In the words of Dr. Thornburg (2008), a “new technology is a fresh emergence of the impact felt many years before from another technology.” As a result, several factors influence the emergence of new technologies, with no single element being completely ample to expound on how or why one technology is accepted and others are not. Thornburg (2008) also states that there exist many influences or “forces” that are catalyst in the emergence of new technology. This emergence to adoption progression does not happen overnight, but is a series of steps that lead to this result. There exist legitimate root causes that assist in the emergence of a new technology. The key principles of evolution were stated as “numerous forces that cause technology to develop as they go through an evolutionary process as they continue to change (Thornburg, 2008).” Keep in mind, there are additional forces that cause new technology to emerge that is probably sustainable and reliable enough to predict future trends. In addition to the previous comments, Thornburg’s assertions about the rhyme of history theory hinge on a great point in that new technology definitely seek to take the place of one or more things used in the past.
Dr. Thornburg (2008) described a rhyme in history as an affect or effort of a new development that “rekindles something from the past.” One particular technology that comes to mind as it pertains to the concept of rhyme of history is simply the telephone. As you are fully aware, communications has always been an integral part of human interaction even in the times when smoke, drums and other apparatus were used to convey a message. Regardless of the scenario, we have always been able to communicate in some form or fashion based on what we have available to do so. The telephone or better yet our new mobile devices have definitely made it easier to communicate with others while also expanding the boundaries in which we can communicate via social networking. However, with the new and still emerging technology, it is even easier to communicate across the globe with others in an instantaneous and efficient manner.
Here is a list of technologies that are on the evolutionary path that we all have in some way, shape or form have impacted our lives and the way we do things in today’s society.
iPhone
The occasion was held on Jan. 9th during the 2007 Macworld convention in San Francisco; the now-deceased Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs uncovered a original product that Apple had been emerging for almost three years. Presenting the electronic device as enhanced wide-screen iPod with touch controls, a mobile phone and an Internet communications device, Jobs assured the crowd that the revolutionary iPhone would “reinvent the phone,” to the elation of the crowd.
During this historic presentation, Jobs made light of the budding class of smartphones that could make calls, connect to the Internet and receive email but seemed difficult to use due to their unique configuration of the keyboards which often where not easy to access and use.
Even during the demonstrations, Jobs was described as showing off the various features of the iPhone. For instance, functions as simple as sliding the bar to unlock the iPhone or scrolling through genres in the music function drew rave reviews from the spectators.
From this point, the rest was “history”. These days, the iPhone is simply considered to have rewritten the entire smartphone industry and further propelled Apple to become one of the most prized companies in the entire world.
Seven generations later, iPhone is starting to experience a leveling off in the marketplace due to the influence in the market because of less-expensive devices from competitors like Samsung, LG and Motorola which are all owned by Google. Despite this, the Apple iPhone still rules 53 percent of the smartphone market. The iPhone is the top-selling phone of all time in the U.S., Japan and other countries.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Evolutionary technologies, featuring Dr. David Thornburg.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Six forces that drive emerging technology, featuring Dr. David Thornburg.
Neal, Ryan. "Apple IPhone to IPhone 6: The 7-Year Evolution Of A Game-Changing Smartphone." International Business Times 1 Jan. 2014. Print.
The History of Communication - http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa93
Telephone History - http://www.telephonymuseum.com/telephone%20history.htm