Will technology actually save us money?
It seems that every new piece of technology that arrives on the scene has the enhanced ability to save us money. We can buy an iPod and download tunes at cheaper prices than buying the CD replacement equivalent (which BTW replaced our now defunct audio tape collection, which also superseded our LP and EP collections).
Continuing the example, the iPod can store anywhere between 1000 and 5000 songs depending on the size of the hard-drive, which of course depends on how much you're willing to spend. But, will an iPod be all that I need 5-10 years from now.
As a teenager, the SONY Walkman was the biggest thing since sliced bread and every teen hankered after it. Today you can pick them up for less than $5 at a garage sale and the audio tapes they played will probably be included in the deal.
Technology is moving at such a fast rate with every consumer chasing the next big item that will change the comfort levels of their own lives. It wasn't that long ago that the 5¼in. storage disk was replaced by the 3½in. disks. My new computer doesn't even have a slot for the 3½'s.
Which brings me to the dilemma facing some students in the web report, "High Schoolers Pick Web Yearbook". Teenagers are turning to the web to store their yearbook photos and therefore hopefully save $70. Makes a great amount of sense but what if the technology has changed so much when they hold their 25-year school reunion the pictures are no longer accessible.
It's possible. Why do you think so many companies are now popping up offering to convert your VHS movies onto DVD. It wasn't that long ago those VHS movies were being created from Super 8 reels.
And what do you think the cost of all this transferring to the next form of technology is costing?
Let's go back to the yearbook example. A student pays $70 for their personal hard copy of school photos. $70 today for something you can get for free seems ludicrous. Yet 25 years down the track who knows what may occur.
The chance of myspace.com being around in 25 years is miniscule let alone MyYearbook.com. So to preserve those precious memories something will need to be done about storing them. If you decide to end your time with the hosting service and burn them onto a DVD then it's only cost a couple of bucks.
Take this out five years as myyearbook.com dissipates with all the other social bookmarking sites and as a new form of media hits its straps. DVD's are now replaced by MQ3's (I'm making this up!), which are then superseded by some iris infusion media and each level of technology costs to be transferred.
Two things will either happen. The first is that this person will have continued the transfer process, paying for it each time. My guess is that the costs of each of these transfers will easily outstrip the initial $70. The second option is the most likely though. The first process of taking it from the website to a DVD will have occurred but after that they will have lost interest. The DVD, if they still have it, won't be able to be viewed by any digital processor and will be useless.
Therefore, you may actually come out in front by declining the technology.
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