How our lives have changed

50 years of wondrous, ponderous technology

Technologically speaking, there have been many changes since the year my mother gave birth to me. Fast and furious the changes came into my life and were barely noticed.  When my mother delivered me it was 1958. Eisenhower was president, Charles De Gaulle was Prime Minister of France and Nelson Rockefeller was Governor of New York. The microchip was invented, which was later bought and developed by Intel, beginning the phrase “Intel inside.”

 Growing up we listened to our music on tinny transistor radios, or be-bopped to Broadway musicals on vinyl 33 LP’s from a Hi Fi. New televisions were only for the upper class and receiving that very first one was the start to a magical journey into the lives of people we had only heard on the radio.

NASA was formed in 1958, and this paved the way for the nay Sayers to tell the world about the Government and a movie lot. Toyota and Datsun cars were sold for the first time ever in the United States, and the first passenger jet transatlantic flight was made between New York and London.

Amazingly, the U.S. Military claimed that it would be possible to make detailed maps from space using satellites orbiting from space. Could we have imagined we would be viewing detailed maps brought to us from Google Earth in the comfort of our homes on our computers? While RCA introduced Living Stereo Sound, and all the while I was too young to know of all this wonderful technology changing the world.


1968 came and went while I played softball and roller-skated, learning to lose at sports and deal with skinned knees. The Boeing 747 made it’s maiden flight and NASA launched the first manned space flight, Apollo 7,and late the Apollo 8 became the first manned space mission to orbit the moon.

Oblivious to these changes, as I walked to school, fought the neighborhood boys and vied to be the one to swim in my sometimes friends pool, Dr Christian Barnard was performing the first successful open heart surgery, while the U.S. exploded the first Hydrogen bomb. Ironically, as one man saved lives we were learning to destroy them.

The United States started the first 911 emergency services, and manned it 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and First Philadelphia Bank installed the first automated teller. Worrying about the bomb, we could have a heart attack, withdraw money from the ugly teller and then have Dr. Barnard fix us up.

Cellular phones were introduced in 1978 in Illinois and amazingly enough; Space Invaders was the game that began the video game frenzy. Created that year was the computer service, Bulletin Board System, or BBS, and by then 98% of Americans owned a television set, paving the way for an influx of car accidents and obese Americans. Talking on a cell phone while driving, becoming couch potatoes watching television and playing video games made us a nation of fat people who drive like maniacs.

Simultaneously handling 40,000 phone calls, the first transatlantic fiber optic cable was laid out and the beginning of computer viruses infected computers connected to the Internet. Put into operation was the Hubble Space Telescope and the Stealth Bomber was unveiled, making everyone with an infected computer wish they could unleash a Stealth Bomber of their own.


Many things happened in 1998, such as Digital Television Service launching in the U.K. Microsoft released Windows 98 and the Department of Justice then brought an anti- trust case against them. More and more companies decided to create their presence online with the maturing of e- commerce, and started their own websites. Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the infamous Google search engine, joining Microsoft in successfully holding the Cyber world hostage. Apple unveiled it’s I- Mac, which is incompatible with Microsoft Windows, and over the ocean, India and Pakistan tested Nuclear weapons.

This also was the year 19 European nations agreed to forbid human cloning while the FDA, approved the first Erectile Dysfunction pill in the US, Viagra. Now this magical drug is sold on the open market to porn stars and young adults who think a four-hour hard on is to die for.

With the advent of 2008, Sony’s Blu-ray HD format now has roughly 70% of the new high definition market in their pocket while Apple computer sells the new ultra thin MacBook Air notebook computer. It is less than one inch thick, turns on the moment it is opened and still is not compatible with Microsoft products. Attempting to buy the number two giant Yahoo, Microsoft offered 44.5 billion dollars and was snubbed. Honda Car Company begins selling its zero emission, hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle, the FCX Clarity

Proving it’s missile defense system the United States aimed it’s missiles at a U.S. spy satellite that had fallen out of it’s orbit while also demonstrating the fact that we did not prepare for our garbage coming right back at us. Increasingly people are looking for the gadget that is unmatchable. Towards that end Chumby released a tiny computer, enclosed in a stuffed leather pillow with a 6-inch LCD touch screen which shows pictures, news headlines, games and incoming e-mail from the Internet.


Spanning 50 years, technology has changed the way we live our lives. For better or worse, I wonder what the next 50 years will bring.



Love, me