Communications and Media

Ted Selkers article, Touching the Future, has graphically revealed to the readers, how he had envisioned the future to be like.  In fact, Selker is suggestive that the future has already arrived, in the form of innovative breakthroughs in visually-manipulative, hand gesture-sensitive concepts, such as what we are able to experience in Apples iPhone.  He furthers this technological prophecy by citing some of the leaders in the industry, such as Jeff Hans Perceptive Pixel, the Microsoft Surface, and the Unmouse Pad which was a creation of Ken Perlin.  These are the very people and corporations who led the way for technology to adapt to the richness of human interaction that has evolved over millions of years (Selker, 2008, p. 16).  

Indeed, numerous benefits are attainable with the introduction of these technologies.  For instance, it has paved the way for users to exercise control over Apples iPhone, by having the controls at the tip of a persons fingertips, literally.  Whence before the transferring of files, editing of picture, or the sharing of applications in cell phones demanded one to master complex and confusing buttons, now these can all be done by simply enlarging or diminishing the distance between two fingers.  The Microsoft Surface, inevitably, is the future of desk-top computers.  Primarily, its 30-inch table-top screen enables for the interaction between the said computer with other compatible devices by simply laying them on top of the screen.  As the surface recognizes hand gestures as well as objects with RFID tags, various applications are performable, such as in sharing of files between MP3 players and smartphones (Selker, 2008, p. 14).

Perhaps because this technology can be considered as still in its infancy, the applications that are presented are still limited.  For one, using a virtual keyboard may present problems for the end-user, as it may take some time for him to get used to typing on the table-top screen, as opposed to the more convenient and customary method of having an external and separate keyboard.  The same can be said of the iPhone, where admittedly Apple has confessed to some of its lesser qualities, such as having an inferior camera, a slower processor, a worse keyboard, no Flash Player, and has no capabilities to attach a lanyard (Selker, 2008, p. 14).

However, despite of all these weaknesses, its practicality in the real world holds no boundaries, especially when taken into consideration the technologys infancy stage and the seemingly enormous and countless possibilities it possesses in the near future.  Admittedly, it may be wise and logical to presume that gesture-sensitive technologies and the table-top super computers will some day soon replace how we have known these technologies to be.  Very soon, the monitors and the CPUs that have been the mainstays in every office will be made obsolete with the proliferation of table-top, gesture-sensitive, and CPU-less units.  Apples iPhone has trailblazed its way into making this possibility a certainty worthy of anticipation.  Lastly, the introduction of these technological breakthroughs will ultimately have to be assimilated with other non-software appliances.  Perhaps a gesture-sensitive monitor will some day be attached to the refrigerator, or to the air conditioning unit, or the microwave oven, or the water heater, and together in a controlled environment, all of these will be controllable by an external unit the size of a cell phone, or perhaps integrated in the cell phones system itself.

Obviously, an article that is intended for those who are technologically-equipped was suited especially for those who have an understanding on these topics, be it in the academic or professional level.  After all, these groups are the pace-setters from which the general populace follows.  Informing these groups of people will eventually lead to the education of the general populace.  Based on this reality, it certainly seems that the future has finally arrived.