Technology represents many different things to the people who use it. Some find it scary, enigmatic or even somehow beneath them, and generally, this type of user thinks "hi-tech" is a fairly harmless waste of time.
The opposite type, the rugged pioneers of Unix and ARPANET, is steeped in technological monkhood. He or she considers technology to be one of the last pure pursuits left to mankind. And who can blame them? Life is full of disappointments.
The committed technologist codes all night and sleeps all day, fiddles when it isn`t broken, downloads because it`s there or chats with faceless and like-minded companions in an abstract, parallel realm. Such people think in raw format plain text and gesture emoticons, instead of actually emoting. They use "sounds-like" symbols and icons in written communication, signifying that to them, life is an SMS window. It never occurs to them to reassess the way they do things.
Endearing examples of such people can be found in Neal Stephenson`s Cryptonomicon, or if you only have 10 minutes, in The Story about Ping - Ping being a venerable Unix utility or a Chinese duck, depending on which kind of technologist you are.
I think there`s probably hope for both these types, though probably more for the former, because they can change. I feel kind of sorry for the latter, because they`re an endangered species. Being somewhere in-between the two, it`s fun just to watch them try to get it together.
Tough at both ends and crowded in the middle
I`m comfortable in the middle, and I`m not alone. A growing number of people realise the value of technology in their businesses or everyday lives. They can probably locate the business end of any widget, but they retain a sense of perspective. They know technology is not an end in itself.
The committed technologist codes all night and sleeps all day, fiddles when it isn`t broken, downloads because it`s there or chats with faceless and like-minded companions in an abstract, parallel realm.
Carel Alberts, technology editor, ITWeb
But as more and more people enter the murky depths of the technological cave, it`s getting more and more crowded. And inevitably, some of the newcomers will ignore the code of behaviour in this sanctified space, and in the process tarnish the sweet memories of a time when technology was practised in abstraction.
Today, technology is used - if not understood and respected - by a clamouring bunch of neophytes who are crowding out the pioneers. And with them, they bring rude reminders of the real world, which, let`s face it, is noisy, superficial and sleazy.
My recent investigations into security in online banking led me into such parts of the cave - parts I`d just as soon not know about.
One thing that caught my eye was the whole sordid affair of spyware. Originally designed to help parents track and safeguard their under-aged children`s online travels, it is increasingly being used by suspicious wives and husbands to make sure their spouses are not engaging in erotic online encounters, reports by The Age and others intimate. Read it, but prepare to want a shower afterwards.
A host of articles on the topic make mention of chat groups (the hosts shall remain unnamed) such as "Married But Flirting" and other repulsive monikers, and needless to say, the feeling in the cave is getting distinctly uncomfortable.
Another offshoot of the whole thing is to be found on a site advertising counter-spying software. If you thought you could simply badmouth spyware and sleep more soundly at night, you were probably wrong.
Software like SpyGuard is advertised to people who, wait for it, "like to cyberchat with the opposite sex, and don`t want [their] spouse getting suspicious", "don`t want others seeing what pictures [they] look at online", and a number of other questionable motives for buying the software.
You`ll be excused for wanting that shower now.
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