In trying to forecast what trends and breakthroughs we are likely to see in 2006, I, as a confirmed 'geek and gadget-freak', have come to the conclusion that previous inventors have set exceptionally high standards that we are not managing to live up to.
Let us face it, if you asked me to identify those technological changes that have been 'highlights' over the past year, I can fairly confidently say that 2005 was NOT a year of significantly visible breakthroughs (he ducks to avoid a shower of arrows shot from the hardware and software vendors). My motivation for saying this? When was the last invention with the same level of influence on our lives as the semiconductor, penicillin, the internal combustion engine, radio waves, or that pervasive leech of the modern home's recreational facility - the creepy crawly (for our non-South African readers, a creepy crawly is the colloquial name for an automatic pool cleaner).
Perhaps it is just a result of my successful indoctrination by the Sci-Fi Channel (whose demise in the MultiChoice bouquet we still mourn), but I cannot help thinking that some major breakthrough has to be bubbling just under the surface of our technological cauldron. How about super-conductors that operate at room temperature? Or how about a broad-spectrum 'antibiotic' for the permanent treatment and cure of viral infections like HIV, bird 'flu or the common cold? Or my personal favourite, the 'warp drive'. For those not educated in the finer nuances of Star Trek lingo, the fantastic warp drive facilitates travel faster than the speed at light.
A look at your current and expected data-line costs is likely to bring you back to reality with a huge thump. Data transmission costs continue to hamper the growth of South African industry. A colleague of mine pointed out that, "...we are still being promised reasonable bandwidth prices and a second (telecommunications) network operator (SNO) and a big fat man in a red suit flying around in a sleigh pulled by red-nosed reindeer." I certainly hope that Christmas will come soon this year. ICASA has promised that by the time you read this, we will have an SNO. Let us hope that my colleague is wrong in his predictions, that we do not get, "...another cartel of companies charging horrific prices for commodity products and, once again, retarding any hope of enough economic growth to make a dent in the country's unemployment figures."
On the software frontier, the de facto big boy on the block, Microsoft, did not announce any major breakthroughs in 2005... at least nothing that I have picked up on. I should point out that a number of software gurus have indicated that it is not what is happening on the surface of Microsoft's products that is significant, but what is happening beneath the surface. Those in the know point to huge technological shifts in the structure of the systems that underpin our existing IT systems.
Not quite on the scale of the discovery of the warp drive or Viagra, but you may be interested to know that MNet and Telkom have joined forces and are running a local trial for television delivery over your telephone line ie, television on demand. MNetOnDemand is giving free access to those taking part in the trial. However, you must have a 512K ADSL line installed to qualify as a participant. Drop me an e-mail if you would like details of the trial.
For those of you pondering the solution to the crossword competition in the November issue of SAI&C, the answer was 'PERFORMANCE'. Congratulations to Jannie Hamman of Columbus Stainless for sending in the first correct answer. Jannie will be receiving a Woolies hamper with the compliments of Futuristix, the supplier of industrial strength solutions such as Wonderware.
Whatever 2006 holds for us, may we rub our hands in glee at the emergence of exciting new technologies that propel us from the car-park into the future.
Graeme Bell
Managing editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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