Survey Finds Most Unimpressed By Tech Advancements Through 2010
Back in the '80s, we all assumed we'd be whisking to work in flying cars and and the like by the year 2000, and yet, in 2010, many of the ways of life that we were used to back then remain the same today. Technology in the consumer realm has obviously advanced a bit more than in the automotive industry, but still not enough to please some of those who get a rush from living on the cutting edge. The survey found that overall, just 21% of those polled believe that we're entering 2010 more technologically advanced than they thought we would be by the start of this new decade. 37% confessed that the current level of technological advancement is just about where they thought it would be by 2010. That means that quite a few people expected to be further along than we are by now.
If you're wondering about the breakdown of those who felt we should have more advancements than we do, here's a look: those in the 18-30 year old segment were found to be "much less likely (13%) than older generations to say the technological advancements up until now have exceeded their expectations." Folks in the 70+ age group are "the group most likely to say we are more advanced than they thought we would be by 2010." The 35-45 year olds (36%) were the group most likely to be disappointed with the current level of technological advancement, while men (36%) are more likely than woman (28%) to think that more advances should've happened by 2010.
In a way, we kind of agree that we should've been a bit farther along in 2010 than we are, but in some cases it's amazing to see just how far we've come. Smartphones have managed to far exceed our expectations (after all, who thought you could browse the web on your phone back in 1999?), while storage technology is still lagging behind. We're still relying mostly on age-old hard drives, and SSDs have yet to become cheap enough to really use at large. What things do you think have advanced more than expected, and while still have aways to go to catch up to the times?
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I personally think that from my perspective technology has come quite far. Many things especially those in development are not seen or realized by the general public. I think that we have a large number of things that are on the cusp of entering the market. While I to thought we would be further than we are from some perspectives, I also realize the great advancements that have been made. One of the things I think that also needs to be realized is that the public to a large degree does not realize the advancements. That means that seamlessly and in many ways unseen these advancements have taken place. So in general we don't even see the difference. Put it this way from our perspectives or at least from the one from people who are hardware junkies ( lol; such as myself, and many here on the forum), when you upgrade or build a new computer or device how long does it seem faster? For me this is usually a very short amount of time. Then I become used to it, and even though I know it is faster and can do more than what I had it becomes my "Technical norm". I also think that coming soon (very in some cases, as CES is this week), new things will hit the market and expand it as well. I think the main things we will see in the near future is an ever enhanced mobile capability in general. Netbooks did not have enough or do as much as fast as we wanted. Next week we go dual core in a hardware platform which weighs generally less than 4.5 lbs. This will also have enhanced graphic (thanks to both Intel and Nvidia) capabilities, enhanced CPU capabilities, and enhanced memory usage. These platforms will also operate entirely mobile for many hours Then we go to the smartphone platform as mentioned it is basically a mini handheld computer as well. I also think we will see a good bit from the tablet platforms in the very near future. I see a netbook a cellular phone, and an E-reader with ever advancing capabilities here, all contained in an ultra mobile device. Basically where I am not overwhelmed by the advancements that have been made. I do appreciate their impact which from what I see in many ways very quickly becomes a norm nowadays without anyone noticing. |
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I generally agree, rapid but then again, I'm an optimist pretty much anyway. Here's to 2010 and toys and tech the new year will bring! |
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I too like the advances I've seen this year. I can't afford most of them, but I like them or they don't have the infrastructure to use them out here in the boonies. One thing that really made me stand up and take notice was the latest batch of DX-11 GPU's from ATI. This is also tinged with disappointment because of their supply problems until recently. This supply issue has kept the prices of these parts artificially high and out of reach for me. It's disappointing at best. |
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I thought netbooks made some real strides this past year. The next big breakthrough needs to come from battery development. Something that can power our cars for 500+ miles, and let us talk for 20+ hours on one charge. |
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Maybe not necessarily advancments in batteries. But it seems like there is a lot of missed potential on cars for regenerating the batteries. I saw some tech that used magnets in a supper light weight winmill that created energy. Why not encorporate something like that into the front of the car? The car has to fight wind resistance anyway... why not use some of it as power? Why not use a rim lined with said magnets and while it's spining it might as well be recharging the batteries too. There's plenty of time spent coasting that could certainly regenerate the batteries. Also encorporating more solar energy into the whole system. I was even thinking of an idea of running alternators off the cars axels to generate power. I understand that they produce resistance and power is required to make the funciton. If they were by-passed during normal operations and engaged during braking it could be worth while. |
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Good ideas! Solar, wind in conjunction with retaining the energy lost in brakes would be most efficient. If we can constantly charge the batteries, the need for a larger battery would be diminished. |
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NVIDIA Fermi, chearper SSDs, Intel Arrandale, Intel Gulftown, ATI Mobile 5000 graphics on the plate for 2010. Couldn't be more excited! |
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