Convergence

The late 1990s saw the truly seamless meshing of multimedia voice, text, images and video move many steps closer to realization. This convergence of media formats has blurred the distinctions between traditional telephone, cable and Internet companies and the services they provide. Wade Rowland, a Canadian journalist who has written extensively about communications technology, remarked on this phenomenon. He wrote: "Very early in the new millennium, television's vaunted five hundred-channel universe will seem charmingly quaint, as viewers contemplate viewing options in the thousands or even tens of thousands, delivered to their combination TV Internet appliances by high-speed cable and telephone lines, or by satellite."

Canadians are already using modern communications tools in imaginative ways. A former social worker infected with AIDS helped bring new understanding to the disease by allowing the world to watch his family on the Internet. Many museums have showcased their collections electronically, bringing Canadian culture to the world via online catalogues of virtual paintings, drawings, etchings and porcelain. Proud new parents are also exploiting technology, bridging generations by e-mailing digital photographs of their newborns to grandparents far away.

The explosion in convergence can also be felt in the home, as Canadian houses become considerably more 'intelligent.' 'Smart' wiring systems are finding their way into everyday appliances, allowing more and more homeowners to control their security systems, lawn sprinklers, heating and lighting and home theatres while at home or on the road.