The future was supposed to be darker. Technology, in the service of some vast, all-encompassing power, was going to enslave us. Human beings would be reduced to ciphers, forced to live anonymous, interchangeable lives.
Most people would say that we have avoided that nightmare. For the most part, technology has been a liberator, rather than a tool of oppression. Rather than constricting our options, technology has expanded choices.
Problem is, we have so many options -- 500 channels of cable TV, 5 million Web sites. Choosing between them or just making the best use of the time we have is now the real challenge. The tyrant is not technology; rather it is the temptation to try to master all the different choices out there.