Has technology made life better?

Modern life is a chip off the old block - the microchip, that is. Almost every facet of our life today is downloaded from the world of technology. Greetings are mouse-led, food is zapped, thoughts are hard-wired and entertainment is virtual... But while technology may have made living more convenient, has it improved the quality of life?

THE FRIDAY TALKABOUT: VOICES

Dr. Saeed Al Barwani: With a doctorate in electronic engineering, he's the e-business manager at Al Futtaim Trading.

But the planets of his Universe are his three children and is always home to tuck his kids into bed. "There isn't, as yet, an e-daddy to tell bedtime stories," he jokes, reassuring that such a thing is never going turn into possibility. A wired world yes, but one in which man relinquishes power to the gadgets that serve him? Never!

Brad Saunders: As lecturer in Technical writing at Zayed University, he teaches students the fine art of writing techno jargon in layman's terms.

He confesses to spending almost 60 per cent of his personal time with techno gadgets. Of course, they have improved the quality of our lives, everything – from relationships to crime detection – has improved because of technology, he insists.