How about cell phones, remeniscent of Star Trek communicators? Or hand-held internet devices (that can connect to google and wikipedia amongst other things) that remind me of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
re bumcakes - While you are right that there are many rude people in the world, it is true. Many people who fear confrontation use the anonymity and lack of physical presence of the internet to lash out and "flame" others in ways they never would in real life.
Thank you so much! I don't claim to be environmentalist, but I've always wondered exactly what BP was doing to save the environment beyond putting a flower in their logo. It's like the AT&T commercials of the 90s that would show Star Trek-age technology to get you to infer that someday AT&T would make it real.
I've been giving my son kids' vitamin C for years when he has a cold, calling it "Placebo." Kind of funny, but true, when he says "I don't feel good - I need a placebo!"
If you want to hear bad American accents, just listen to Big Finish's Dr. Who Audios. They seem to think that every American is a Texan (usually a cross between Boss Hogg and Doc. Hopper.) Or, if they're in the U.S. Millitary, they invariably sound like a cross between John Wayne and George C. Scott's General Buck Turgidson.
Don't you love commercials where it's obvious the little boys' cartoon voices are women? I know it's an old practice, but at least June Foray & Nancy Cartwright are convincing!
It's not capitalism that's the problem, it's consumerism. Even when people do shell out the big bucks for top of the line technology or software, it always turns out to be untested, buggy, and much slower than advertised. Furthermore, it's usually cheap junk that breaks easily, because the manufacturers know that in a few years, consumers will want the newer, flashier model.
The other problem is, simply, that life is stressful. People screaming about their slowed internet connection or being cut off by their cell phone may really be angry and frustrated by other things they cannot change or challenge, such as a fight with their spouse or boss, or having spent the morning in traffic. It's the same reason rude customers lash out with displaced wrath against retail employees: because they can't fight back.
Remember a few years back when Amazon would sell pdf and lit ebooks that anyone could view with their Palm, Pocket PC, or Phone? Ah, but then they got greedy and tried to corner the market...
As with everything on the internet, it's the greedy, selfish Americans fault. The more educated peoples of every other continent use the more environmentally friendly corn cobs - getting three or four uses per cob.
The other problem is, simply, that life is stressful. People screaming about their slowed internet connection or being cut off by their cell phone may really be angry and frustrated by other things they cannot change or challenge, such as a fight with their spouse or boss, or having spent the morning in traffic. It's the same reason rude customers lash out with displaced wrath against retail employees: because they can't fight back.