In the computer age

Ms. A sets her electronic alarm clock for 5-00 a.m.. But at 4-45 a.m., her coffee maker automatically switches itself on. At 5-00 a.m. she hits the snooze button of her alarm clock and her coffee maker goes into "keep warm" mode.

She has a pet PC which checks the interest to download that day's edition of her favourite daily into her e-book, which switches itself on exactly 10 minutes after the alarm clock sounds.

She has a refrigerator which tells her microwave oven what grocery is available and the microwave oven in turn tells her what to cook.

On her coffee table sits a remote control which resembles the keyboard of a laptop computer.

With the push of a button, she accesses her e-mail, voice mail and favourite TV programme - all of which can simultaneously be seen on one screen. Hot pizzas arrive at her doorstep without having to venture outside home or office.

This is no science fiction. This is where the emerging field of wireless networked devices is leading to. It will be a matter of time before such products become affordable.

The whole world has been reduced to a global village with the rapid progress in the field of computers. In the space of five or six years, it has transformed the way we do business, the way we communicate and the way we shop.

But there is far more in store for this fledgling medium. As the web matures, the hype and hysteria surrounding it will fall away. This will leave room for the real technological innovations - the ones that will have a profound effect on the way we think, work, play and live.

The "in" thing today for most students is to undergo courses in information technology. Every street corner has an institute offering vague and expensive courses guaranteed to liquidate the savings of our parents.

Are we going to be trained for jobs that will last or will they be obsolete? The mad rush to be software literate at the expense of a sound academic base in a non-computer area will ensure that we remain underdeveloped.

The answer to development does not lie in producing computer coolies. Parents should realise that a sound academic base be it in engineering, medicine or fashion design coupled with being computer literate is the only answer to faster development.

V. PRIYADARSHINI, IX A

BALA VIDYA MANDIR, Chennai

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