1. About Emerging Technolgies (Questions)

1.1 What makes any technology an "emerging" technology?

Emerging technologies are new systems that make the difficult things in life easier and the impossible possible. The internet is a great example of an emergent technology that has past and has paved the way for many more technologies that society can’t live without.

Emergent technologies can be quite subtle and not obvious to the public eye. To take what people know now and combine it with other technologies to simplify many tasks into one task is what emerging technologies it all about.

1.2 Give an example of a technology that has emerged in your lifetime, but that now would no longer be considered to be "emerging"

Emails are a great example. It have taken years even decades to evolve. Emails have combined simple text communications with pictures and audio/video. It has added security and the ability to mail to multiple individuals. All in all everyone with access computer (no matter how old, pc/apple or O/S) and internet connection can send another person email. It is quick cheap and reliable. They don’t even need a pc or an ISP for themselves! There are many free online email websites and free public computer access terminals at libraries or even net cafes.

Today most businesses, organisations and individuals couldn’t live without it anymore because it is such a quick, easy and cheap way to communicate. It has become a way of life that has taken the need to manually post a letter which can take days. Now its part of many other emerging technologies and has become normal.

1.3 (CR) Apart from reasons of cost, why are some emerging technologies wildly successful, whereas others sink without a trace? Give an example of each to support your view.

Emergent technologies have to revolutionise the way we seek information, communicate and enjoy complex things in a simple manner. They also have to appeal to a large audience and also include simple steps to involve them. A great example of a project that nearly went down the drain is the @home program.

Collectively using many computers around the world to use their spare pc power to help with scientific calculations is an incredible idea but when they just shove it out into the wild saying what it does is bad execution. How they enticed people to use it is have them compete against each other on who can calculate the most data in a given period which in turn lead to teams of people collectively competing against each other. This created a community of people with like minded ideas and also helped the scientific community to process their data with less outlay for a super computer and the power it draws.

1.4 3UET Overall Sources

www.discover.com