Vulnerability of Technology

The technology we use today can be just as vulnerable as we are. We rely on machinery and electronics and expect them to always do their job, and for the most part they do, but they are affected by temperature, humidity, vibrations, and alot of other basic factors more than us. For instance, MySpace was just recently knocked offline, not by a hacker, virus, or rampant member usage, but because of high temperatures that knocked out power in an area where MySpace's servers are stored.

Electronic devices, like computers, are sensitive to power difficulties (outages and "brown-outs"), large temperature variations, humidity, magnetic interference, the things we are only inconvenienced by. During a heat wave, we find ways to stay cool or "sweat it out". Your computer, instead, overheats and fails. If the power goes out, we can light candles and read a book. Meanwhile, emergency services are left without vital devices. When our technology succumbs to these conditions, we become a little more than inconvenienced.