Dear Friends,

I love to think about technology and it's effect on our lives. I also like to keep up with the latest technology if I can, and have done so since I was (chronologically) a teenager. Unlike some of you, however, I have a different view about technology. First of all, I don't (1) assume that the latest technology is better than what came before, or (2) that modern technology is more exciting than older technology. In fact, I believe that in many instances older technology was better than anything we have today. Let me give you a few examples.

To begin with, picture this. You are in a music store in San Francisco. All along the sides of the narrow store are bins with brand NEW vinyl disks. Along one of the walls there are a serious of state of the art "record" playing turntables. Smart looking, teenagers and guys in their trenties are playing samples of these "new" disks, listening with earphones, picking up and laying down the tone arm with precision. Is this taking place years ago. No, it's December 5, 1997.