1 For the love of money is the root of all evil

Such technology offers great oppertunity for altruistic endeavors. But such technologies don’t come cheap. And I for one have a hard time imagining any entity, individual or corporate, who would be willing to foot such a bill and accepting a high ideal such as “the betterment of society and human life” as a reasonable return on investment. Not without a major cultural shift, at least. Emerging technologies could very well lead to such a shift, but now we’re putting the cart before the horse because we still need the initial funders to get the ball rolling on these technologies so that a cultural shift has a snowball’s chance.

I’m definately interested in reading more. Some of the subtle language choices lead me to believe Mr. Greenfield and I share a certain set of common interests (mediation, panoptical, “rationalization” which I assume gets the quotes because it is used in the context of Max Weber). So my to-read list gets yet another entry added to it.

posted at 10:34 am on April 4, 2006 by Derek Pennycuff

2 the love of money

“we’re putting the cart before the horse because we still need the initial funders to get the ball rolling…”

Adam makes the case pretty persuasively elsewhere in the book that the initial funders have been investing in ubiquitous tech for quite some time, and that many real-world examples of it are already in use. Many of these are not—yet—pitched at consumers directly (those that are aren’t in generally in the US yet at least). Instead, there are millitary applications, government projects, and so on.

Very few people would have thought to tackle the ethical and social implications of large-scale use of the Arpanet in the mid-1960’s, or mobile phone technology in the 1970’s. Those technologies also had deep funding and long-term strategies for applications. Adam’s convinced me that we’re already past that point with everyware; there’s no better time than now to consider cultural shifts.

posted at 10:55 am on April 4, 2006 by Andrew Otwell

3 Is everyone a visionary?

I can inherently understand that every person has a different conceptualization of the world and of the future — so when I press submit and post my tripe, I hope it won’t be offensive to the author. Mr. Greenspan, I do have nothing but respect for you… moreso because I don’t even know you.

However, I think I’ve heard enough of the elitist visions of the future. “Ubiquitous computing” wether even possible or not, could be a long way off. And if it were possible, happening even now, would it be a good idea? Would it be accepted?

The numbers speak for themselves at any rate. Broadband adoption is slowing in North America and is only dense in large urban centers. The sale of smart-phones, PDA devices, and other high-tech devices is dwindling all but amongst the elite.

I think the evidence is there to support my argument that we will not see this idea of everyware. While technology is immensely useful for many things, it is not intuitive enough to replace systems that have already reached their pinnicle. Sure there is always a better way to do something, but is it always better to introduce another layer to our interface with reality?

There will be blips and bleeps and glimpses of this everyware all around us, but I don’t believe it will be all-encompassing. It will find its place where it is useful as all things tend to do.

What does scare me about “everyware,” is the idea of exchange of privacy for convenience… not only does it increase the convenience for the individual, but it also increases the convenience of malcontents to use such open-ness against individuals and society.

The more we allow ourselves to be tracked, the more data there is to steal. We should seek to return to anonymous systems if we value not only our privacy, but our safety as well.

posted at 11:45 am on April 4, 2006 by James King

4 Love of money?

I think it’s not the love of money the root of all evil, but the lack of it.

The article is written perfectly, in my opinion, although I think the things it states will only become available years from now

posted at 12:33 pm on April 4, 2006 by Bruno V

5 EVERYWARE: ALTRUISTIC OR DESPOTIC?

Everyware is already creeping into our lives. Consider RFID tags and a well-known computer vendor’s recent commercial. The truck drivers are hopelessly lost, yet a very helpful woman sitting in the middle of the road seems to have all the answers. When asked how she knew they were lost, she simply replies: “The boxes told me.”

RFID is just the tip of the iceberg. These technologies hold great deal of promise in making our lives easier, but they also hold a great potential for abuse – perhaps as great as the death of civil liberty (and privacy) as we know it. Even while living an ethical and transparent life, there are things we simply do not wish to share with the rest of the world. Without proper restraint by developers and consumers alike, such a scenario is not a great stretch of the imagination.

posted at 02:18 pm on April 4, 2006 by Trevor Pierce

6 Untitled

Us web developers will sure be held responsible for the effects of everyware to a certain degree, won’t we?

posted at 02:37 pm on April 4, 2006 by Chakrit Wichian

7 Another Advert

Am I the only person who feels this is just an advert for the author’s book? The article doesn’t work as an introduction to what ubiquitous computing is nor to what it could achieve; it’s simply an introduction to a book. And what use is that to us?

I am very skeptical of any technology ever being mature and standardised enough to ‘just work’. I believe there will always be incompatibilities brought on by the mismatched speeds at which new functionailty is implemented and the creation of standards defining that functionality. It’s human nature to always push the boundaries just beyond breaking point.

posted at 03:35 pm on April 4, 2006 by Tamlyn Rhodes

8 ubiquitous fecundity

I planned on making a big fuss about over-terminologization and the evils of our modernized lives, but I began to lose focus of my core idea: we should all be taught to relate to the world sans technology before are “everywared” out of real existence. And I don’t mean use a television remote that doesn’t also talk to your fridge to find out if you’re low on turnip greens. I’m talking about going outside to lay in the grass. Stare at some clouds. Make fresh cheese from a local farmer’s milk. Go nuts – talk to someone face-to-face.
We’re in such a rush, and “everyware” will make that rush seem so relaxed we may forget what it is like to really relax.
Pull the plug on technology in your house. You may be fine, but I bet your kids won’t know what to do.

Matt

By the way, remember the commercial for the toddler-targeted “learning laptop?” The voice over states something like, “for my toddlers busy schedule…” When I was toddler, and we’re talking 1970’s – not that long ago – toddlers didn’t have a busy schedule. And we played with blocks, not laptops. What social changes will result from this trend? Are we preparing the youth for mid-20s coronaries or psychological meltdowns? Perhaps “everyware” is all that stands between them and a very short life span? Just a thought…

posted at 05:56 pm on April 4, 2006 by Matt Fitzgerald

9 A Chilling Reminder

Am I the only one who got chills down their spine? I couldn’t help but remember 1984 as I read this article. In a world where technology becomes so commonplace as to be unnoticeable, such a reality inevitably becomes more feasible.

All I have to say is that technology has tremendous potential. Weather it’s used correctly is another matter.

posted at 08:27 pm on April 4, 2006 by Damien Wilson

10 Untitled

Always great to read what someone thinks the future has to hold but I think that there are alot of things missing from his speech for instance the use of nano tech

posted at 09:51 pm on April 4, 2006 by Britney Simpson

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