Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Into The Matrix




In front of the PC
I surf the web for any 
human signs that may 
hinder my continuous assimilation
with the inorganic machine.



Three years after writing the passages above, a friend who used to work at Smart Communications told me the future of the Internet:

Personal computers can access the web without the need of cables. Broadband would be useless and telecommunications companies, like the one he's working for will provide Internet service to its customers.

At a time when social media was still being developed as a platform for trash and profound opinions, and dial-up remained the main method of connecting to the web. I merely shrugged at his prophesy. I couldn't even afford a postpaid service so I relied on pre-paid cards to access my blog. I am not even a techie or someone who goes crazy with electronic gadgets so whatever he told me meant nothing.  

As long as I could go online in a net cafe, then my worries were gone.


But then and now belong to different age. It is like comparing the renaissance with the landing on the moon even when both historic turning points share only the same vein. I knew there was no turning back after we have given up on dial-up last March. It's about time we catch up with technology. And with the appearance of the first laptop inside the house, the day when we will finally cut the cables and move around with a computer in our hands drew near. 

But a catalyst is needed to start the change.

I remember telling the partner that within a year after getting my laptop, the entire house will be wired. Funny because a few months after we first met, I told him that I knew nothing about Wi-Fi and all those stuff. I don't even pay attention when tech people around me talk about their latest electronic toy.

Last summer, I told my sister to convince my brother-in-law to get a laptop. Tutal, it will come from his mom's wallet. Since he doesn't want to work in an office setup, maybe he could just find a freelance job that lets him work at home. 

It so happened too that the organization where he moonlights lent him a Macbook. Ang sosyal lang diba, considering that what he does for a living has something to do with casting the government in a bad light and organizing "Occupy Mendiola" movements year round. 

  

But when the favorite aunt decided to give away her old laptop, and it coincided with the thoughts of letting my mom talk to her sisters abroad using Skype, that's when the need to unhook ourselves from cables become an urgency. We cannot stay longer sharing a single Ethernet connection, especially now that the sister too has emerged from the Dark Ages. 

It was when I went home one night and found my sister's husband working on a project in our living room did the final push happen. He could have done much work with the web around. The same morning, I asked the matriarch to fund my venture. A request I haven't done in a long time. Mom understood my points and handed me fifteen hundred bucks to buy this:



D-Link N-150. P1,950 Gilmore


A week has passed. The sister seldom stays in my room anymore to use my desktop. The brother-in-law stays more often in the sala with his Macbook. And the matriarch, the one who lent us the funds to complete this revolution, had her first taste of Facebook the night the entire house went online.

Sooner or later, when the helpers could finally afford a cheap smart phone from China. They too will be wired into the matrix.

The household will only then officially enters the Information Age.



Drained of humanity,
I was left in my chair
downloading my soul.


Cyber Sentience
Poem Book Six, The Dark Side of Light, 
I-Third Year UST - 2001

12 comments:

Mr. Hush Hush said...

im also looking for a wifi router that I can plug my USB smart device.. I had one from cdr king, but apparently, quality sucks, and now it's useless…

may ma.recommend ka Mugen?

Mugen said...

Mr Hush:

You better check Gilmore, Mr. Hush. CD King's devices suck talaga.

Mr. Hush Hush said...

hmmm.. san yan gilmore Mugen? hehe sorry, di ako maalam sa maynila hahahaha

Mugen said...

Mr. Hush

I wish I could post a map here, pero to give you an idea, its in the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Saint Paul College in Quezon City. A street after Broadway Centrum. :)

Sus, ikaw na ang may tsikot na naliligaw. Lolz.

Mr. Hush Hush said...

sorry, ginawa kong chatroom tong blog mo. hahahahahaa oy, di ibig sabihin may tsikot alam na ang kabubuan ng maynila.. kung makita mo lang, kung paano ako huminto para magtanong ng directions.. 'excuse me miss, jak ma uwatan??' hahahaha

hmmmm.. i tried googling it.. eto ata yung malapit sa carmelites, right? hehehe cge, try try ko toh.

thanks Mugen *hugs*

Mugen said...

Mr. Hush:

Yup malapit siya sa Mt. Carmel. Sus, kapag si ermats eh may bagong pupuntahan hindi puwedeng hindi ako kasama. Ako daw ang kanyang walking map of Metro Manila.

Hope you find what you're looking for. Ingats! Hugs!

Nimmy said...

Nice! Lagyan ng WEP para walang unwanted connectors. Hehe

Congrats kuya! :)

Super Mario P. said...

COngrats, dude!

I hope you don't mind, but let me make another prophecy for you: desktops AND laptops will be obsolete soon. Phones and tablets will have even more uses in our lives soon. Even charging of gadgets will be wireless.

Anonymous said...

What's the best wireless router ba kasi? I'm planning to get one next payday. I'm sick of the LAN being disconnected sa kalikutan ko.

-DB

Mugen said...

DB:

Would you believe I don't know what LAN is? Haha.

Ni-recommend lang sa akin itong D-Link. Techie friends attest to its quality.

SuperMario:

It will take a year or two before I could take another leap. 1 year bago ko ma-complete ang bayad sa laptop. Ngayon pa lang nagsho-short na ako. Hehe.

Nimmy:

Haha, had to check sa wiki what WEP is and I'm not really sure how it works. :P

Unknown said...

Tama yun! Iba na talaga ngayon. Mas preferred na ang secured wifi para iwas na rin ang mga possible na manggugulo sa kwarto mo. *grins*

Anonymous said...

The matriarch will surely give the smartphones to the helpers. Hahahaha.