Cye H. Waldman, Ph.D.That's when I broke out in a cold sweat. I didn't understand what they were talking about! RAM? ROM? What did these things mean? I was supposed to be a technical person. I was an engineer. Why did I suddenly feel ignorant? I hadn't even been out of school that long.
That was my first experience with future shock. It was like an emotional earthquake. Well, I played catch-up and eventually got ahead of the game. For a while, at least.
On a recent weekend I experienced a mild aftershock. I was surfing the Web, on the lookout, as always, for material for my column. Usually when I come across a bookstore that specializes in Internet or computer books, I check out its data base to make sure that my book list is up- to-date. Well, this was a particularly fruitful day. I came across 15 titles I hadn't seen before, most to be published later this year or early next year. There were several titles on HTML, Java, and VRML. Instead of being pleased, I was mildly disturbed. Where was I going to find the time to keep up the book list and collect these, much less read and review them? And how was I ever going to learn at least the rudiments of Java and VRML? I hadn't even gotten CGI and Perl down yet. I started getting depressed at the prospect and was definitely feeling...whelmed.
I decided not to look for any more material, lest I descend into a genuine funk. So I launched myself over to the Netscape site to see if a new version of the browser was available. (I had been very annoyed with my Netscape Navigator 1.2b6 because it kept crashing on me when I tried to print.) Sadly, I never got that far. I was sidetracked by the announcement of Netscape Navigator 2.0., and printed out 11 pages of information on the new product.
I didn't even want to read it. But I did. There were so many new features I was unfamiliar with that I was overwhelmed. WYSIWYG page editing, in situ document editing, a plethora of new layout and page presentation features, scripting language, email, client-side imagemaps, Java applets, inline plug-ins for 30+ software applications, and much, much more. How was I ever going to learn all this stuff?
The Web is growing in so many directions that it's becoming impossible for individuals to keep up with it. I fear that Web page construction will become the domain of specialized companies and force individuals and small developers out. At the same time I can't help but feel that these are very exciting times for the Web. I start to envision the brave new world. Gradually, I begin to feel better.
Okay, I've got to go now--I've got a lot of studying to do.