As those who are still recovering from their office Christmas party can attest, too much of anything is a bad thing. And technology is no different.
I, for one, am fascinated by all the opportunities that the modern world has to offer. I love mobile communication, or the fact that I can easily take sizeable documents with me on my USB memory stick.
And when local bandwidth speeds finally make online data transfer faster than the Post Office or carrier pigeons, I will celebrate as vociferously as the next guy.
That technology will become further entrenched in our lives is undeniable. Already we have reached the point where fridges also allow for online banking and mobile video calls are a reality -albeit a tad costly.
But at some point we need to step back and see that some technological streams have gone too far, beyond the realms of kitsch and into the abyss of stupidity.
Seeing as it`s Christmas, let`s take a brief look at some of these items available on the Web.
Then there`s the USB noodle-warmer, because what could be worse than your noodles getting cold while you`re working on your PC?
Damian Clarkson, Junior journalist, ITWeb
Japanese company Solid Alliance brought out the i-Duck earlier this year, which retails for around R300. It`s a 256MB memory stick - great for taking data with you in a compact manner. And, it`s a rubber duck...
Then there`s the USB noodle-warmer, because what could be worse than your noodles getting cold while you`re working on your PC? And besides, it`s not like a little bit of Chow Mein in a CD drive is going to do any damage.
I stumbled across my personal favourite device on one of the online retail stores. It`s called the EyeFo, and it`s a Frisbee that comes fitted with an LED screen around its side, allowing whoever would buy it to write a brief message before hurling it through the air. It also features an extra gripper, for those who find throwing a Frisbee too difficult.
Apparently the screen can accommodate 12 letters. Fitting then, that the words "I`m such a loser" should fit so well. (Go on, count them.)
As I said before, I am a big fan of technology, but shouldn`t technology be designed to have a purpose? When we start designing technology for technology`s sake, we are cheapening what it is actually supposed to be there for - to make our lives simpler.
Dr Jonas Salk - the guy who created the polio vaccine - once remarked of technology: "This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology which now constitute the slave of man - if man is not enslaved by it."
Beautiful words, but I bet he wouldn`t have said that if someone had bought him an i-Duck for Christmas.
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