Look upon my connector ye mighty...

I have talked many times about one of my favorite poems, Ozymandius, by Percy Blythe Shelley. The poem is written from the perspective of a group of travelers in the desert. Happening upon a statue nearly buried in the sand, they brushed away some of the sand to read the inscription at the base. “My name is Ozymandius, look upon my works ye mighty and despair.” I cannot tell you how many times I have used that line, that poem, that image in talks, articles and blogs.

I suspect more than 100 times overall. The image is stark. The message is much starker than the image. Nothing lasts forever, not even (to borrow from the song) “ a bad sky.” Things change, that is the reality of the world we live in. Change is the one constant we must prepare but never sure when it will arrive. In the technology space change is evolution but sometimes a revolution. The way things were, sometimes doesn’t work with the way things are. USB connectors for cellular phones is a great example of revolution. How many USB 1 cables do you have in a drawer because you never know when you might need one?

What I have come to wonder is 100 years from now, or perhaps 200 years from now, will travelers from a distant look upon our cables and despair? Despair first, that we had so many cables but despair that their ancient ancestors used cables at all.

I leave you with an image. A USB cable buried in the sand. At its base, an inscription, look upon my connector ye mighty and good luck!