Cyber Technology: A Digital Artefact for Human Beings

This article was created when I was a student of Diponegoro University, perhaps by the year 2000. I realize that there would be some changes to fit the situation nowadays since the rapid changes of computer and Internet world. But, I believe that the content of this article is still needed to widen people horizon especially for those who just enters Internet world.

Since the stone age of the Pithecanthropus Erectus until the digital
era nowadays, people have tried to find more effective and inexpensive solutions to fascilitate their daily life. They tend not to do
something difficult burdening themselves. They prefer making phone call to going out to their friends just to tell their friends that they will be absent for the meeting. Today, a new layer of digital era has come wiring this Earth into one networked information called cyber technology. This new invention of human being brings significant and marvelous impacts, changing the way of people on Earth in work, replacing the conservative way using manual system into the modern one using microchips system implemented in cyber technology. The new way would be easier. The new way would be more effective. In short, several benefits are gained in the use of cyber technology leading to the changing way of people in work.

The primary benefit we can get in the use of cyber technology is the access of lavish amount of information including long distance learning, discussion forums, mailing lists and also e-news. Cyber space as a giant web of networks provides abundant information beyond the computer screen making people easily, effectively and efficiently get information of what they want. Cyber technology enables people to have long distance learning – something that people on Earth has never imagined before. It is a fully teleteaching method that allows people to have a class without going to school. The students are not in the same place, they could be everywhere as long as they have access to the Internet. People can also get information by joining discussion forums, known as newsgoups, covering everything from computer to bonsai, from religion to sports. Recently at alt.food.cocacola, participants are discussing the topic about cocacola. Information can also be obtained by joining mailing list. It is another service of the Internet enabling the people who have already subscribed to get email corncerning with a spesific topic periodically. For example, by sending a blank email to mp3-subscribe@ee.itb.ac.id participants will receive mp3-related information regularly. The most interesting and popular way to gain information from the Internet is visiting web sites. Web sites have been the most popular service among the Internet services because of the integrated use of text, graphics (pictures), sound, and animation. A lot of electronic news (e-news) nowadays such as USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com) or Detik.com (http://www.detik.com) has already used the web to spread information.

We can also get a lot of advantages if we adopt the Internet technology in doing business. This kind of business is called electronic commerce or e-commerce in short. E-commerce enables people
to make business transaction while they are apart. E-commerce will give advantageous way in doing business both to the vendors and to the buyers. E-commerce needs no physical costs. Land, building, and night watchers are not required to have a shop in the Internet. Otherwise,
the shop we ‘build’ in the Internet is free from looting, flood, and fire attack. Once we have already ‘built’ a shop In the Internet, it means we join the global marketing. The buyers of our products are not only from Indonesia. They might come from Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Germany, Afghanistan or from all over the world. Another unique advantage from e-commerce is the time for business. The shop will be open 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week without stopping. Different case with a conventional shop that only opens from 09.00 a.m. to 04.00 p.m. (seven hours), five or six days in a week. The last benefit from e-commerce is the possibility to buy stuff from our home. We don’t need to go out forcing us to pay taxi fee. We just sit comfortably in front of our PC and buy what we want. This technique is known as home shopping. Recently, many businessmen are considering to expand their business realm to the Internet because of its effectiveness and inexpensiveness in doing business.

The future implementations of cyber technology may include virtual office, virtual school, and also cybercity. In virtual office, attendance of the employees is not compulsary. Email is the backbone to
make contact among employees even in a remote area. The employee could do the task at home and submit it through the Internet when it is finished. The use of paper can be reduced maximally leading to completely paperless office and money saving for the company. Something similar to virtual office might happen to virtual school. Virtual school would be more interesting due to the integrated use of teleteaching method, conferencing systems and multimedia. Cybercity would be supported by all Internet technology. The concept of cybercity seems to be applicable in the future and it is just a matter of time. Cybercity would create cybercommunity and cyberculture leading to the changing way of people on Earth to interact. At last, history would record this civilization of modern people.

Below are some important pieces of advice before roaming the cyberspace. The first one is hold our idealism and principle tightly. Cyberspace is a digital jungle consisting many kinds of information including positive and negative. The person dealing with Internet is also different. He could be a good guy or a bad guy. Cyberspace has no cops and rules, consequently people can do everything in Internet including the dangerous ones such as altering and hacking a web site, capturing a password, spreading a cheap propaganda to underestimate someone’s principle, etc. No one could warn these actions. No rule could forbid these activities. If we have no strong idealism, Internet would influence us and replace our idealism. Commonly, people have tendency to bad. The second advice is know your objective well. Since a web site has a lot of advertisements and links, writing down the Internet address might be a good idea. Don’t glance to another link or address. This advice would guide you to fast, effective and efficient navigation in the Internet.

Finally, due to the use of this artifact, human being can get a lot of advantages. They will leave their conservative way and use this new artifact to fascilitate the tasks. Face-to-face meeting would be changed into discussion forums using newsgroup. The conventional teaching method would be replaced into teleteaching system, and so on. Even though cyber technology is not a Messiah, but it can make human duties easier, more effective, and more efficient. History will record a great change has happened.

Author: Chandraleka |