A giant leap forward or a step back?

Published on Wednesday 21 July 2010 11:41

Fiona Pringle and Victoria Raimes look at whether recent advances have helped or hindered the world

IT all started off with the wheel - and perhaps sliced bread. New gadgets and technologies, some of them seemingly simple and humble, others mind-bogglingly complex, have been developing fast throughout the decades.

In recent years, inventors seemed to have broken out into a sprint. But does easy mean efficient, or does it mean lazy?

Should a simple gadget we could live without be seen as a luxury or a waste of space?

GOOD

Internet shopping

A market place where there are no limits and the boundaries are seemingly endless. Take a leisurely stroll through the online streets of eBay or meander through Topshop. Online shopping has taken the hassle out of consumerism.

It is easy to pile your 'basket' high and just as easy to discard the items without encountering the ice cold stare of a shop assistant. For those who fret about online security and safety, most online shopping sites provide layers of protection.

Screw-top wine bottles

Battling a stubborn cork is enough to drive any wine connoisseur to drink.

So all hail the creation of the screw cap.

Lovers of white, red or ros plonk can now crack open their favourite bottle with effortless grace.

The added bonus is that should you not finish the bottle, drinkers can seal it back up for another day.

The screw cap is easier, more efficient and is said to keep in the freshness.

It also prevents a struggle with a corkscrew so fierce that shards of the stopper end up floating in your vino.

Sky+ TV

We lived, and survived, through the decline of VCRs and the possibility that nothing would fill the hollow gap of recordable TV. After a few miserable years choosing whether to miss Part 2 of Wire in the Blood or having a social life, Sky+ came out of the darkness.

The ability to not only record TV but to pause, rewind, fast forward and star in the show emerged. Sky+ is akin to Facebook in the way it has seeped into our lives, sticking fast and blending in. It is hard to think back to a Sunday not spent catching up on a week of saved soaps or documentaries. With the technology to record more than one channel at a time, there is no excuse for being in the dark.

Social networking sites

In these days of fast living, we seem to hardly have any time to e-mail friends for an update, let alone catch up over a coffee. But instant social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and the new Foursquare – which lets users highlight when they have checked into a shop or a pub across Edinburgh – allow us a bigger peek into the lives of our friends then we could ever have desired.

The online peep hole means we can learn all about John's dog's dodgy leg or what Gary thinks about his sister having a baby. We can see their photos, the conversations and chip in our own thoughts on the issues flying around cyberspace.

BAD

Self-service checkout

An unexpected item in the bagging area? Where the internet prevails the supermarket fails.

Although it claims to save the shopper precious minutes , self-service checkouts are nothing short of a nightmare. The time you save serving yourself gets added on in bundles of frustration as every time you scan an item it instantly becomes "unexpected" or requires authorisation.

Barcodes instantly become unrecognisable and you might as well forget recycling bags. The technology supermarkets swore would save us time (and them money) seems to have alienated more than it has aided.

Microwave junk food

Traditionally the top contender for 'worst hamburger known to man' has been found at the fairground or at the dodgy roadside cafe. But with the mighty microwave comes a new and dubious fast food option. The microwavable burger might be cheap, limp and soggy, but its super-fast cooking time and cheap nature means it has become a favourite. However, health gurus have warned that such snacks lack nutrients and are full of salt, fat, sugar and preservatives. Certain not to give you a micro-tummy.

Pop-up advertising

What is more infuriating than waiting longer than usual for a web page to open? Realising the problem has been down to an advert for downloadable smiley face emoticons.

Pop-up internet adverts are the bane of web users' existence. Online gambling, insurance deals and free downloads are all common sights on the pop-up advertisers' road to entice.

Despite web browsers having set up ad blockers in a bid to fight the constant annoyance, it seems however they are persistent in their 'popping' and nothing can be done to eradicate their petty determination to ruin any good internet session.

Wii Fit

It is a computer game, a family game, a children's game and a game that you can exercise while playing. Counselled by the acumen "the kids are actually exercising", the Wii Fit takes on a whole new persona.

Although games consoles were once only considered to give the thumbs exercise, the benefits of the nifty advice are boasted on the box and by many a next-door neighbour. Although you feel like a plonker, you can bend, stretch, jump, box and 'cycle' with only your nearest and dearest laughing out loud.

Powerplate

Nobody likes their wobbly bits so why wobble them more? Instead of throwing on some trainers and inhaling good old-fashioned air, the consumer market is dangling the carrot of laziness in front of us in the form of a large vibrating platform. As with most fitness-related products, the toners sing promises of perfect bodies in no time and with little effort – just a vibrating motion as you lie or sit.

If it seems conceivable that hanging around on a giant plate will vibrate away the weight, you can scoop one for around 3000. Alternatively you can grab a space hopper or trampoline and hope for the best.

Texting abbreviations

Not exactly a technological development within itself, text speak, or should that be txt spk, is a bizarre, almost alien language that has evolved from the mobile phone. Usually used by teenagers, there seem to be few rules. It doesn't abide to the rules of grammar, involves a lot of randomly absent vowels and acronyms for phrases that didn't exist in the first place. For example, LOL means laughing out loud and ROFL equates to rolling on the floor laughing.

Despite its foreign nature to anyone under 20, certain phrases have now entered the dictionary and students have been found to write in text speak during exams.