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Click here: http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/prajlich/forster.html

The above link brings us to a story titled “The Machine Stops” which was written by E.M. Forster in 1909 exploring attitudes towards science and technology. It was written as a reaction to the optimism of the early 20^th century about technology and shows man’s over-reliance on technology and his inability to live without it. The story claims that man has forgotten that it is indeed himself who created technology which resulted in the loss of direct experience and human connection, or the threat of virtual communities.

The story shows man’s dependency on technology. It deals with themes like meditated experience and the loss the direct experience, which degrades human communication. It shows that there will be a fear of direct experience with nature, with people as part of nature which ultimately will lead to dehumanisation, estrangement and alienation of oneself. The desire of comfort will be man’s ultimate doomsday.

The advance in technology results in globalisation of the whole world. The modern world today is full of machines and gadgets to help people live their lives in a more convenient and comfortable manner. With globalisation and the high level of technology, a person can become over-reliant on a machine, which in turn, will make the world a place void of natural human emotion and connection. For example, the telephone has enabled people to communicate with one another anywhere in the world. Now, there is the invention of the cell phone, which has the function of SMS. Between sending a text message and a phone call, people would choose the text message. This shows that with the advance of technology, more and more people will lose their human side and direct experience because of fear. Virtual communities will thrive because it supports non-direct experience, and the hiding of human emotion or identity. Thus, although globalisation and technology may have its advantages of convenience, it also has its downsides of turning the world into a machine.

The internet brings many advantages. It provides people with convenience and a wide array of uses. Some of these uses include the electronic mail (e-mail), which involves the concept of sending electronic text messages between parties in a way analogous to mailing letters or memos predates the creation of the Internet. It enables for file-sharing, a computer file can be e-mailed to customers, colleagues and friends as an attachment. It can be uploaded to a Web site or FTP server for easy download by others or it can be put into a "shared location" or onto a file server for instant use by colleagues. Also, it can be used in the form of streaming media, which I am going to focus on. Some information on streaming media can be found below from the extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#Common_uses_of_the_Internet with some editing:

Streaming media

Many existing radio and television broadcasters provide Internet 'feeds' of their live audio and video streams (for example, the BBC). They may also allow time-shift viewing or listening such as Preview, Classic Clips and Listen Again features. These providers have been joined by a range of pure Internet 'broadcasters' who never had on-air licenses. This means that an Internet-connected device, such as a computer or something more specific, can be used to acce

ss on-line media in much the same way as was previously possible only with a television or radio receiver. Podcasting is a variation on this theme, where—usually audio—material is first downloaded in full and then may be played back on a computer or shifted to a digital audio player to be listened to on the move. These techniques using simple equipment allow anybody, with little censorship or licensing control, to broadcast audio-visual material on a worldwide basis.

Webcams can be seen as an even lower-budget extension of this phenomenon. While some webcams can give full frame rate video, the picture is usually either small or updates slowly. Video chat rooms, video conferencing, and remote controllable webcams are also popular. Many uses can be found for personal webcams in and around the home, with and without two-way sound.

http://www.klove.com/music/listenonline.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml

Technology is powerful as it renders state borders and boundaries meaningless. Development in technology such as the internet means that the state has lost it’s monopoly to control what comes in and out of the country. The internet is worldwide, anyone who has access to the internet has gained knowledge and information. For example, someone in Singapore will know what is happening in America just by tuning in to a news radio online. With the click of a button, the whole world is at the mercy of an individual, waiting to be discovered. For entertainment purposes, the internet plays a great part. Some people tune in to the radio to listen to music. Also, with the web-cam, people can see each other and chat at the same time, even if they are at different ends of the world. Thus, this greatly reduces the time people take to communicate with each other. Once something is posted online, people can access it, without even the state’s knowledge, thus, the internet is indeed a powerful tool of exchanging information without the awareness of the state. Very soon, the state sovereignty may just be overturned by the advanced technology of the internet.

TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERT

ISABELLE