Recently, during my visit to the Washington, D.C. area, I noticed some unusual driving behavior by my Uncle. No, he still scared me a few times. That wasn't the change. He just hung back at intersections, not getting into them to get through a light as it turned red. But why?

This question was answered on the second morning drive. A car nosed up in the intersection and was there as the light turned red. "That's a ticket," Art said as we watched the intersection clear. "Why, what are to talking about," came my deft inquiry.

"Photo Cop." says Art.

Art explained that he had received several $50 tickets courtesy of Photo Cop. That's why he knows so much. This Photo Cop is one of these really bad uses of Technology. One that makes many of us mad, becomes the plot line for those goofy conspiracy theory movies and gives advancing technology a bad name.

It made me stop and think about the march of technology.

There is a game I like to play with my kids. I like to compare the world of technology in my youth to their world of technology. Sure, there is a short list that is impressive. Things that I didn't have when I was 16 years old that are common place today. Among them are:

DVD movies (along with VHS, beta, etc.)
MP3 files (along with CDs, iPods, etc.)
Microwave ovens (enabling all of us to get rid of our pre-historic popcorn poppers)
Personal Computers
Scientific Calculators (when I was 16 a four function calculator was about all we had.)
Cable TV
MTV
ESPN
GPS
Hot Hands
Gore-Tex

But what is more impressive is the technology trends I've missed out on or came to late. Among them:

The hoola hoop. (I was abit young for this one)
Pet Rocks (okay, a bit of a stretch. Not really technology.)
Mood Rings (personally fortunate to miss this one.)
Big Wheels (One of the great personal disappointments of my life.)
Eight Track tapes (caught the tail end of this one.)
Reel-to-Reel (Always wanted one, never had the opportunity.)

Another fun comparison is what has happened to cost. Such as:

The first four function calculators cost over $100 in the early 1970s. A scientific calculator today can be obtained for under $10 dollars. For under $100 (2003 USD) a scientific calculator with graphing capabilities can be obtained.

My first CD player cost $350 in 1984. I recently purchased a DVD player that also can play wave files, MP-3, CDs, CD-Rs and DVDs. The price tag was $78.84.

In 1981 Sony introduced a fancy Beta machine with high quality stereo capabilities. I owned this fine machine for the significant price of $1000. I saw an ad this weekend for a VHS/DVD player with stereo and four-head capabilities for $79.00.

My first PC, with 64k of RAM and a 40 meg hard drive and an amber monitor set me back $2500. I got a real deal on that one. Now the state-of-the-art PC technology can be purchased, with a 17" color monitor, for well under $1000. I really think that by the time my 16 year-old daughter has children they won't have a television in the house. Everything will be computers connected to high-speed Internet applications.

The march of technology goes on. It can be used for good or evil. Bad Photo Cop, good iPod.............
11:36:40 AM    comment []