Nobody anticipates it. Nobody genuinely accepts it. Nobody is aware of how access to the public sphere will be restricted for a number of days, months, and years (s). Everyone was restricted when the virus arrived. It took longer than expected for it to be given the name COVID-19. Not that viruses have never existed in the world. However, because human movement was completely restricted, it became the most talked-about and feared virus. People’s freedom was constrained, and a number of previously unknown or underutilized hardware and software technologies became lifesaving tools. Many people came to understand the value of the mobile and stationary technologies they own or have access to during the time.
System, application, and utility software became useful for everything from communication to business. During the pandemic, I was forced to use some of the forgotten mobile applications, just like the rest of the world. For example, after years of ignoring Zoom meeting and only using Skype infrequently, the two applications became dominant tools as well as instruments for business and interpersonal communication.
However, living in a society where there is no pandemic opens up new perspectives on how to interact with people and move around using locally developed applications. My experience has taught me that we should always be grateful to God for endowing some people with the ability to create software.
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As I previously stated, various technologies aided us prior to and during the pandemic, and they continue to do so in the post-pandemic era. Therefore, when we benefit from software-enabled technologies, we should remember that the first piece of software was written by Tom Kilburn, a computer scientist, and was run at 11 a.m. on June 11, 1948, at the University of Manchester in England.
Tom Kilburn and other software developers have made our lives easier in a variety of ways. For example, my recent experience demonstrates that a society without technologies and utility software is difficult to live in. Arriving in a society that is completely different in terms of language and culture forces me to consider voice recognition and navigational technologies as indispensable companions.
When I need to communicate with locals who do not speak English, I must use locally developed voice recognition software. They converse with the application, and their voices are easily translated into English. This is absolutely necessary if I do not want to be isolated for several hours.
Because the majority of publicly displayed communication channels contain information in the local language, it is critical to use the application’s translation feature. The channels must be snapped and the information in English must be waited for a few minutes. Aside from interpersonal communication, map applications are useful for navigation. These applications are not only popular among foreigners.
There is hardly any citizen who does not have the applications on their mobile phone or other gadgets such as a laptop. As I continue to live in this society, I ask myself every time I use an application; what would life be like without these apps?