3. You become the Technology:
This includes cyborgs which were dealt with earlier. But it also
involves computer inserts, which might be the mark of the Beast. Then
there is a new trend that is introduced, which many don’t realize will
ensnare them – that is, techno clothes or wearable technology. One
person describes this as, "technology will fuse with the human form."
This article by David Pescovitz, a talented writer for several
magazines, will shed some light on what this is. This article also
indirectly suggests that this could also be or is apart of the mark of
beast - though the scriptures clearly states that we shall receive it
in our hands or forehead, but not how; because they also a device that
can digitally tattoo a number to your skin. David Pescovitz writes:
"BODY TECH"
"Less
than 30 years later, cell phones are practically comparable with Dick
Tracy's wrist radio, and handheld personal digital assistants have
nearly made the Filofax obsolete. Meanwhile, Levi Strauss & Co.,
Nike, and even IBM are putting a fashionable face on totable
technology.
Combine wireless Internet access with a just
announced full-blown PC the size of a matchbox and new eyeglasses
rigged with a tiny video display, and you can search an online
restaurant guide to find the best vegetarian dim sum as you see the
sights in Chinatown.
Or comparison-shop online while you're browsing in a brick-and-mortar
retailer. Or add a tiny video camera and stream your child's fun in the
park to your spouse stuck at work. And that's just what you can do
today. In the foreseeable future is technology under development at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory that
enables your body to act as the conduit for your own Personal Area
Network. Imagine, you shake hands with someone and instantly exchange
digital business cards, which are stored in tiny computers hidden in
the soles of your shoes-the data streamed as low-power electricity
right through your body. Inspector Gadget, meet the Six Million Dollar
Man. Instead of intelligent highways, smart rooms, smart floors and
smart television sets, we should consider having 'smart people,' says
Steve Mann, a professor at the University of Toronto and pioneer of
wearable computing. I briefly met Mann in person several years ago; his
reputation preceded him. I had heard tales of a small group at the MIT
Media Lab, where Mann studied, who nearly all their waking hours wore
headgear rigged with small screens and cameras controlled by bulky
belts packed with sensors, microprocessors and batteries. They were
exploring issues of constant connectivity, electronic surveillance, and
what they called augmented reality, online information continuously
streamed into their field of view. Mann told me that he was designing
second-brain devices that were true extensions of the mind and body. In
casual conversation with me, Mann seemed chronically distracted-either
I bored him, or he was checking his e-mail, or both. Ironically, he
came across as more machine than, well, Mann. And the feeling of
alienation I was flooded with when we spoke was certainly something to
reckon with. Today wearable-computing contraptions have shrunk
tremendously, yet the issues of techno-etiquette, privacy and
human-computer interaction that Mann and his colleagues have raised are
bigger than ever...
So it's interesting to think
about how the design of future devio could be less intrusive. One way
to do that, Donath suggests, is to take a step back from
technofetishism, in this case technology for technology's sake, and ask
basic psychological questions about how we use the devices we already
own. For example what is it about a wearable computer as simple as a
cell phone that we find so annoying? Answer: people talking on them.
And therein lies the irony. The very act of withdrawing
from the public space in order to take a call is also an act of
intrusion. Chatting on the go is one thing, but running into an on call
mobile worker at a party is a whole different story. Quite
simply, you can't have two conversations at once. Or can you? Text
messaging, where short missives are fired back and forth wirelessly via
pagerlike devices or cell phones, is extremely successful in Europe and Asia,
Donath notes. Handheld e-mail devices from Motorola and Research in
Motion are available in this country as well, and make use of tiny
keyboards and small LCD screens as interfaces. On the recent crop of
Web-enabled cell phones, you input text by scrolling through the
characters on the keypad. The practical beauty of these devices is that
during your down time in public spaces you can keep the channels of
communication open without tuning out the world around you. The design
challenge then is to develop the ultimate input device for wearable
computers. Michael Jenkins, Xybernaut's vice president and chief
technology officer, foresees scenarios like a homeowner reading
instructions for building a deck via an eyeglass display instead of
running indoors to rewind the home-improvement video. But he's quick to
point out that you're not going into a bar on a Friday night wearing
this thing.
You would though-if the gear weren't too geeky.
Instead of uploading the directions to your deck, envision accessing a
digital address book complete with digital snapshots to your wearable
device. You run into someone at the pub who seems to know you quite
well, but you're drawing a total blank on their name. A tiny video
camera built into your eyeglasses snaps their mug and the PC scans your
database until it matches their face. Instantly, a secret reminder pops
up in the corner of your eye with a reminder of who you're talking to
and how they know you. But before video cameras and eyeglasses with
onboard screens become hip fashion accessories, product designers must
destroy the stigma associated with wearing your technology on your
sleeve. That's one idea behind ICD+ {which stands for Industrial
Clothing Division}, a new line of clothing from jeans giant Levi's and
Philips Electronics that merges utility wear with wearable computing.
The ICD+ line launched four jackets for on-the-job urban nomads. Each
style which are sort of Mad Max meets Car hart is tricked
out with a cell phone, an MP3 player and a chest-mounted remote control
enabling easy operation. The devices are linked by wiring in the coat's
lining so that each bit of electronics works hand-in-hand with the
rest. For instance, when a call comes in, the volume of music from the
MP3 device automatically lowers. Each coat is targeted to a specific
industry-the all climate Producer jacket, with numerous pockets, is
aimed at on-the-set Hollywood types while
the durable Beetle jacket is custom-built for scooter couriers on
delivery trips. The clothing is planned for modularity: The jackets
could link with yet-to-be-announced garments like shirts with keypads
in the sleeves, for instance. Dry-clean only? Nope. The devices are
removable; the wiring impervious to water. Currently, the first jackets
are undergoing ER, beta-testing in Europe.
Only 2,500 of the $1,000 coats were produced. If the jackets catch on,
mass production paired with the ever-dropping cost of mobile
electronics will likely lower the price of the ICD+ line. Regardless,
the big barrier to U.S. introduction is the incompatibility between European and u.s.
wireless communication networks. Levi's is famous for developing the
first workwear, the first denim jeans for the gold miners in the 1850S,
says Peter Bas, Levi's brand manager for the ICD+ line. Now with this
new line we are pioneering new forms of workwear, for the new modern
worker, the new gold miner.
CONTINUE>>>
