I had to write a short reading response to this article last semester in a "Computer Art" class. Here is a tiny bit about the time period that this was written, as it makes the article all the more interesting (sorry for the any of the usual school bull-shitting):
"Rather than just praise the article for its miraculous predictions - my margins are full of exclamation marks - one thing that might get overlooked is the historical time period of the essay. 1945 was the end of World War II and as such people were in a very depressed and questioning mindset. Before WWII, most did not have any idea of just how evil people could be. With millions dead - and the simple fact of mass genocide - faith in modernity was shattered. Many realized that humanity was not inherently good and that new technology had as much power to do evil as good.
Surprisingly in this era birthing the post modern mindset, Bush points to the war as a great time of advancement in science due to the innovations that were made during the period. He believed what would come of this innovation will inherently be good. While I believe that his analysis may be lacking depth in that it doesn't question the nature of people or deal with spiritual or social issues, I am none the less excited about his vision. [...]
Still, I like Bush, find hope. The Internet gives us a wealth of information that is almost unfathomable at our fingertips. Diseases are being cured. As a human race, we are more connected than ever before and know more about each other.
Obviously everyone here and at Apple both know that video on the iPod is not a feature that consumers want. What this is about IMO is video content for the home. Remember that apple insider slashdot poster a while back saying that the next Airport Express is the product to watch, not the iPod?
How quickly we forget...
With the new Airport, we will all be able to stream video and audio wirelessly to our TV. With TV shows/movies for download instantly, it will be like TiVo, just without having to tape everything first...and a bigger price tag.
As far as a video iPod, it will happen sometime soon, but it will just be adding gravy to the home system.
Slashdot Mirror
"Rather than just praise the article for its miraculous predictions - my margins are full of exclamation marks - one thing that might get overlooked is the historical time period of the essay. 1945 was the end of World War II and as such people were in a very depressed and questioning mindset. Before WWII, most did not have any idea of just how evil people could be. With millions dead - and the simple fact of mass genocide - faith in modernity was shattered. Many realized that humanity was not inherently good and that new technology had as much power to do evil as good.
Surprisingly in this era birthing the post modern mindset, Bush points to the war as a great time of advancement in science due to the innovations that were made during the period. He believed what would come of this innovation will inherently be good. While I believe that his analysis may be lacking depth in that it doesn't question the nature of people or deal with spiritual or social issues, I am none the less excited about his vision. [...]
Still, I like Bush, find hope. The Internet gives us a wealth of information that is almost unfathomable at our fingertips. Diseases are being cured. As a human race, we are more connected than ever before and know more about each other.
Obviously everyone here and at Apple both know that video on the iPod is not a feature that consumers want. What this is about IMO is video content for the home. Remember that apple insider slashdot poster a while back saying that the next Airport Express is the product to watch, not the iPod? How quickly we forget... With the new Airport, we will all be able to stream video and audio wirelessly to our TV. With TV shows/movies for download instantly, it will be like TiVo, just without having to tape everything first...and a bigger price tag. As far as a video iPod, it will happen sometime soon, but it will just be adding gravy to the home system.