Technologies form our world, we live and work with them, for better or worse. They are partakers in the shaping of our world and indeed we often shape technology to fit our everyday life practices. But can we say that technology is “natural” to us that we always get what we need. No never, technology is obviously always produced, encoded if you will, by companies or the individuals that design and deliver what “people want”. The seemingly logic of late capitalism, the market responds to technological innovations by consumption - adopting and renegotiating a technology or by rejecting it, by not buying into it.

Being a critical observer and reader of technology we often have to go lengths to find meaning in this field, as both users and producers of technology are “makers” technology. Users make technology what is it by taking it into use, and producers are making technology be constantly renegotiating their product with the users. Ideally. But often producers will somehow enforce a certain world view through their products “boxing in” the user, to certain mindset of how the technology should be used, or to ensure that the technology is not mis-used beyond the intentions. The “computer” is the clearest and still current battleground for this. In many cases the user do not own the technology after purchasing it, but are often prompted with a number of licensing and digital rights management agreements tying the user to the technology rather than the other way around - and this seems to spread beyond the computer.

Microsoft Live platform
Originally uploaded by niallkennedy.

It is not often we get to look right into the “world view” of the most dominant producers of technology. But recently Microsoft presented their portfolio for the future technology on their Microsoft “Live” platform. As the picture here suggests, Bill Gates and Co. have a very particular view on how dominant there position is and will be. With the three domains Microsoft seem to own it all.
Most significantly is the greyish cloud in the left corner, where zeros and one digits drip down on other devices. An antiquated iMac, mobile phones, blackberry that only partly runs Microsofts software resides here, behind the dotted red line that divides the Microsoft world, from the rest. I shall say no more, but let you judge for yourself.

UPDATE: Obviously Gates overpowered point is well worth comparing to Steve Jobs (Apples Übercheif) zen like presentation style. Naturally that was not something the guys over at Prensenstation Zen would let go pass their nose to explore:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/11/the_zen_estheti.html
and here:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/11/it_was_one_of_t.html

Once again judge for yourself!