The Online Reflector

When Apple was started in 1976, the founders were set on paving the way for the future of electronics. The first iPod was introduced in 2001 and was a major success. Since then, Apple has made sure they are always first. The iPod lineup currently includes the iPod Classic, the iPod Nano, the iPod Shuffle and the iPod Touch. Each item in the product lines ensures that at least one is appealing to any customer at any time.

Everywhere you go, you see Apple products in some form or another. From iPods to Macs, Apple has a significant impact on everyday life. In some careers, iPads have become an essential part of the job. Speech therapists use games on the iPad during sessions and medical information applications for reference when writing their reports.  There are some people, however, who use the products the wrong way.  Some parents teach their children letters and numbers on the iPad, which is a dangerous shortcut for children.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “Emerging research shows that handwriting increases brain activity, hones fine motor skills and can predict a child’s academic success in ways that keyboarding can’t.”

This is a perfect example of how people are becoming too dependent on technology.

Before portable technology became available, people relied on their memories for facts. Now, they can easily look up the score of a football game or the answers to their homework questions. The days of working to find the solution to a problem are gone.

The new iPhone commercials advertise that you can talk on the phone and surf the Web at the same time. In the commercial, a woman in a radio contest who claims she has never won anything calls the show. To win the contest, she is asked a question, and she quickly searches the Web to find the answer. Would you call that fair?

Thousands of applications are accessible on iPhones, putting everything under the sun at hand. One of these categories is health.

Although some professionals use these apps correctly, medical database applications have become a problem. Many customers use their medical applications to diagnose themselves, trying to save a trip to the doctor.  Some of the applications are inaccurate, so customers may have no choice but to go to the doctor, sometimes worse off than they were before. The FDA is currently considering evaluating these applications before making them accessible to customers. This goes to show that not everything on the Internet can be trusted.

Of course there is also a beneficial side to technology. It provides us with more efficient ways to improve our lives. Without some of the technology available today, people would still have diseases that are currently curable. Some businesses would not have advanced if it weren’t for video conferencing. They can expand their services to other companies that are in need of those services, making their company more valuable.

Apple has remained the forerunner through all of these technological advances.

In 2003, iTunes was launched and became the market leader. Despite this success, the system of  iTunes has an irritating flaw. If more than one person has an Apple device and they share a computer, iTunes cannot separate the two peoples’ content. It combines everything, and when the devices are plugged in, iTunes places all of the content into the device. Also, because of economic conditions, Apple raised the price from $0.99 to $1.29 a song.

Overall, I think Apple is a good company. They have produced products that have changed the world of technology forever. By creating the iPads, they launched an item that could one day replace desktop computers and laptops. People, though, have become so attached to their iPhones and iPods that they cannot function without them. They have become so focused on these products that they have lost some of their interaction skills. As Apple continues to come out with new and better advances, it will be interesting to see how society changes and adapts.