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Recently, I have begun to think about the world we live in and the technology that we use. Everything is moving at such an incredibly fast pace that it’s a challenge even to keep up. Between computers and consumer electronics and TVs, it’s impossible to be on the cutting edge for long. With the advent of the Internet, people all around the world are connected in ways they never could have before. I just want to take a moment to set back and look at where we are. I want to look at the State of Technology.

When I look upon our world, the first thing I see is the “tech-spec generation”. We are the generation that looks at all the technical aspects of a piece of hardware or software. We have begun to devalue elegant, simple, and beautiful products. We are too consumed with the numbers, that we are missing the true value of the technology. Risking sounding like an Apple fanboy, I’m going to bring up the MacBook Air. Look at this device - thinner than my iPod, and perfectly thought-out. It is a marvel of design. From the backlit keyboard, to the magnetic latch, to the specially designed Magsafe adapter. But people complain. “It’s underpowered.” “It doesn’t have an optical drive.” “It doesn’t have an Ethernet port.”

Underpowered? Apple fit a dual-core processor in something as thin as a pencil! The majority of the people I know only use their computers for email, web browsing, IM, and maybe video chats. They want to organize their pictures, and they want to be able to type documents. And the MacBook Air does just that. The problem is, most people think they need a super-computer. I understand that many people with specialized careers do need the power, but the average consumer doesn’t. The MacBook Air is as powerful as the PowerMac G5’s of old - the same machines that they edited movies such as “King Kong” on. Technology has moved to the place where the tech specs don’t matter anymore. Sure, the geeks will compare and analyze and talk about the minuscule 50Mhz differences, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. We have moved past the numbers to a place where it is not a matter of what machine you have, but what you do with it.

In my mind, the MacBook Air is a picture of the future. Portable. Wireless. A future where everything is only a download away. A future where optical disks are a thing of the past. A future where wireless is everything, and anything can be done wirelessly. Back in 2006, Apple discontinued dial-up modems from their laptop computers. Two years later, and I can’t say I miss them. I hardly even use the Ethernet port on my computer. I know there are people for which these things are still important, but slowly we are moving towards a more portable, wireless world. A world in which everything is connected by one, big network - the Internet

We’ve all heard the phrase Web 2.0 used here and there, but what is it really? I believe that the Internet is changing. We have passed from using the Internet as a bunch of computers connected to servers with loads of information, to a bunch of computers connected to each other. Think about it. Every time you hook your computer up to the Internet, there is some magical “tube” somewhere that is connecting it to my computer. All that is needed is some sort of user interface that allows us to connect - either through text, audio, or video. Imagine a world where you could connect to your home computer from where ever you are. All of your files, media, and personal data would only be a click away. The technology is already there. All that is needed is an interface.

Finally, as technology continues to develop, I believe that we will see a growth in the number of home theaters. Prices of HDTVs are dropping rapidly, while the sizes just keep getting bigger. High Definition is becoming the new standard. But in this high-tech world, where are we still getting our content from? CDs? DVDs?

2008 is going to be the year where we see video content over the Internet come to the masses. With products like the AppleTV and video podcasts, it is easy than ever for anyone to be on the big screen, no matter how large or small your budget may be. With bandwidth growing, it is going to be possible to download feature-length HD movies at high speed. Your success will no longer be determined by how big your pocketbook is - it will be based solely on how talented and creative you are.

We are looking at at a whole new world. A world where portability and design rule over the technical specifics. A world where everyone is connected wirelessly, wherever they happen to be. A world where anyone can be a star on the big screen. A world where content is delivered over the Internet directly to our HDTVs. This is the State of Technology for 2008. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.