Sunday, 18 September 2011

# IN 1! (Worship at the Altar of Convergence)

Today's technology has given us the opportunity to lead a better and more comfortable life. Comparing to the past, everything was different as each object has its own specific purpose but not today. According to this week's article on convergence, among the issues discuss was on cell phones becoming a multi-functional tool than just simply being the normal usual phones. In relation to the issue of convergence, the cell phone or hand phone is one of the major tool which has evolved to further delight the lives of people for example, reading news, social networking, instant messaging, text messaging, e-mailing, calling, taking a picture, capturing a video footage, all could be done through one device which is the cell phone, hand phone or mobile phone. One of the many reasons for convergence to take place is due to the fact of the fast phase of working life in each and every individual today in the society. Work has to be done efficiently, and a need for people is to have all the functions a computer has, and could slip into the pockets of individuals. Thus, the cell phone industry such as Sony, Nokia, Apple, Samsung, and many others has given the platform for the people to have access to such variables using their mobile phone services platform. 

The problem arises, when the term of a particular tool becomes non specific anymore. According to the readings on Worship at the Altar of Convergence, it mentions on the particular specific products such as Hand Phone. Example, I want to buy a phone which only has the function to call and nothing else such as the classical old house telephone, but most stores today are not selling a single function mobile phone which sorts of distort the usage term of telephones. It has become multi-functional, even looking at the computers or laptops today, the internet service has provided the laptops or computers to work the same as the modern mobile phone today in society. A computer can now call, draw, take pictures, video conference and many more similarly to the hand phone. This could make life convenient but the fact remains that objects are becoming less specific but in a more broader sense of view of perspective. One major reason is as stated in the above, this can be an issue to consumers in the future, if everything starts to become multi-functional and these multi-function tools are as good as any others multi-functional tool out in the market, for example, imagine you are buying a camera, but the camera also comes with other functions such as calling, internet surfing and other multi functional tools. Thus walking into the store asking the store manager, 'Hey, I want to buy that camera' but it turns out actually to be a gaming console, with camera and many other functionality. It would come to distort the meaning of phone, camera, computer, or any other apparatus.   

Certain tools, should remain specifically for specific purpose I believe, if not every meaning to the word will become a clouded term looking into that sense, though it may make living life more comfortable where everything is in one, the specific usage of certain tools may lose appreciation perhaps one day camera, phones, laptops might just be a single word known as 'caonetops' (combination of words camera, phone, & laptop), which definitely would be weird.  

3 comments:

  1. "Certain tools should remain specifically for specific purpose". Somehow, I agree with this statement of yours. However, I have a slightly different view from yours regarding this issue. I agree that individual items should be remained with its core function as the main highlight. For instance, cell phones for telecommunications. And the device's function should place more emphasis on the core function instead of other - I would call - supporting functions. I think this is what happening now. We see phones with camera functions far better than the calling and texting function. Isn't this a bit defeating the purpose of a cell phone? And why is the cell phone taking the camera's role in the first place? We would say that it's because the cell phones want values to be added on it, but, in my opinion, core should always remain as the core, or else everything will be so clouded and one day, we wouldn't know how to differentiate a cell phone and a camera anymore (oh my, thinking of those possibilities is making me sweat.)

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  2. Yes Su Wern! I agree with you actually, core should remain as core, but again is like you say thinking of the possibilities, is sort of scary i guess, words losing its meanings

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  3. Its amazing to actually realize how much the technology have developed around us. Those were the days where reaching the person that we want to reach in on the other part of the world in a week is impossible. now weeks has become to days, hours, minutes and seconds. there world "losing contact" is rarely could be used. New technology has been created to meet out needs such as the phone, internet and as such. Further more these technology have been converged for easier to use. However i agree with you that the true quality of the tool used is decreased rather than it is in its original state.

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