Mathur's Law

How technology drives society !
An email post by a friend showing me pictures of all the things we used in school like inland letters, Camel Gum, Camlin Geometry boxes etc let me to recollect my version of Moore's Law which I call Mathur's Law.

Mathur's Law ( as propounded by yours truly) states :" Society changes every four years due to improvement in technology"
Just recollect how you used the following
a) the mobile
b) the internet
c) cars
d) long distance telephony
e) air travel

four years ago and see the difference in usage now !

Mobile rates are down by 75% and the features of the basic model have doubled.
The internet has become faster and more interactive
( We "google" everything so much I might "google" for my mobile in my drawing room someday)
Our cars give out less lead and last longer, isd calls are cheaper and a push button away
Air travel has increased 5 fold so that 3 new airports have had to come up in India - and the old ones are being refurbished.

Technology has completely changed society in the last 20 years. "What's the latest news on TV?" is passe - " Just heard on FB" is th enew calling. The Ambassador car ( Except in Cal) is a relic of the past. The Fiat Taxi in Mumbai will soon be. Movies no longer advertise weeks run but Crores of rupees earned - within the first 4 weeks and you can catch in on TV in the 5th ! The arguments over the VHS vs Beta formats of the DVD players have been replaced by the debate over TV vs the Net and the former has lost heavily among a section of people I know.

Even if one looks back to the evolution of man, we can clearly make out three stages in this milleniuum - life before the Industrial Revolution, upto say the 18th Century - life up to the Information Technology Revolution at the end of the 20th century and life post IT !
All this has impacted interpersonal human relations like crazy. Earlier you had to have a physical or oral fight with someone before you "de-friended" them now all it takes is a click on a mouse. The lesser said about "making friends" these days the better ! In my school days, one played physical games, bruised knees and elbows ( not to mentions egos as well). Today the only bruise you'll get is carpal tunnel syndrome and that too with excessive keyboard usage.
So since society mindlessly to a large extent is driven by technology, keep in touch with the tech pages to see where it is likely to end up next. The geeks are winning ! Mathur's Law is in force !