| For years, pundits have been forecasting the great "Digital Convergence." This term was coined over a decade ago to refer to the merging of voice, data and images using networked technologies, such as the Internet. I recall authors suggesting the near future reality of interactively surfing the Web while watching television; of combining entertainment and business in small, portable devices; of sharing images, voice and video with loved ones far away in real time.
Wait! That’s today. By golly, it looks like we’ve finally caught up with our future.
During the Olympics, NBC televised more than twice as many hours of coverage as they did during the last Olympiad in Australia. Using its cable networks (MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, USA Network, and Telemundo), I could watch everything from table tennis to kayaking. What was interesting is that in conjunction with DishTV (we’re satellite subscribers), I could click my remote to get one screen showing all the NBC channels. Click again, and I could view statistics on the games and profiles on the athletes.
Unlike many in my profession, I don’t carry a "palm-top" – the techno-slang for such hand-held computers as the Palm and Handspring. While having my calendar at close hand, I could not see spending $800 for a portable DayTimer, when the actual paper version cost far less. Besides, I have my laptop that does so much more in addition to reminding me I’m late for yet another appointment.
However, I’ve now set my sites on my next technology purchase. A new cell phone. What’s the big deal? The new cell phones not only handle the often-interrupting phone call, but they do a lot more. My friend just bought a Sony that also contains all the software features of a hand-held computer, plus it plays MP3 music files, takes photos he can instantly send to relatives back east, and can record a few minutes of video. He showed me a recording of his son taking his first swings at a t-ball game. Additionally, his phone wirelessly connects with his computer, so both calendars and address books are always in sync.
This convergence is one of the reasons Apple has been so incredibly successful with the iPod. Yes, it plays music with wonderful fidelity, but it also stores appointments, addresses and notes, and synchronizes these with the owner’s computer. Apple has been a big proponent of the digital convergence, referring to its stylish iMac computer as a “digital hub”. In fact, we not only sent our eldest to college with an iPod, but with Apple’s iSight video camera so he may videoconference with his mother any time. Unfortunately, he’s reluctant to let her see the condition of his room at the fraternity most of the time. Long past are the days of monthly letters asking for money. Now, he only can “iChat” with us anytime he’s low on cash. We’re not sure that technology is always so rewarding!
If you watched the Olympics, it was hard not to notice the ads from AT&T and others discussing "voice over IP" or VoIP. Simply put, this refers to the use of the Internet for transmitting land-based telephone calls, instead of the traditional wiring used today. Why are the companies that invested billions over the past 125 years in copper wiring suddenly pushing VoIP? Because, whether they like it or not, we are going to demand it more and more. Why pay for two connections to our homes – Internet and phone – when one would do the trick?
The best part of VoIP is that devices will come along that will blend voice calls with multimedia. In fact, today, I can place phone calls from my computer, over the Internet, while I surf, check e-mail, or send a video of our guitar-playing son to his grandparents in San Antonio. And I never have to pay a long distance charge or any per-minute costs.
These latest devices, however, do not complete the ideal convergence set-up. But, we’re getting closer. New homes built near us are all equipped with computer networking throughout. With the advent of faster wireless standards, hardwiring homes may even become a thing of the past. With more and more people opting only for cell phones, instead of land-lines, we will very soon be communicating, being entertained, and working detached from any physical locations, yet connected to each other more intimately and frequently than before.
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