The focus of technology for the past decade has centered around San Francisco and a few other hot spots with the internet revolution and computers. But is that all technology is? Where’s the hardware? I’m not talking about computer chips and memory, I’m talking about flying cars, advanced transportation, the energy revolution. What happened? Why did my first car, a 1993 Saturn, have better gas mileage than a 2008 model car of similar price that I rented recently? The “engineering” community today is limited to San Francisco, and most of these self-proclaimed engineers only produce software. They aren’t real engineers. They are just young people who are riding this new wave of connectivity. You also have a large group of IT professionals who are also more in-demand these days than REAL engineers.
I don’t think this will last forever. I think it’s just a fad and will go away. I hope this next decade is the decade of hardware, REAL technology. Then maybe people will step out into the sunlight and actually live a real life. I drove by a newly built large 6 story apartment building last night, and couldn’t help but notice how many flat-screen TV’s were turned on, and how barren the sidewalks were/are of life always. My apartment is similar. This town is pretty desolate considering how dense it is. I can go out to any random suburb in America and it’s more lively than Atlanta. What’s the point of living here? More restaurants or shopping? Doesn’t that get old? I think it is old and people realize this now. I doubt that I’m the only person with this viewpoint in Atlanta or America.
There is created demand (silicon valley and technology), and real demand. It’s the real demand that is out there that needs to be filled this decade. The problem is that it’s easier for people to “ride the wave” of the internet and computer-based technology. You can live a sedentary life that way.