Summary

After taking this course, I feel like I have better general understanding of where this huge technology boom has come from and where it will go in the future. Before this class I had never even thought about how or why the internet was created, but now, by knowing its past purpose I feel like I have a better understanding of its present form. I definitely appreciate how user driven the internet has become, seeing as it was originally intended to be a place where research was to be stored and accessed. The internet was a sort of read only interface in the beginning, but now it is a place where anyone can create and add. I think it is interesting to see how far the internet has come in such a short time.

My thoughts on where technology would go were pretty limited at the beginning of the semester. I had the standard thought of faster internet, instant video, various household appliances being linked together on one network, and other cool, but somewhat inane ideas. I really was not aware of how far advanced technology is becoming and how rapidly our world could change. Kurzweil's article was especially eye opening and rather shocking. I was not aware that computers had the capacity to lead us towards such a futuristic life style. It still remains to be seen if Kurzweil's ideas are possible, but the thought and the support is out there. That alone is a huge step forward in technology.