When I look back on my nearly decade-long run as technology columnist at Global Traveler, my faithful Altec Lansing iM1 portable speakers come to mind first. I don’t remember the exact day I got them, though company history shows they were the first iPod docking station, developed with Apple in 2003. I celebrated my 30th birthday with them in 2004, so that timeline fits. The specifics of how they ended up with me are fuzzy, but one thing is certain: I haven’t traveled without them since.
I lost the AC adapter years ago — likely left behind in a Las Vegas hotel after a long celebratory weekend — so I power the speakers with four AA batteries now. They’ve lost some power over time, but they still bring music to countless travel memories: perched on the weathered porch of my favorite casita in Playa del Carmen with Rihanna blending into the sound of the surf; on the bedside table of a cozy hotel near Dublin’s Temple Bar as a friend and I prepared for a lively night out; and less than two years ago on the tile patio of a pink guesthouse in Capri, where my husband and I sipped Prosecco and listened to Sinatra while lemon trees shimmered in the late-afternoon sun.
When I first got them, I remember thinking, “These are so cool — now I can listen to my iPod wherever I want!” This was before alarm clocks and other devices commonly included docks. For a devoted music lover, these speakers made vacations gentler and small apartment dance parties much more fun by making the music I wanted simple to play and enjoy.
The only speaker on the market that is 100 percent waterproof © ECOXGEAR
That, to me, is the heart of technology: making life easier and improving its quality. Few goals are more worthwhile than designing tools that enhance daily life for as many people as possible.
Great technology tends to ripple across society and around the globe. Fashion on a runway may inspire boutique styles, but it won’t affect everyone. The best technology, however, eventually reaches far beyond early adopters and touches lives everywhere.
Consider the reach of connectivity: today roughly 2.7 billion people — nearly 40 percent of the world — are online. About 77 percent of people in the developed world and 31 percent in the developing world use the Internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Only five years earlier, just 10 percent of the developing world was online; advances like 4G have helped drive rapid growth. Mobile communications show similar expansion: the GSMA reports about 3.2 billion mobile phone users globally, and estimates millions more subscribers in the years ahead. Those figures are striking, yet they also point to further potential for growth and innovation. Mobile technology continues to evolve, connecting people in automotive, utilities, health, education, and finance in new ways.
How does that connect to this column? Over the past decade the web and mobile devices have transformed lives worldwide, and in our small way we’ve aimed to highlight innovations that make life simpler for travelers and everyday users. We’ve covered the obvious — phones, tablets, portable speakers, and USB drives — but also unexpected tools: home security systems that let you monitor your house from afar, devices that turn ordinary TVs into smart TVs, and apps that analyze and record golf swings to help improve your game.
The world’s first motion engine system that analyzes and records golf swing data to any iOS or Android device © GOLFSENSE
Because consumer technology can intimidate, we’ve tried to demystify it by focusing on accessible products and explaining them in plain language. Early in my career an editor advised me to write as if I were explaining tech to my grandmother — simple, clear, and relatable. I never forgot that tip, and it guided my approach as technology changed rapidly. I wasn’t a tech expert when I started — my excitement over those Altec Lansing speakers is proof — and I still wouldn’t call myself an expert. But over the years I’ve learned a lot, and I hope that knowledge helped readers trust our recommendations.
What happened to my speakers? After a long life of travels across many countries, they are beginning to show their age, and I suspect their final notes may be near. Coincidentally, as I finished this column I received an email from Altec Lansing — the company’s first message to me in years — asking if I would review their latest wireless portable speakers. I told them I’d consider it. Part of the promise of technology is progress; resisting new developments rarely serves anyone. As the poet Khalil Gibran put it: “Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.”
I’m confident my old speakers would agree.