Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Neil Postman's 6 questions

The technology I chose to answer Neil Postman’s six questions is the Cideko Air Keyboard; it is designed to be a keyboard, mouse, and remote control all in one.
1) What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?
This technology is actually solving a huge issue that I have in my house, losing the remote. Instead of having three different objects (one key board, mouse, and remote) they have consolidated them into one object that is a decent enough size to be more visible than a remote. It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are.
2) Whose problem is it?
It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are. However, this could solve a lot of multi-taskers and forgetful people’s problems too.
3) What new problems can be created by solving the old one?
I would say the major issue is increased laziness. The modern age is all about making things quicker and easier, when are things easy enough? I don’t think that people were really struggling in their daily lives when it came to surfing the internet or flipping through the channels.
4) What people or institutions will be most seriously harmed by this new technology?
I don’t think the computer companies will see a hit in their revenues. There is potential for the remote companies to lose out if this technology becomes popular, it could put them out of business. However, if they create a deal with the computer companies to work together they also could be profitable.
5) What people or institutions will gain political or economic power from this technology?
If these are a popular item then Taiwan will benefit greatly because Cideko is a company based out of Taiwan. This could benefit teachers too, they could use it as a class room tool, allowing them to surf the web and change the educational channel while wandering around the room.
6) What types of changes in language will this technology bring out?
This technology will just continue the era of text lingo, since it is still just a keyboard/remote control.

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