The argument can also be made that the only way to really understand technology is to be something of an expert in technology.
A case in point would be cell phones. They exist, are here, but have you ever really thought about the battery that goes into your cell phone? Cell phones in the past have had big batteries to make them last any useful amount of time. Today you have a battery that is not much bigger then a lego block, supplying more power to your phone then did that huge 80s style big block phone. Just how much innovation and revolutionary thought went into making that possible?
In the end you can't actually 'see' many of the changes that happen in your life. They are there, and nowdays, expected.

Zeeland

It would be ignorance for the subject. There were some really fantastic changes in the twenty years between world war I (end 1918) and the start of world war II (Start about 1939ish.) Mostly its probable the time span that gives you a bad impression. Improvements in engines, aviation, transportation, medical science, and electronics happened almost daily during that time. What might be getting you is that it was only 20 years.

When I read this and see the location I just have to think that they are trying to do something as an answer to clear. Portland, OR, has had WiMAX service in the form of Clear now for a few months, without the need to tie it to a home account.

Don't forget jamming. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3623

Something like this should be helpfull. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3623