4 Nov
2003
4 Nov
'03
6:07 a.m.
> Hey, I'm one of them. I'm 23 now,
I've been heavy into computers since I
> was about 14, been going after classics since I was about 17, worked in
> the computer lab of the local science museum(www.omsi.edu) for a year
> and a half around that time, got my ham license at 18... And the whole
> time I've been mostly surrounded by old farts. Rather depressing
> sometimes. There's a big problem getting younger people into ham radio,
> too... Hell, getting ANYONE. The old people just get grouchier and
> rarely teach the others(I'm glad I know a few exceptions to that), then
> they die and no one knows anything that isn't spelled out to them in 3rd
> grade(and we all know no one learns anything after that).
You've just pointed out one of the biggest
problems facing our society.
When general knowledge of technology is lost, what then? Are all the
high-tech jobs going to be in India and China within 20 years? If so,
what will we be doing here in the US, and probably in Europe too?
Well, no conspiracy or educational theories needed, some technologies
which are so ubiquitous that we take them for 'imortal' will soon be
phased out. Among them are things as analogue Radio and TV, includeing
CRTs. I'm not talking digital satelite, or cable. Within the next 5-8
years the all terrestric TV transmission in Germany will be switched over
to DVB-T, analoge licences will be revoked (as it already happened to
some stations). It's only a matter of time until the whole feed chain
will be all digital, from production over storrage and transmission to
reciver and display... No more fast modifiying of a TV set into a computer
CRT. All the knowledge will be worthless in 20-30 years, when there are
just _no_new_tubes_ available...
The only people who will still know how all this crap
works is the people
here on this list.
Year, right, we will save the world ...
:)
H.
--
VCF Europa 5.0 am 01./02. Mai 2004 in Muenchen
http://www.vcfe.org/