Charlie Rodman – Media Convergence Question

Sterne discusses that computers cannot make a fashionable revival like other outdated forms of media. He says this raises the issue of how to dispose of outdated computers and what people should do with their old computers. Computers represent a a unique form of media insofar as they actually need to be replaced many times withina generation because society is so reliant on computers that falling too far behind could actually essentially remove someone from the societal network that surrounds them. My question, then, is two fold. First, seeing how computers are seemingly developing at an exponential rate, the need to replace computers will will continually have to happen more frequently; thus, how will the issue of disposing of old computers be resolved? Second, how will society be able to afford keeping up with the need to replenish computers at this increased rate at an individual level? Will ocmputers eventually be able to replace themselves, or at least update themselves to meet with more recent standards? Would this mean computers would become more bionic because they would have to learn to adapt?

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