Technology is great. Well, certainly most of the time it is!

As a nation we just love our gadgets, be they the latest tablet computer, iPhone, iPod, Smart TV…..

Over the last decade or so we have become increasingly dependent upon technology; home/work computers, mobile phones, iPads, Kindles and many others.

They provide instant answers, music, films, directions. Nearly everything, there, ready and waiting, straight at our fingertips.

So technology is indeed great……when it’s working!

But what happens when for whatever reason, technology is temporarily halted? Life as we know it comes to a standstill!!

Suddenly we are lost, looking for answers, and trying to problem solve. And most of the time those problems are beyond our reach, and understanding

Clearly technology has a bit of personality! It often decides to play tricks on us poor humans!

A few workers of our acquaintance have been wrestling with one particular technological issue in recent days, that of broadband.

They’ve gone from superfast to super slowmo – as a ‘change-over’ is carried out and new ‘lines’ are inserted – and it is causing a fair bit of head-scratching while the problem is sorted. It is an irritating issue, but just goes to show just how much our lives now heavily rely on the most up-to-date technology.

When used properly, and when it is in full working order, then modern technology simplifies our everyday lives – at home and at work. Indeed, technology can make our lives more productive too -when it’s working correctly!

When it isn’t, however, it certainly makes life more complicated – and often stressful!

• In ancient times, technology was defined by the likes of Homer and Hesiod as the spoken word of manual craft or cunning skill (Luna, 1994). By 330 BC, Aristotle coined the Greek term ‘technologia’. He split scientific knowledge into three parts: theoretical science, practical science, and productive science. According to Luna (1994) the earliest use of the exact word ‘technology’ was found in a Harvard University course in the United States, in 1816.