Disappearing Keys

It seems we are quickly progressing towards a world in which a key chain will become a relic, an artifact relegated to the annals of history.  With phone's now capable of doing pretty much anything from playing games to checking and sending email to actually making phone calls, one more task is being added to their every expanding list of capabilities.   The latest task is unlocking doors, from your car door (in addition to starting the engine) to hotel room doors to house and apartment doors.   While improvements are still being made, the technology is already out there and ready for the consumer.  No longer will you have to search for the keys in your pocket to gain entry into your house, all you have to do is pull out your cell phone and hit a few buttons.  Perhaps the coolest and most streamlining effect this technology will have is in hotels.  The service was tested out recently in a hotel where individuals were asked to check in electronically after which they were emailed a "key" on their phone which corresponded to their room that they just checked in to.  The keys to hotel rooms are temporary ones either requiring a password or timed to expire after a given amount of time.  Regardless, the days of human interaction at the front desk of a hotel are fast diminishing.   Individuals can also purchase a similar system for their apartments or houses, especially if they rent them out when they are not around, which can eliminate making duplicate copies of keys, arranging times to meet tenants or guests to drop off keys, and making remote access much easier.  If a guest or tenant gets locked out, the homeowner, regardless of where he/she is, can open the door from their own phone.  One would think that this technology is prohibitively expensive, but a system can be purchased for $300 plus about $40 to change the locks over to electronic ones. 

As cool as this technology is, I will personally keep my keys for now.  My biggest question is, how does one prevent the virtual keys from being borrowed by a thief with hacker abilities?  It seems that all it would really take is for one slip up in Internet security and a hacker could get in, get your "key" info and wait until you are not around to let themselves into your house.  I am sure that most systems are indeed secure and guaranteed, but the skeptic in me is still vibrant.  Also, what is to keep some frustrated employee at one of these companies to steal "key" information and sell it to the highest bidder consequently compromising the safety and security of car and homeowners?  As exciting as this is, I will wait a few years to see what happens before buying a system for myself.   There are great benefits to these virtual keys, but actual keys will still have to be around for some time though.  While those of us who have a smart phone think that everyone and their mother now has a smart phone, I personally know plenty of people who still rely on an older, simpler phone; one that is only capable of calling people and possibly texting.   Especially when it comes to hotel rooms, human interaction will be inevitable for some time as the older generation slowly integrates themselves into the new digital world.  But I guess in the end we will have to wait and see where this technology brings us. 

Now if only we could invent a smart phone that grew food or fed the homeless, we would be all set and could solve the world's problems.  While technology may make life easier for us, it still takes human ingenuity to invent the newest apps and programs.  Let us not forget that we still need our brains to function and can not rely solely on smart phones and their latest gadgets to get us through the day.  It seems however, that with every new app that comes out, the brain power required to make it through a day is reduced.  We no longer have to remember where our car is or how to get to a friends house or for that matter a shopping list and we definitely no longer have to look for a parking spot.  I for one, while utilizing the general maps on my iPhone, will not activate the GPS, I will only look up where I am going and then using my own brain to find my way there.  But, that is me, and personally, I am probably a little archaic when it comes to embracing new technology and allowing it to do my thinking for me.  I value my intuition, my ability to navigate without someone telling me where to turn, and my ability to remember where my car is.  Although, this whole key thing could work out quite well as it would eliminate some extra weight from my pockets on a daily basis and wouldn't be stripping me of valuable brain engaging activity.  Lets be honest, how much brain power does it really take to open a door with a key.  Once the bugs are worked out, I may actually embrace this latest technology.