Just one click?
Things online don’t always work the way they’re supposed to, but considering how complicated it all is, I should probably chill out more when they don’t.
I sometimes wonder exactly what happens when I perform a single mouse click.
The camera in my optical mouse snaps 1000 frames a second of my desk surface, the integrated circuit algorithm translates the difference between each frame into ones and zeros, specifying the mouse’s position and detecting the click on the injection-molded button, triggered by pressure from my DNA-moulded finger.
The Bluetooth wireless communication protocol transmits that information to the USB receiver, and
heaven knows how many processes and protocols are involved inside my computer, the pixel rendering in the graphics card and the execution of the code inside my browser to perform the action – in this
case, a ‘one click’ online purchase.
A binary burst zips from chip to chip, back out into the air and into my wireless modem, down the copper wire of my phone line, and on its way via an incalculable number of routers, switches, and servers. At every stage, the electronic Morse code triggers the creation of sys admin log files, registers bandwidth usage onto ISP accounts, and careers on its way to the webserver upon which the page I clicked is hosted.
Then the fun starts!
My click executes the server-side script to send off my encrypted credit card details to a payment gateway, which in turn talks to my bank and the merchant’s bank’s computers. A whole bunch of more logs are created, accounts topped up and depleted, receipts and confirmation emails automagically written and triggered, orders confirmed, processed, and goods dispatched.
One-click!
My digital life exists on the sea spray atop the crests of waves, surfing an unfathomable ocean of highly evolved science and technology I never see and barely comprehend. Yet I expect it all to work perfectly. If that click doesn’t do what it is supposed to, I react like a two-year-old who has let go of their helium balloon and watches helplessly as it ascends to the heavens.
Technology is phenomenally awesome but it is a rather tenuous proposition. As it matures, I need to mature as well and begin to comprehend both the complexity – and the limitations. When my website has a glitch when an email doesn’t get through when I can’t log on somewhere when a file won’t open… before I begin pouting and stomping my feet, I need to count to a trillion, chill out and
find forgiveness in my heart for all the poor tech-heads who run all this stuff.
From the web developer to the hosting provider, ISP, computer technician, and who knows who else is roped into the supply chain (the submarine cable maintenance crew?), everyone is under pressure
to keep this thing switched on and humming.
They are also expected to improve it exponentially every two to three weeks. Faster! Easier! More color! More movement! More bells! Louder whistles!
This month I pause and reflect on how fortunate I am to live in these times. I marvel at the sheer magnificence of the click and cut anyone involved in delivering that click a truckload of slack.
