First, thanks to Woody Allen for making the point that in the future fewer things will work well, not more; in the movie Sleeper. (I laughed, but I didn't belie

First, thanks to Woody Allen for making the point that in the future fewer things will work well, not more; in the movie Sleeper. (I laughed, but I didn't believe him way back then, when it came out. I do now!) The author is wrong about why. Now, we all get to deal constantly with infant technology, very early in it's technological cycle, low on the learning curve. Soon this tech too will be displaced by a new, new thing - before most of the wrinkles have been ironed out, before it becomes mature tech. Infant tech has always been ugly to deal with us, from the time of the Newcomen engine, to the first gas engines... there just hasn't been so much of it before. Now the changes come so quickly that almost no technology becomes polished and well-adapted to humans before at least some significant part of it is replaced by a new infant tech with its own teething problems. There is economic benefit, but the costs of forcing humans to begin another learning curve are likely underestimated, along with other unintended consequences. There is also the Genghis John effect; if too many things are changing at once the usual checks and balances can't possibly keep up. But there were also a lot of technological inconveniences in the past that I wouldn't wish to experience again, thank you very much. Cameras that easily exposed film accidentally, TVs that would self-destruct when you tried to use the earphone plug to record from them, toasters that violently exploded the wall sockets they were plugged into because the paper tape insulation on wires had unwound over the years shorting them out internally, highly flammable children's pajamas, lead in paint and gasoline; and much, much more. The big difference is that in the past there was an "age bonus." Yes the tech was terrible and dangerous but by a certain age you knew where and what all the problems were and were nearly at the top of almost every learning curve that mattered to you. You got to relax, and teach the youngsters. That bonus has been ripped away, of course; and we of a certain age do get cranky about it. I've given up on truly fixing my Android device, configuring Windows yet one more time, and many more things because unlike Sisyphus, I do get bored with the whole rolling the rock back up the hill thing. Nonetheless, I like what I can get to work, so I'm okay Jack.