What, came to have some fun? You think I'll tell you about the future, technology, keeping your desk tidy, and all that cool stuff from 2020? Some latest news about drones, virtual reality, clothing made from nanofibers, and other delights of future life? Remind you that life keeps getting cooler every day?
Sorry, not about that today.
Remind me, what year were you born? In 1980? Or ten years earlier? Or later, perhaps? Or are you still in school and came here to practice revolutionary sentiments? In any case, it’ll be a serious conversation.
Do you remember how it used to be?
You didn't have a smart home. First, you had your parents' house (where it was the parents who were smart and you tried to keep up), then maybe you had your own — and you had a TV. A big box with three channels, and maybe three more if you turned the antenna just right? There weren't huge flat-curved 3D panels with pixel counts that no Chinese official responsible for the census could even dream of. There weren’t gaming consoles that produced graphics that made it feel like you were watching a movie with real people. Oh, wait, they still don’t exist. Well, never mind.
You didn't have smartwatches. You had the old one, either Montana or Elektronika. The only "app" was the alarm — and that was enough. You might have had cuckoo clocks — if you were really from the past. And now you have an Apple Watch. What color did you get, by the way? And what strap? Oh, you don’t have one? You saw it at a friend's? Well, don’t worry about it.
But you do have a fitness tracker; it surely tells the time. It also tracks your heart rate, blood pressure, moon rotation speed, counts your steps, wakes you up when needed — it’s a miracle, not a device. Well, yes, before you needed a doctor and your mom for that, and now you have a separate gadget. That’s the future. By the way, where's your bracelet? Did the strap break? And you don't have a decent app? Well, it happens. But you definitely have those smart sneakers, shorts, and T-shirt, right? See, the future is close. What, you still have to wash them, and in 2020, they somehow still collect sweat and dirt? Come on, don’t be sad.
You didn't have a thirteen-inch tablet with internet, videos, and games before — it wasn't necessary. Well, yes, I agree with you on that, nothing has changed now.
And you didn't have a car that was smarter than you before. It was stronger at most, but for that you had a hammer and your own strength. And do you remember how it appeared? Did your dad give it to you again? Or did you buy it for yourself because you saved on school breakfasts? What difference does it make now — you have Google cars, Tesla vehicles, and Yandex drones. Although wait, how would you have gotten them?
Technology just came along — and before you could easily get by without any of this. At first, you didn’t even know what the internet was because it didn’t exist. Then you heard about this strange thing, and after that you peeked through a browser window at your relatives' place for the first time. You bought a computer, a modem, and an hour's Internet card — and then you disappeared. Remember, you were okay with plain text on pages, and the main requirement was the absence of jumbled characters. And now what? Responsive design? Rounded boxes in Internet Explorer 6? Material design from every corner?
You used to communicate with friends in the real world all the time until Jabber came into your life. Or ICQ. You had ICQ, right? Do you remember your UIN and password? Do you know why you don't remember?
Because you used to not have the ability to write a letter to anyone in the world who had internet access. Then it appeared, and now you are everywhere — on Facebook, Viber, Telegram, and WhatsApp? What, has Durov said something again about WhatsApp? Well, live with that now.
Although, of course, not everything is so bad. Yes, it was cozy and warm back then. Motherboards were greener, and your shirt after workouts was wetter. I agree, it’s a problem — and we only see examples of cool, modern gadgets through the browser while guys in academic robes and/or expensive suits test it all out themselves. Listen, why don't you come over? We can chat, discuss everything, and reminisce about the past — how great it was back in the dawn of technology that we once witnessed together.
What, you don't like parties? At least you're still a living person and at least go out for food. You do go out, right? And what's buzzing outside the window? Is a drone delivering food?
Well, in other respects — hello, Seryoga!
Source: habr.com
