In my hush-hush life as a secret agent (don’t tell anyone), I naturally use extreme technology from the mundane, everyday chat with headquarters, to high tech cars armed with lasers and missiles that blow up bad guys. You probably see me or one of my compatriots daily racing around the streets of Toronto, New York, Paris, or Milan. Technology makes my life easier, but sometimes I miss the old cloak and dagger approach.

Recently our network at headquarters was infiltrated and we had to find various ways to communicate using actual face-to-face methods. Secret messages were passed along on analog devices such as edible paper and newspaper ads. We sparked up chats with agents we had never met by using secret coded question and answer introduction techniques such as offering to light each-others cigarettes (Q: “Can I light your cigarette?” A: “Yes, but only on Wednesdays.”) or asking about the weather (Q: “Did you notice the weather?” A: “Yes, but only on Wednesdays.”).

Our sys op forbade us to use any device that had been connected until the problem was resolved. She might as well had said “any device” because everything is connected. We can download, upload, beam, synchronize, and link to anything electronic that has been made in the last couple of years–PDA’s, MP3 players, cell phones, My Documents at work, AV equipment, electronic pens, and even our cars. As secret agents, we link to rocks–communication devices designed to look like small boulders spread around various cities.

Obviously I’m not a spy, but a recent event in my life got me to thinking about how pervasive technology has become in our society for both business and pleasure.

Due to some nearby construction we haven’t had internet or TV at home for a week. It feels like the eighties around our house. Back in that decade the coolest way to keep in touch was through faxes. CompuServe emerged into my consciousness as the nineties neared, and though I had a massive 30 MB hard drive on a light 28 pound portable Panasonic Exec Partner (printer included), it never occurred to me then that I would work in the computer industry. Computers were simply a tool to help me get through school and run a business at the same time.

So, what have I been doing to get my internet fix? Well, breaks at work give me the opportunity to break open my personal spaces. Internet cafés are good excuses to buy a nice coffee once in a while, but they aren’t open late around here, so at night when I need to send an email or two, I have to resort to sitting in my car outside friends’ houses who have provided me with their WEP or WPA keys. Then there’s always the option of using a hapless hotel’s leaky wireless connection from their parking lot.

I prefer the interior of our home and the company of my family over a cramped car, so I don’t actually spend that much time in the pursuit of free internet. It’s simply business, no pleasure, and all the time I spend in such pursuits is about 10 percent of the time I usually spend on the web.

The internet started off as a neeto way to communicate and has expanded into every aspect of our connected life. We have benefited from the construction project in the sense that we are learning how well we get along together as a family. We could complain, but we are enjoying the extra time with each other, and I like having my computer to myself (i.e., without chat or email intrusions).

I’m not knocking the valuable research and communication benefits of ARPA Net’s prodigy and television. If I could live without the internet, cafés with free access would be short one customer. Heck, this article has been difficult to write because I can’t just go online and find some kindling to fuel my creative fires.

I have discovered that the reason technology is so popular–at least in our house–isn’t because of what we need it for, but because of our desire for entertainment. To watch the TV for information (e.g., news) would only require a small percentage of the time we actually spent in front of the tube. The same goes for the internet–if I factor out its entertainment usage, we wouldn’t be connecting that often (of course, what is considered entertainment is up for debate).

What’s my point? It’s obvious that technology wouldn’t be so popular if it were not for the entertainment value it provided. We wouldn’t have the connected engineering we have today if it were not for our need for pleasure. The desire to exchange recipes and download ring tones has driven technological change as much as the craving for businesses large and small to keep in touch with its customer base or sales force.

Look how computer companies such as Apple and Atari became popular because of entertainment. TiVo was a technology developed for the living room, and now Media Centre computers are all the rage. XBox has used networking technologies to keep players in touch, and gamers push the drive for better graphics and physics peripherals.

Saying “it’s all connected” may sound a bit trite, but improvements in technology are driven by both our craving for more entertainment and the desire of business to stay connected.

Meanwhile, back in headquarters, our network just went live again. I just received an uplink from a contact in Moscow, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way. Thanks.

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