The Stupid Stupid Texas Cellphone Ban

     In a recent podcast episode I said, “It's time that we return back to…the methods of communication and information gathering other than just you know the internet. The internet is great. I'm all for the internet. I'm all for cell phones but… we need to have of course a third option.” The internet is amazing, it is integrated in so many things, not just cellphones, TV’s, cars, and of course computers, but more essential services as well.

The internet is amazing—it’s integrated into so many things, not just cell phones, TVs, cars, and computers, but also essential services. Your grocery store’s POS (point-of-sale) system, fleet management (GPS), security cameras, and even landline phones all now rely on the internet, or at the very least Wi-Fi, to function. I’m not even referring to computing’s overreliance on web applications—where a connection is required to get anything done—but the deeper fact that the tech behind the tech is now internet-reliant.

    Take your grocery store, for example. The POS system that handles checkout and payment transactions no longer uses very small aperture satellites or leased lines. Most companies now transmit data through the internet. In some smaller stores, they still use dial-up internet to connect to servers—but even dial-up is disappearing in favor of broadband. Dial-up had one key advantage: it used the phone lines, meaning you could “dial” directly into a computer. Today, even phone systems themselves are internet-based. That’s absolutely insane—if the internet went out, would all phones die? Would all communication just stop? It seems like we are way too dependent on a single technology.

    Before the rise of the World Wide Web, there were multiple independent communication channels. Telex and fax machines relied on phone lines. Radio and phone systems could transmit voice and even video data (the first video phone was invented in 1939!). But now, the internet is embedded in everything. Want a GPS tracker? You need internet. Want to make a video call? You need internet—you can’t do what they did in 1939. I even tried to find a radio-based security camera on Amazon, and I only found one.

    The internet is so good that it killed the “third option.” And that’s not good—it stifles innovation, creates security vulnerabilities, and could one day pose a large global threat. God bless and Tech Talk To You Later!!!