Learning News Tricks

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel like a creaky dinosaur in this high-tech, gadget-obsessed age, especially if you are among those who still remembers the era of LPs and when cell phones resembled unwieldy doorstops.

Two events last month, although very dissimilar, showed how technology has infiltrated our lives. The Virginia Tech tragedy, with images of the shootings captured on cell-phone cameras and the killer’s ranting posted on the internet, highlighted how information can be relayed in real time through the wonder of cyberspace. The second was more mundane, with a 13-year-old girl beating out the competition in a rapid-fire SMS competition.  

The so-called “gadget freaks”, as well as the stubborn holdouts from the tech revolution, are the subject of this month’s cover story. There also is gentle advice for those trying to play catch up to their more tech-savvy peers, and an article on the next wave of gadget innovations.

Technology is getting a look-in in seemingly everywhere: One of our health articles this month profiles a Bali-based healer who has drawn on her computer programming background in her treatments. There also is the story of how society’s older citizens are preserving their life stories for posterity through the Web.

It’s clear that technology is no longer the way of the future, it’s here and now. So send us an email with your thoughts on the matter.



( Bruce Emond )

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