Tech This Out

There’s an old quote, sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein, that goes like this: “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” While it is more often used as a guideline for adolescents, this bit of wisdom applies to technology as well.

Most people are set in their ways when it comes to computers; I’ve had way too many tell me that they use a certain product “because it’s what I’ve always used.” This mindset is exactly why Windows, despite all its well-known flaws, remains the most widely used operating system, and why, even though technology is constantly changing, consumers are often slow to change with it.

Technology, obviously, is all about change. Yet even as enthusiasm spreads like wildfire for the latest and greatest gadget, many people seem to harbor a fear of the technology they use every day. Especially when it comes to troubleshooting.

I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining – this is, after all, why I have a job as an IT pro. And some clients really do need help. I have actually heard the question asked, “What do you mean by ‘on’?” But for most of you, I have a confession to make. At least half of the tech problems I fix are resolved with a simple web search on Google. A lot of the time, I have no idea what I’m doing going in.

Thankfully, there’s a seemingly infinite community out there willing to help. I’m constantly amazed at just how much information I can find by going through forums and online tutorials. Even beyond tech support, the global community that the Internet has created is undoubtedly more valuable than any single device or piece of software. Thanks to the unprecedented communication and collaboration that the Internet allows, that community has been able to produce numerous open-source software projects – many of which, as I’ve said before, far surpass their commercial counterparts.

We live in an amazing era, and in a technological revolution that seems to be changing for the better of late. Thanks to 3G networks, the Internet is now accessible from just about anywhere. Touch-screen devices like the iPad that use those networks allow us to finally move beyond the mouse, and truly interact with our computers. And in Windows 7, Microsoft has finally created an operating system that “just works” (well, sort of).

But when I hear someone ask how we ever lived without computers, I have to roll my eyes a little. Though I haven’t been around long enough to see a world before the technological revolution, through some combination of history and imagination I think I can answer this: very well. As ubiquitous as technology is today, people did live very happy lives before its onset, and we still can.

I’m not advising anyone to avoid technology altogether – although if you can do it, you may live a much happier life than the rest of us. Just don’t fear it. So long as you don’t let it, technology will not take over your life. Embrace it even; as much flak as they get sometimes, it’s mind-blowing what computers can do.

But don’t overestimate the power of any one device, or of this revolution as a whole. Technology should be here to help us, not to become an integral part of any one of our lives. No matter how advanced technology gets, don’t forget that we can live just fine without it. Don’t lose perspective. Don’t forget to look up from the screen. And don’t forget to tech this out: the world around you.