Some technologies just fit so well into our lives and lifestyles that eventually we don't even remember how we used to do things before they came along. I'm reminded of this each time I watch an old episode of Magnum, P.I.
There's always a scene in the end where Magnum figures out who the bad guy is, and said bad guy is usually across the island at that very moment with Higgins (or Rick, or T.C, or the woman Magnum's been flirting with the whole episode). This leads to the scene where Magnum races the red Ferrari around the island and, just in the nick of time, saves his friend. When I watch that scene now, I want to shout "You'll never make it in time, Thomas! Just call his cell phone!"
We often don't even realize how ingrained a technology has become until we're faced with a situation, like in the old Magnum episode, where that technology doesn't exist. Here are some other technologies that have become so much a part of my life that I expect them to be there:
DVR I've written about why I love DVR before. But it's only when I'm away - maybe in a hotel - and watching TV that I realize that DVR and digital cable are no longer extras for me, they're the norm. During each hotel stay there is at least one time when I pick up the hotel remote expecting to get a 15 second replay or program information or on-screen TV Guide before I remember that not everyone has DVR and digital cable. Yet. I wonder how long before we start seeing this as a standard feature in hotel rooms?
Google Maps Sometimes I find it hard to believe that in 1993 our family drove across the country, stopping off at various campgrounds, attractions and public parks, without the aid of Google Maps or the internet. Or a cell phone, for that matter. We had the whole trip planned out ahead of time, knew where we wanted to go, where we were staying, etc. How did we do it? I can't even remember. But I'm pretty sure I prefer trip planning via Google Maps and other internet resources over whatever it was we did back then.
Digital Cameras I was watching Father of the Bride II the other day. The family is moving out of the house they've lived in for years and the daughter asks if the mother took a picture of the tree in the backyard. "Just a roll", the mother replies. A roll? What's that? The days when we counted how many pictures we took, tried to squeeze 37 or 38 pictures out of a 36 picture roll, or stopped taking pictures because we only had a few left and wanted to save film in case something really special came up seem very, very distant. Not to mention having to wait days to see how the pictures turned out.
I'm sure there are more, but I won't know what they are until I'm in a situation where I miss them.
