美文——长难句分析.docVIP

Unit 8 The problems faced in designing platforms and communication systems that will be accepted across the world can appear insuperable. The mobile phone is a good example of how something that is technologically sophisticated can almost be given away, with its cost recovered through service charges. We have in our hands the technology to construct the most sophisticated machines ever built, but if they are unusable, simply because of their operating instructions, then recent lessons have taught us they will not survive. But it’s disturbing to note how many of the crimes we do know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court of how he juggled the most confidential records right under the noses of the company’s executives, accountants, and security staff. At the crossing of these two developments stands the internet—a direct result of computer technology intersecting with communication technology. But for many in the world of today’s media, this is merely a first landmark in what promises to be a giant change in the way people communicate, relax and work. Over a decade ago, for example, virtual reality was the technology of the future, and many people anticipated a day when we would be wearing head-mounted displays and interacting with all manner of virtual environments. But, while useful devices make a global network possible, it takes human cooperation to make it happen. It makes possible virtual communities for individuals scattered around the planet who share mutual interests. Yet important as this may turn out to be, it is affecting a world that was already well connected by radio, television an