My love of technology started when I was young. I can still remember my grandad bringing back the first home computer I had ever seen. That might not seem like a big deal, but in 1995, it was a huge deal. The PC was also huge. My memory would have me believe it was something like the size of a fridge freezer. It wasn’t, I don’t think.
Having spoken with friends and colleagues that are around my age (early 30’s) their memories of computers emerging in their lives are very similar. All our parents telling as that “these are the future” yet few of them making any effort to learn how to use one, or indeed, understanding why they would be the future. The screeching noise of the dial-up modem when someone was using the World Wide Web, and in my case the equally screeching noise of my mum telling me she needed to use the phone. Technology has moved fast since those days, where the typical classroom had one computer and a chalk board, now school kids pockets are being checked for devices that give them access to the entirety of human knowledge.
As technology developed, so too did my amazement at the impact it was going to have on people’s lives. DVDs from Netflix came through the post, I didn’t even have to leave my house to get the movie I wanted to watch. I spoke to friends on instant messaging, using now defunct phrases like, “brb” and making plans with friends minutes before it was time to meet. I remember my first foray into listening to music on the go was a Walkman, very soon, it was an 18 track MP3 player, then Steve Jobs and Apple launched the iPod and changed an entire industry.
Family holidays meant packing; a camera, a video camera, traveller’s cheques, music players, bundles of paper, to ensure we got on the plane and into our hotel, books and maybe a Gameboy. When we arrived, we had to rent a Satellite navigation device or buy maps, phone cards to call home and hope that we had switched the heating on or off depending on the time of year. There is nothing worse than returning from a holiday to a burst pipe because the Scottish winter had destroyed the pipes in the house.
I loved every device we took. It was cool to me that there was a talking screen telling my dad where to go. As I got older, my stated aim was to work with technology. I was never going to be a programmer, or an IT person. The closest I have been to either of those things, is when I unplug the router at home and plug it back in, for it to begin working again. Still, I knew I loved technology.
When I take a step back to think about what technology now helps people do, it really is astounding. We can see friends and family on the other side of the planet in real time, in our living rooms. We can meet colleagues from Japan, Australia, California and the UK in the same meeting room without getting on a plane. We have every device that my family took on holiday in our pockets, allowing us to record the important moments, both those that are landmarks, but also the important non-descript parts of life, the tickling our kids, or the busker in the street whose voice is special. Technology allows us to do so much. Technology is there to help people.
I guess that is the point. Technology for technology’s sake doesn’t work. It doesn’t appeal to human nature to embrace something that doesn’t add value. 3D TV, the Sinclair C5 and who could forget Clippy although arguably he (she?) was a precursor to Siri, Cortana and the gang. We embrace technology that helps us to achieve our potential, that solves a problem or somehow makes life easier. Banks and retailers across the globe have embraced GLORY’s technology because that is what our technology does. We help businesses and their employees get the best out of each other. By giving staff the opportunity to engage with customers, removing the risk of mistakes and creating a less stressful environment for employees are real drivers for businesses to invest in cash handling solutions. And I guess that is why I loved technology from a young age. It makes people better. It helps us to achieve our potential.
