Earthquake and Internet
Posted on December 29, 2006
Filed Under Random |
Have you noticed that your internet connection seemed a little sluggish?
Taipei reported a powerful earthquake two days ago which brought communications to a halt due to the damages of six major cable lines in the Pacific region. The quake affected many of Taiwan’s neighboring countries include Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore, the Pacific giants that rely heavily on technology and telecommunications.
We’ve been trying to reach our family in Hong Kong for the past two days but the phone lines were unavailable. It was believed that the power quake in Teipei affected 50% of all communications in the region.
The impact to trades and the financial casualties is still too early to predict but it does give one something to ponder: it was less than two decades ago before the worldwide web became so popular but in such short among of time, the world seemed to make big strides toward digital technology. I still remember the days when the cost of cell phones was over $1000.00 , weighed 2 pounds and the green-color monitor of my first Apple II computers. Over the past 10 years, the whole world experienced a major face lift, not to mention the annoying computerized phone systems that all major banks and corporations have adapted.
It is easy to argue that the advanced technology enables us to process volumes of data but what appear to be efficiency comes with a price. Such trade offs were usually unnoticed until a major crisis or disaster hits. It is no doubt that technology has brought us closer into becoming a global community but it also presented a new sets of issues such as phishing, internet fraud, spamming and privacy issues.
It cost billions to build the infrastructure of our global telecommunication systems but how much will it cost to prevent disasters from striking again? Teipei is now on its way to recovery and we won’t know the amount of damage and the repair cost until after the new year. Who will they pass the cost to? Will this result in another global financial turmoil in 2007?
I guess Mother Nature has a twisted way to remind us of our humanity.
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