Opinion
I recall, back in the 1960s, seeing AT&T's new videophone being demonstrated at a World's Fair (see figure at left). We were assured that this technology would invade our homes quickly. Even today, marketing tells us that one new tech or another will be part of our lives very soon. A 3D printer in every child's bedroom, anyone?
The videophone didn't catch on, because the infrastructure couldn't support it. And because it was expensive (about $5,000 in today's dollars). And because people didn't want to have to get all dolled up before letting strangers -- strangers! -- look inside their homes.
That changed with Skype, which figured out how to provide free video calling anywhere in the world with decent Internet speeds. That proved to be the decline of expensive long-distance calling. Granny could see her kids living in another continent, at no cost.
Never mind. Business was still conducted by conference call. Skype suffered from audio and video flaws; holding a telephone in your hand guaranteed voice quality and an assured connection. Even using something a step-up, like Goto Meeting, was still primarily a conference call, the only video part being an interminable slide presentation or a very detailed software demo.
Then Covid happened. Governments decreed we could no longer visit each other, not even granny now dying in her old folks home.
Then Zoom happened, I guess because Skype had a proven track record of unreliable connections.
We as humans are social people, and we long to see each other. So, Zoom it was. Never mind that Zoom allowed the communist government of China to eavesdrop on us.
The first couple of times we got to see each other again was so exciting! Then it became mundane, even annoying, as Zoom was forced on us introverts by extroverts. Soon, it became acceptable to keep one's video camera turned off during meetings with larger numbers of people (see figure at right). That, or else watch someone folding their freshly-washed underwear, or lustily digging into a meal.
For a time, our biggest concern was the background: Blurred? Fake tropical island? Blank wall? Copies of our latest book strategically placed? Now when someone calls for a zoom meeting (the word having become common parlance like kleenex), we can sense the collective groan among the trapped future participants.
Our initial reaction to AT&T's video phone proved accurate. We never wanted that intrusion in our lives.
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