Hi. Would you be interested in a Motorized grill brush? (No scrubbing!) Well, it’s currently $19.99 at Brookstones. Or how about your own Pet Owners Robotic Vacuum? 350 bucks. Or pocket sized germ eliminating light? Oh, and the Fish Agility Training Set. Yes, this complete set of underwater activities allows you to train your pet fish to perform a series of agility maneuvers, including swimming through hoops, pushing a soccer ball, navigating a slalom course, and more. Because your fish will do these things if you buy them the right materials. Because training your fish is vital these days. Because they want to be talented.
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Wow. Honestly?
I was flipping through the pages that my mother had turned town in the recent (hundreds of) catalogs that arrived conveniently right before Christmas. I was appalled to say the least.
Reading "Software that opens worlds to the disabled" By James Flanigan was the most refreshing experience I’ve had recently. It’s really nice to know that some people have their priorities straight. The article describes a nonprofit corporation entitled “Project: Possibility” that enabled the development of various programs aimed at helping disabled people “expand their capabilities”. This development takes place at the University of Southern California and is lead by groups of volunteers.
“ONE computer program would allow vision-impaired shoppers to point their cellphones at supermarket shelves and hear descriptions of products and prices. Another would allow a physically disabled person to guide a computer mouse using brain waves and eye movements,” said Flanigan.
…
Wow. Honestly?
I was flipping through the pages that my mother had turned town in the recent (hundreds of) catalogs that arrived conveniently right before Christmas. I was appalled to say the least.
Reading "Software that opens worlds to the disabled" By James Flanigan was the most refreshing experience I’ve had recently. It’s really nice to know that some people have their priorities straight. The article describes a nonprofit corporation entitled “Project: Possibility” that enabled the development of various programs aimed at helping disabled people “expand their capabilities”. This development takes place at the University of Southern California and is lead by groups of volunteers.
“ONE computer program would allow vision-impaired shoppers to point their cellphones at supermarket shelves and hear descriptions of products and prices. Another would allow a physically disabled person to guide a computer mouse using brain waves and eye movements,” said Flanigan.
I’m sure Apple Inc. is developing their latest music player or phone at this moment and I only wish that technology aimed at helping to improve a person’s needs was as quick in the development as the technology that only exists for our pleasure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/business/smallbusiness/18edge.html?8dpc=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1229569390-qhX/k1fHu5Zp8SbhUW8Oyg
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/business/smallbusiness/18edge.html?8dpc=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1229569390-qhX/k1fHu5Zp8SbhUW8Oyg
4 comments:
I agree with what you are saying jenny. It is really crazy how drastic of a difference there is between the uses of technology open to us today. It's truly startling to compare those novelty inventions and real softwares and gadgets that can actually help people in the world like you have done. It was really great to read that article and hear about what some people, like Leung, are doing to try and better other's lives.
with every advancement in technology, society seems to take one step backwards. Now that we are able to make a device that allows the visually impaired to get descriptions of objects, we also are creating fish agility training sets and five hundred million gazillion touch screen phones. its refreshing to see that someone is taking the initiative to really help change people's lives for the better, instead of just handing them an ipod with a smile.
i agree with you bianca - each step forward with technology has brought us backwards socially. hardly anyone uses the phone to talk anymore, let alone taking the time to meet a person to talk face to face! we've become so impersonal and technology-dependent that things that used to have value in our lives, things that took up time, have been left by the wayside. i agree that this is a breath of fresh air, although with the current market for electronics, i don't know how successful they'll become.
I also saw the fish agility set and was completely taken aback by it. I mean honestly, don't people have better things to spend their money on?
I was really glad to hear that some people are using their innovativeness to help people as mentioned in the article. What a much better way to spend money and time.
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