Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The rate of technological development

If we look over the last century and examine the rate of technological growth. We can forgive ourselves for feeling a little proud about how quickly things have moved forward compared to the previous centuries. Flying at speed. Moving underwater stealthily. Travelling in space to name a fraction of what the human race has achieved in such a short span of time.

The big question though, is could we have progressed any faster and further in that space of time? The answer to that question is a big resounding YES!

Since we have been civilised enough to be able to maintain a system of currency, we have had to rely on that very method of exchange, and commerce has taken full advantage of this situation. In fact, commerce has become so powerful that it actually controls the rate at which we progress.

There are currently three levels of technology in existence.

1) Commercial Technology.
This is the technology we use in everyday life. Covering all manner of toys, tools and useful objects. However, the level at which commercial technology is at. Is higher than that used in commercially available products. Now we could argue that the technology they hold back, is not fully tested, and therefore not completely safe. This might be true in very small percentages. The major reason for holding back is good old money. It's all about making as much money out of a particular product before they move on to the next one. How many times have you seen products advertised as cutting edge at cut price? Only to find that they are outdated months later. Hard selling of latest technology at low prices is a key indicator that commerce is about to release a technologically superior product. So perhaps you can now see the control. What would happen to our technology if this didn't happen?

2) Military Technology.
This is more advanced than commercial technology. There's a lot of military technology we know about, and a lot we don't know about. Governments will hold back the release of this technology into the commercial arena, because it can give them a tactical advantage in a military sense. The components used in military hardware will generally have a longer life than those used in commercial products. I remember having a component catalogue in the 1980's. I could buy standard or military components. Standard were guaranteed for 1 year. Military for 5 years. They are generally more expensive. Commerce avoids using these products. The excuse is cost but it's more likely to be because they want to sell you products at regular intervals. Having a product that lasted for a long time would be counter productive to them.

3) Experimental Technology.
This area is way ahead of commercial technology, but is closely watched by the military. There are developments currently in progress which are things that you possibly, couldn't even comprehend, or didn't even think was in the realm of possibility. The deepest and most secret of these are run by government bodies, and some of them, apparently, don't exist. Again, this is for tactical reasons. If you could see what they were cooking up you would be amazed in one sense, and possibly frightened out of your skin.

So there we have it. After taking all these points into consideration, it's quite obvious to see that progress is thwarted by these processes. Well, let's see what the next few decades bring. Don't worry though. Most of it is already here.


About the Author

Jeffrey Edwards co-runs http://www.hammocksurvivalguide.com/ . Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine, newsletter or website as long as the article's content is not modified and all links are included.

Unlimited PSP Downloads ... Is it a Myth ?

The PSP is a machine which is a great source of entertainment for you and your family. This is a machine where you can not only play games but also play music, movies; browse the internet and store vital digital data.

It is not necessary that you always buy the music, games and movies you wish to run on the PSP. There are plenty options available on the internet where you can avail of your free PSP downloads.

The PSPs are usually handheld devices where you can transfer the movies, music, software, games, e-books, images and TV shows that you download from the Wi-Fi hot spots of the internet. This is where you can avail of your free PSP downloads for use on the PSP.

The main reason these downloads are called free is because there is no use for you to buy a physical disc to download the programs. They just have to be downloaded to a computer, and then transferred from the computer to the PSP.

The first thing you have to do to get free PSP downloads is to surf the internet for the respective sites. There are many sites on the internet that offer free PSP downloads to PSP owners.

These sites are generally free where you just have to register wherein you can download all the games, music, movies, etc for use on your PSP. These sites have two types of offers; some sites charge a monthly membership fees while others have a once off membership fees wherein there are no limitations on the number of free PSP downloads you make.

In fact, you are also permitted to burn these downloads on a disc.

Collecting unlimited PSP downloads for movies was impossible in the past without burning deep holes in our pockets. Watching PSP movies on your PSP while on the move in the train, car or bus was such an enjoyable experience.

But once the credit card statement arrives at your desk, suddenly reality jolts you back onto earth. Your credit limit has been busted and you instantly realize that you have spent all your money building your private collection of PSP movies and games.
Well, there is a way to avoid this scenario. Let us look at what are the options available if you are tempted to grab your next PSP movie.

We used to be able to watch PSP movies only in the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format. Anyone who has bought a copy of these PSP UMD would know that it is not the cheapest form of entertainment. Many folks felt that they did not really have many choices if they wanted to watch a movie on their PSP.

The UMD movies are expensive and the selection is limited. The technology has made them rather unaffordable to teens, which form a significant percentage of their target market. Naturally, sales plummeted and many studios and distributors are unwilling to release more movies in the UMD format. It is little wonder why the UMD movies could not take off.

Forget about UMD movies. It is amazing how PSP fans came up with creative solutions to this problem. People began to rip movies off DVDs onto their PC before transferring the file into the PSP. It is possible to do so since the movie format is compatible with the Sony memory sticks.

However, there are two shortcomings in this whole process of ripping and copying. Firstly, the memory sticks do not have enough capacity like our hard drives. The quality of the movies is compromised.
Secondly, some DVDs are copyrighted, meaning that they are hard coded and there is no way you can crack them and rip the content off.

You can expect the new DVDs to be coded in such a manner. It seems that the manufacturers and studios have beaten PSP users at their game.

It is rather ironical since these users are part of the movie watching group who has been fuelling the demand for more movies over the years. Then again, its an issue of profits and if you are not paying to rip the movie, they have every right to stop you from doing so.

It seems like PSP users are stuck in a grid lock. Fortunately, smart business people saw the opportunity and established membership sites that offer unlimited PSP downloads of movies, games, music, TV shows, etc.

You may wish to know that at these download sites, the movies come in ready to play format. No ripping is needed. Everything from searching to downloading and playing the movie are compressed into a few clicks of the mouse.




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