------------------------------ Date: Tue, 8 Feb 94 03:16:02 -0500 (EST) From: Gray Watson Subject: File 9--Response to "Technological Disasters" In Cu Digest #6.13, A GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTERS TO COME, Kohntark (ktark@src4src.linet.org) says that the multimedia products of the future, like the television of the present, will contain "the usual fare of idiocy, sex and violence" and will be another way for the corporate world and the government to "spoon-feed its citizens with mindless, easy entertainment". Goodness. What cynically narrow view of the future. Might as well log off now. Before we go, let's take a second to not lose sight of the trees from the forest. New technology will give us access to information we did not have before. Period. Let's not worry about the emphasis being on the entertainment side of the coin. Talking about 500 channels and on-demand movie rental is the only way business can sell multimedia to its investors, stock holders, and to us the market. Sure, there will always be tripe entertainment -- the "People" magazine of the air-waves or fiber-lines. Why? Because there will always be those of us who read/watch it. The [entertainment] media is not to blame. You might say that they are being morally reprehensible by *serving* the junk, but you can't say they are dictating it. They are just responding to the market. We should not blame the supermarket owner who provides donuts for the obese. In the midst of all the crap -- maybe on the 475th channel -- next to the 24hr/day Harding/Bobbit station -- there is going to be something truly exciting -- truly educational. A multimedia Discovery Channel if you will. I'm not going to comment on the ease-of-use problems possibly inherent in future entertainment systems, except to point out that if they *are* too complicated, no one will buy them. This is a powerful signal to the companies that will be making the stuff, don't you think? Also, let's not point the finger at big business and government like they are some sort of *active* evil process. They are not. They both are just responding (or trying to respond) to our wants and needs -- whether voiced or not. And I'm not going to TOUCH what I think the root of our social problems are and what the warning signs Kohntark mentioned really indicate. I will say that we must continually encourage all forms of new technology -- entertainment or otherwise. Because it just may be the 500 channel, on demand, 'Geraldo' episode super-vision system that brings the $2/month, 100mb/sec digital fiber Internet line to our doorsteps. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ + END THIS FILE + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+===+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=