The Vision Thing

Assuming we have not damaged the planet beyond repair by pollution or extracting petroleum, technology leads to closer connections. Present arrangements emphasize entrepreneurs at the expense of end users. We assume entrepreneurs will not extend themselves were they not rewarded with status. We also need the jobs they create as they vie for market share. A few examples:

New York State uses EZ Pass to speed vehicles through turnpike toll plazas. New Jersey uses EZ Pass. Massachussets uses Fast Pass, which fortunately accepts EZ Pass. I was told Virginia will install an incompatible system. Perhaps the inventor is the governor's brother-in-law. From the motorist's point of view, the same system everywhere is better.

I download mortgage forms from a variety of banks. Some use Adobe's pdf format. Others use a variety of transmission formats. Each variation means downloading different drivers. I use a Cannon D660 Imageclass machine as both a printer and copier. I learned my printer's language is incompatible with Hewlett-Packard's laser printer language, the unofficial standard. This means calling tech support, a nuisance in itself, to work around the incompatibility, usually a matter of substituting windows drivers for the default drivers. It's easy once they tell you which buttons to push. Who needs that aggravation?

We find ourselves in an energy shortgage to say nothing of global warming caused by fossil fuels. Various car companies work on alternatives like fuel cells. Each, of course, follows its own path and takes pains to keep its discoveries secret. Not only can this result in incompatabilities such as needing different pressures when one goes to fill up, it hinders invention as each company reinvents the wheel. Had we used this system to create the atomic bomb, it might never have been built. We cooperate on weapons which we consider the government's domain. We cannot accomplish the same efficiencies using the so-called private sector.

Apparently a fight brews between two sets of manufacturers over specifications for a new DVD format. The two choices are incompatible. The winner stands to make serious money, but the process is inefficient. We cannot take the best of both efforts to make the best DVD format.

Electric technology empowers individuals. It empowers groups of networked individuals, but the individuals must be willing to use the power. We also must remember that states of mind beyond older generations may be commonplace among the young. We can't be impatient although things don't look good.

Our first chore is to believe change is a human possibility. The contrary belief, that change is impossible becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Believing we can change does not guarantee change. Believing we can't change, guarantees we won't. If we get past that, we can create an egalitarian political party that agrees on candidates, not issues. Single issue parties divide us as we devote our energy to specific causes. We also need a way for thousands of people to discuss things on line in a meaningful fashion. We reduce bedlam without depriving everyone of their say. That's the neatest trick of the week. Hopefully people familiar with the technology can come up with the answer.

That's enough for now. Should we accomplish those goals, there will be time, hopefully, to turn our attention to what comes next.