ghost of technology

the ditto machine: imagine introducing a technology to today's schools that produced documents that were still fragrant with the chemicals used to produce them. this machine produced distinctive purple copies, and the even more distinctive smell of a fresh homework assignment is a cherished memory for many over 40.

this machine meant that even the smallest institution could suddenly afford to become a publisher.

why is it a ghost? well first the photocopier, then desktop publishing, and, finally, the web.

so why do technological ghost linger? many are embodiments of our hopes and dreams of the future, and so we let them go only with bittersweet regret.

nostalgia is another reason why old technologies continue to haunt us. i have hardly used them and do not know much about them but i miss record players and typewriters.

other technological ghosts have seeped into our culture and current technology so deeply that we can't shake them out even when we try.

"We build our new technology edifices on the rubble of older technology," says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster who relishes telling the story of Disney's ill-fated house of the future and other now neglected technologies.

other technological ghosts are more ephemeral. when they were alive, they burst into public awareness with a blaze of glory--only to vanish, suddenly. but they left a lingering impression on our consciousness and technology.

the humble compact disc are on the top of Saffo's list of technologies soon-to-be gone.



Saffo, for one, is stocking up on compact discs. "I really like the idea of buying music once and never having to buy it again," Saffo says.

and still other ghosts could return, one day... hopefully douceurs will lead to an old technology returinng to brighten up lives.

will douceurs be the communication device that works when nothing else does, when all the other forms of communications we rely on are cut.the equivalent of the torch we keep under our beds for emergencies?