CLONMEL -- I wonder about communication channels in Utopia. Are they open and free-flowing? Are they low-cost and easily affordable? Are they regulated for the common good?
Every communication channel should be considered an auxiliary to, or an amplification of, our intelligence. Paul Levinson would concur.
From speech itself to its early expressions in writing in various forms and mechanizations, through the revolution in photo-chemical reproduction of images and electronic transmission of information beginning in the 19th century and proceeding through the personal computer and all of its links and possibilities on our verge of the 21st century, each and every mode of communication has served as an amanuensis of the human brain, a third, extended hand for helping its dreams come true, for shaping its thoughts and launching them out and far and deep into the world where they can have the most impact.
When pundits think about the future, they often take pages from science fiction. Vodafone and DoCoMo might be doing the same as they write their visions of 2010. But the 21st century realm of possibilities also includes many low-cost implementations of technology, such as community Wi-Fi hotspots. These unlicensed communications nodes could beome as ubiquitous and expected as street lighting in the 20th century.
But technology alone does not a Utopia make.Community members must use the new-found mechanisms. In London of the mid-1800s, a late-night walking routine developed affecting all social classes where before people stayed indoors after sunset. Restaurants expanded their evening fare. Pavements and streets became part of the social fabric, day and night. I wonder what would happen if those same streets were lighted by communuty Wi-Fi? Without expensive subscription costs, would people increase their frequency of communicating with family and friends? Would this kind of freedom in communications be a requisite part of Utopia?
Irish Typepad -- "workplace of future"
Vodafone's vision of the future
DoCoMo's 2010 vision
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