Hypothetical technology you couldn't adjust to.

[The Heik]

Hate to point this out, but we already have cybernetics. It's just not in the way you think. Things like vaccines, dental implants, and skeletal reinforcement struts are artificially created compounds that exist in your body for extended periods of time, letting you exist in environs and situations that you wouldn't be able to normally aka rudimentary cybernetics. Most of industrialized society are and have been cyborgs for a long time, it's simply not as "animated" as we'd expect.

Take for example the "Time Window" technology. Yes there is a chance that people can abuse it, but I really don't think that's likely. First of all, ripping a window in time can't be an easy thing. It would require and significant amount of energy and resources to pull off, which would limit it's occurrence to a handful of implementations. Moreso, I doubt that just anyone could access it, as just looking into someone's past willy-nilly would be a major breach of privacy, resulting in the offender being arrested and the invention's company being sued into the ground. It'd most likely be reserved for recording significant historical moments or things in which the judicial system is involved (crimes and the like). So the likelyhood of having someone look into your private life would be highly unlike, unless you've either broken the law or have done something of particular note that would necessitate clarification.

To your top point, very true. In my post I was thinking more along the lines of visible/noticeable implants - something like a cellular device built straight into the ear. And to the remainder of your post, in the book, nearly everyone had the technology; I don't recall the scientific specifics behind it, but it was readily accessible and unregulated because it would simply be impossible to monitor who was using it. The device was like a pinhole sized wormhole that could be embedded directly into the eye. The chance of something like that in our future, especially being wildly available, seems quite unlikely to me, but the whole post was about hypotheticals.

Cybernetics: I honestly expect that the visible implants part of cybernetics is going to be a short lived part, if it happens at all. Modern technology has already made computers into very compact things. Take for example the iPhone: the device is approximately the size of one's hand, and over half of it's bulk is dedicated to the touchscreen interface and casing. That means the actual computer is effectively the size of your finger. That already is small enough to fit into your body without too much of a noticeable bump (or none at all, if placed strategically), so by the time we've figured out how to properly implant complex devices into our bodies, they'll be too small to require any easily seen interfaces. Sure, some people will still have a bit of a freak out about having electronics in their bodies, but if the implants are useful, they'll soon become simply another part of daily life, and the freaking out will be reduced to the overtly paranoid and lets face it, there's nothing that will stop them from freaking out.

Time Windows: Ok, now that I know the parameters of the time window, it'll be a little bit easier to understand it's implementation. That being said, I'd still think that your level of privacy will still stay around the same level. There are two reasons for that.

1)Accuracy: Just because a person can look back into time doesn't that they will be able to find the thing they're looking for. In order to actually find the proper time to check, they will have to already know the specific details about when and where you would be. If they already know that, then your privacy was breached long before Time TV came into the picture. If the information is wrong however, then they have look all over the entirety of existence to get the right location, and let me tell you, most people don't have the patience (or for that matter, the time) to comb over that much data. All but the truly crazy people would give up after the first few attempts.

2)Obscurity: unless you were someone of particular note either historically or culturally, odds are that 99.99999999999 etc. percent of society honestly doesn't know of you or care enough to look. The only people who would have enough investment to do such a thing would be people within your circles of influence, and only then people who care about such things. More so if they did look for whatever reason, it would most likely show in their behavior towards you and get caught/prosecuted depending on the context, so it'd most likely solve itself. For those who are notable though, their lives are already being scrutinized to death, it's unlikely for anything more to be gleaned without being able to read minds.


So in either point, unless you have stalker after you being watched is not going to be a common or significant occurrence. On the off chance however that you DO have a stalker, then you were screwed to begin with, seeing as you can get effectively the same level of surveillance with current tech and a little B&E.

 

[loc978]

...I would totally embrace the time window thing...
It would simplify so many things... no need to be ashamed anymore, no way to lie and not be caught. People would be forced to accept others' apparent eccentricities, because there would simply be no way to hide them.

E-books I suppose I can deal with, but only if e-ink devices get cheaper, more powerful and they develop better interfaces for 'em. Reading more than a few pagers from a glowing LCD sucks, also:

As for tech I couldn't embrace... the proliferation of touchscreens.
Oh wait...
Also, online "cloud" storage. I manipulate my own filesystems, and I don't allow clutter on my hard drives, thankyouverymuch. I use local storage like it's 1994.
...and mind controlling/wiping/rewriting stuff. Better to be killed than re-written.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

The whole Deus Ex would be too much for me. Don't get me wrong living longer and having super human abilities is awesome, but what of sex? How could anyone would want cold metal near their privates is beyond my understanding.

Something a little more here in the now, the internet and computers. I grew up during the transition to the internet. (I was born in 86) We were one of the first generations to have internet capable computers in the classroom. I was in wonder and wanted to know everything I can about this magical contraption. Today many kids just take it as is, liking electricity. (ever continue flipping light switches even though you know the power is out?). I find myself tech supporting kids who when I was their age was far more tech savy than they are.

Its like as technology becomes more user friendly the more incapable the user is of diagnosing problems. This is more of a pet-peeve, shake my head at type of thing. If you use something, you should at least know the basics of how it operates.

 

[requisitename]

I'm already not cool with the intrusiveness of technology, to be honest.