helped us learn a distant language, and encouraged us to exercise. Follow us as we look back at how t echnology has changed our livesâ€for the better and for the worseâ€in terms of communication, computing, dining, entertainment, and travel.\r\n'