Flying High

Do bigger promises give room for hope or disappointment?

When I first heard the news that Southwest Airlines was launching wireless Internet access during flights, I yawned and quickly scanned the long list of boring Gizmodo.com techy news. I surfed over to PerezHilton.com and re-charged with the titillating content surrounding Britney Spears' Circus tour.

Looking back, in the expansive time of the Industrial Revolution, people were fascinated by the key enabling technology: the steam engine. Come on! If there was ever a time to open another web browser, it would be now...but Perez can wait.

Studies show that it took centuries to perfect the device until it became a power producer. But people were hopeful and remained loyal to the fact the someday it could (and would) change the world.

Fast forward to today. We have so many vast promises from techies pumping out programming code, that our appetite has become insatiable. I recently overheard a recent business traveler complaining that their "firewall wasn't fireproof". Because of the glitch, they lost one loyal passenger that had been satisfied with his backward ride to Memphis once a week.

We may be saying, "Gimme more" along with Britney, but are we ready for more? I say NO! Let's concentrate on perfecting what we have before we roll out the next blunder!