Sunday, August 12, 2012

Technology Catches Up With The Jetsons

Remember the The Jetsons?  They were the space-age family on Saturday morning who traveled in the family saucer, had a robot for a maid and talked on phones with video and audio capabilities. 

We may not have flying saucers for transportation but we do have cars that park themselves, tell us if there is a door open or if you have a tire low on air.  If you have a GPS to find how to get from point A to point Z, just say your desired destination out loud and a voice gives you detailed directions on how to get there.  It even tells you if you missed a turn or went the wrong way.  I understand it is just a matter of time before we have cars that will actually do the driving for us.  I remember as a child sitting in the back of the family wagon pretending to punch in an address and the car took me to where I wanted to go.  Who would have thunk it would come true some day.  I was a visionary without knowing.

The average family may not have a robot maid like Rosie but many families have a Romba, a little robotic floor sweeper that keeps dirt from accumulating.  I imagine they provide entertainment for the family cat as well. 

Now that we have Skype, you can see and talk to friends and family at the same time.  The first time we skyped with our daughter at college we sat the laptop on the coffee table.  Our dog Angel jumped up, tail wagging when she heard Susan's voice.  Thinking Susan was in the room Angel started looking for her.  She stared at the laptop with a puzzled look on her face.  Then she looked under the table and behind the laptop.  When she couldn't find Susan she went back to her favorite resting spot and resumed her nap.

Cell phones have come a long way in the past four years.  We recently up-graded our phones.  The ones we had were three to four years old and way behind in technology.  My husband and daughter chose smart phones.  I went with what I called a dumb phone, no Internet or fancy features like voice to text messaging.  I'd be happy with a Jitterbug made and designed for seniors.  My phone does have a few perks, I can take pictures and video and it has a touch screen that makes changing settings easier and faster.  My husbands new phone can follow voice commands, turn spoken words into a text message, download movies, music, e-mail, you name it, it can do it.  The sad part is by next week technology will have advanced again leaving us in the dark.

Until next time, remember, the sky's the limit which means there is no limit since the sky goes on through space for infinity. 

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