I remember back in the late 1990’s, you know, when there was still a dial-up connection in order to have Internet Access, how phone calls used to work. It was the dawn of “free” phone calls. You could buy yourself a modest webcam (2 mega pixels was the best you could get) and try to have an online conversation. If you could see an image, it was all cut up in little squares and you had to talk really slowly so that you could at least try to make out the counterpart’s words.
Fast forward to 2010. We now have flawless online conversations with flawless images thanks to built-in webcams in our laptops. Skype is the leader in web phone calls, or rather, online sessions. We have iPod touch and all the familiar gadgets with also the same characteristics. Long distance calls have taken another meaning. It all seems pretty obvious.
But today, I saw a Cisco commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58bW3bVL7GA&feature=player_embedded which gives us a much more intricate details in these technological advances: “The Human Factor”. Even when it was released two years ago, they remind us the very purpose of these phone calls. It reminded me of my travels and how I got in contact with my family, having them a step closer. It is absolutely thrilling that even with our faster paced lives, we still have “The Human Factor”.