h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We are fast approaching the state that George Orwell predicted, it is now possible for "the state" to know where I am (with GPS), who I am talking to (on my mobile or static phone), who I have been speaking to (with call line identity), what I am spending my money on (via credit card, or POS) etc. etc. The real worry is when George Orwell's Big Brother collides with Tony Blair's Nanny State. How long will it be before the Ministry of Healthy Eating knows that I am eating to many curry's and stops my credit cards at all local Indian resurants and take aways. Or the Department of Fitness works out (via GPS) that I have been static in front of the TV to long and cuts off my receiver. Or the Commitee of Nice People finds out that I have been speaking to the "wrong" people and blocks their numbers for both in-comming and out-going calls. This might appear futuristic and unbelievable but remember all the technology to to it is in place today !!!

As Krishnamurti pointed, so many brilliant minds worked together for so many years to finally send men to the moon (which if you think about it for a minute is a genuinely astonishing achievement), and yet the first thing we did when we got there was to stick a flag on it. Technology really can be used for the purposes of good and for evil. I tend to agree with your rather pessimistic veiwpoint. However, as long as we have imaginations, there will always be a part of us that no-one can touch.

Sam

When I bought a GPS for the car (for fun, as most of the time I don't need it, as 90% of my time is spend between where I work, where I live, where my daughter goes to school, where my wife teaches, and the shops, all of which are on the pacific highway) I read with interest the blurb which explained how it worked, and re-assured me that the GPS knew where the satellites were, but the satellites didn't know where the GPS was.

Since I'm of the opinion that worrying about Big Brother won't change his power, I just enjoy the feeling of comfort my GPS (a TomTom 300) provides: I can now travel anywhere to anywhere (in Australia) and be reasonably sure that I am going in the right direction most of the time. When I get it wrong (by not being able to turn left when "Jane" tells me to because I didn't get in the correct lane in time) she politely tells me to "turn around when possible", redetermines the best route, and tells me where to go (unlike a human navigator who would probably spend ten minutes asking me why I didn't go where I was told in the first place!).

One of the fun things to do is to purposely go against the instructions given, and watch how quickly "Jane" recalculates the route and tells you how to get back on track.

On those rare occassions when I am going somewhere new, my GPS is wonderful - enter an address and it will direct you there. Having a voice as well as a map means that even when I have no passenger to look at the pretty pictures ("Oh look, it knows there's a bit of grass at this T-junction.") I am usually able to understand the instructions.

Before the Tom Tom I would look at the map , drive until I got lost, stop, look at the map, drive until I got lost, and continue this cycle until I eventually bumped into wherever it was I was going, or got fed up and repeated the exercise until I knew where I was and could drive home!

One added benefit is, having downloading the locations of speed and red light cameras, which gives a "trumpet horn" as you approach them, I've probably recovered the cost of the machine in saved fines already (I decided I didn't need to download the Macdonald's locations, as even I can see the golden arches).

I'm looking forward to my father-in-law visiting from Thailand, so I can change the language and he can travel to his hearts content secure in the knowledge he won't get lost!

check out bookcrossing.