The Rise and Fall of Technology

The widespread availability of the internet and email ten years ago was a world changing milestone in communication technology. And good it was. Internet cafes sprang up and it became an easy, quick and affordable method for travellers and others to stay in touch with family and friends. Internet cafes are still thriving in South America, and still exist in the PIGS countries of Europe, but northern Europe has got over the crest and moved on, freewheeling it speedily downhill. Wifi and WLAN cafes are now all the rage. Great, perhaps, if you carry a notepad or eye phone, but even if I had one, I don't think it compares to the simple, old-fashioned PC and 17 inch screen. I'm back to communicating by postcard and am not convinced that technology has moved forward here.

I'm even more certain that camera technology has gone down the wrong path. I love my old Pentax K1000, but finding slide film and getting it developed is next to impossible. Digital cameras take almost as good a photo, and save carrying the heavy, bulky rolls of film. But with technology advances, they now no longer have viewfinders (unless you buy a big, heavy, bulky digital SLR): instead they have large energy-hungry screens. I now have to carry more weight in batteries (or recharging devices) than I ever had to with film, only getting 200 to 300 photos out of lithium batteries when I used to get 700 to 800 with the first digital cameras. Worse still, the cameras don't last. I'm now on my third digital camera in less than 8 years, and it's probably my last. If I had any, I'd sell my shares in Canon and buy an eye phone.