Tech is Spirited

Technologists are spirited people - And Technology can enable society to sprint!

Post my conversation with GVK and my commit to keep the blog going... an interesting thing happened that same afternoon. My wife and I had a committed lecture engagement. A gentleman, a senior medical professional, a graduate from one of the top medical institutions in the world opened his centered talk on spirituality, reproduced verbatim – “We live today in a Wireless village, cashless society, have baseless arguments, in a valueless economy….” And it occurred to me right then, that this man was indeed a scholar, and was sincerely sent to address issues on Technology!
Just the facts (please):
1. Think about it. The world is truly going wireless if it isn’t already (in places). WiFi is real for telecom as well as for datacom.

2. Business transactions with real cash are already passé. On my last trip home I found that merchants even in small towns (around Mysore) were geared to accept plastic. Bill payments are in similar path getting to be e-based. Postal communications with cash exchange and that of 'licking stamps' is slowly getting obsolete. The familiar and friendly postman has taken on another form - "You have got mail".

3. Valueless economy.
Now this is a challenging call. And it does not have to be. Question the change that one brings or causes with launch of technology – was the impact real? Was it positive?
Does everything really require constant manipulation of equations to establish gain or loss? In reflection, I am reminded of an important period in ones life - ‘youth’. The sweet nothings whispered, cooed and blissfully revered over the wired/wireless instrument while in conversations with a significant other - would anyone dare call this as valueless?

The bigger picture is “communication”. Yes, we understand the value communication brings. Importantly communication tools certainly do not belong in the 'value-less' function domain!

On a higher plane however, the technologist ought to consider or understand that technology implementation should not result in a new set of (incorrigable) problems. Just reflect on the following – “Today’s technology is tomorrows junk”. In making this statement what is being encouraged is to (hopefully) remember to elect/select technology tools that have longevity, and the opportunity to be safe over extended periods of time. The CRTs (boob tubes, aka monitors) that are synonymous with communication displays are today an environmental nuisance today!

The objective of this blog was to enable techies to consider their solution in a hollistic manner. Thus it is good to remember commercialization or proliferation as an important consideration for the techie!

Commercialization is pricey: Who amongst us really has the ability to see into the horizon (what time scale?)? The ancient Romans built ther 'baths' with lead liners. Lead pipes in homes positively existed for potable water in India through the sixties. Lead was learned a long time ago as being hazardous. Fortunately, changes have been incorporated and lead has been eliminated. However, only now are we incorporating these laws (eliminating lead) to extend into electronics manufacturing! I fully understand the debate that still revolves around the subject...

Tech Success: To become a tech sucess one needs to have both a deep detailed intimate 'silo' expertise in a given field combined with a large breadth of knowledge around sciences, engineering, business practice etc. Objective here is to enable the construct of a road map for development, and manging product success and maturation.

India is already a leader in IT Information Technology. In my opinion this is not enough to maintain global presence and become a global leader. IT is unquestionably the backbone today of society. But where are the hands? And where is the 'mind set'?

So the Sixty Four Dollar question – What is Technology? (perhaps we ought to delve into why is it the $64 question?)
(FYI: The $64 question: The expression "that's the sixty-four dollar question", is purely American. As a catch phrase it dates ~ circa 1942. "The sixty-four dollars question" has its roots in the CBS radio quiz show, whee $64 was the highest award that was paid out those days. Thus the meaning of the catch phrase is - "That is the crucial question, a real puzzler".)

As several of you have already responded to my previous entry -
1. Technology is about the application of scientific advances to benefit humanity.

2. About application of knowledge to meet the goals, goods, and services desired by people.

3. Human innovation in action that involves the generation of knowledge and processes to develop systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities.

4. About innovation, change, or modification of the natural environment to satisfy perceived human needs and wants.

5. Technology is about techniques used to produce artifacts.

6. About equipment or a technique for performing a specific activity.

7. It is the practical application of science to commerce or industry

Technology obviously has more than one definition. Certainly covers the development and application of tools, machines, materials and processes that help to solve human problems. As a human activity, technology predates both science and engineering.

At a personal level I recall from my grade school days - "Necessity is the mother of invention". And frankly this is the 'brith place' for technology. Invariably technology leads science. Many things are often not fully understood and yet there are solutions to real problems deployed via technology applications. Use of a lever arm probably dates understanding of pivotal, or fulcrum and balance of moment. Experience adds to learning!

Proverbial statements live through time. I recall - "What is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander". This must have been another another technologists' call.

Technology is spirited
Here is an interesting data point. Countries leap-frog technology! India is a perfect example. The average ‘Joe’ (or Chandu, if that sounds better) sincerely pined for a phone – the land line kind - but never ever owned one. Instead he got himself a mobile or cellular hand-set. Via this process Chandu, and India was able to leap ahead as much as 30 years. And in the process the country saved a boat load of money. Certainly a positive thing for the economy!!

So is WiFi in or out? And who should make the call? Who needs it? Is there a proliferation methodology? Communication tools should certainly extend to the masses. Price point and value are crical to taking a decision. From proliferation of technology the masses ought to make the call. Perhaps begining with public places - airports (as people from places gather), offices, educational institutions (libraries), and then .... Who manages the infrastructure? This would be driven by a service model. Enable hardware, and then all would beg to keep the services going!

As some of you aptly pointed out 'no pain no gain'. The continuous cycle of learning from our mistakes makes the tech sector indeed exciting! What is needed is extremely short learning cycles for rapid commercial success. Question is what is one doing about it? Are we learning additional skills, or is knowledge just limited to one specific field?

Just this morning I learned of an interesting product recall - implanted fibrillator. Reason for the recall is faulty design. Hopefully, all would agree on the need for certain technologies, but also would demand scrupulous discipline for successful outcomes.

In our next entry let us focus on tech cycles and where they are headed. From first observation to commercial - can we improve cycle time?

Commercial Success Example: Our dear Chandu can not afford paying $3000.00 for a VCRP (Recorder & player). Yes, this is a dated technology. But nevertheless it proves a point. When first introduced this product had a hefty price tag (early seventies). And then along came a technology success with making cylindrical (helix) recording heads (by Prof. Namba) efficiently. Japan was able to drop the price of a VCRP to a few hundred dollars immediately. And later, with economies of scale, manufacturing improvements, efficient control of supply chain, and cost effective geographies for manufacturing the price came down for all of us Chandus! The first and foremost is technology success. The latter part comes gradually. The ability to see where improvements are needed and how these will be driven are key to success. This where we benefit with a broad tech. knowledge platform.