Dennis Baron's "From Pixels to Pencils" uses numerous outside references to deliver his claims more precisely. Dennis's key claim is that as new technology develops, it will have an even greater effect on society. It will allow people to be more efficient through communication at their own convenience. To support this argument, he discusses various sources throughout his article explaining how technology evolves and eventually becomes integrated into society. In Baron's article, he claims that the telephone is an outstanding contribution to society that was originally perceived as serving no use. In Caroline Marvin's book "When Old Technologies Were New", she explains the reality of the old idea of the telephone. People viewed the telephone as useless because it was "unable to record any permanent record of conversation." They were however very uninformed and naive to presume such an assumption. 

 Marvin illustrates that these people underestimated the power of technology. They thought since a phone call could not be written, it would serve no use. But, then they noticed that they no longer had to transport telegraphs, and instead could just make calls. The telephone literally connected the world. Even though originally people had communication issues with small details during a phone conversation, such as addressing "Hello" and "Goodbye", they became more used to it over time and took advantage of its opportunities in all types of communication. For instance, it allowed for major business improvements, immediate families, relatives, and friends could communicate easier, and overall it just improved everyday lives - every aspect of social and societal communication. Since Marvin wrote this book in 1988, it is apparent that she was not aware of technologies we have today, and therefore only mentioned the beginning stage of computers. This proves that communication technology, even though it is underestimated when it first develops, ultimately becomes a necessary and vital force in our daily lives today. Baron used this source to show that the future of society depends on the future of technology, and when that new technology comes, it must be welcomed and adapted. 

 The second major source that supports the claim that technology has an enormous effect on society is a book by Thomas Hughes, that illustrates the fact that society has developed based on the advancement of modern technology. Hughes' "Networks of Power" is a book about the innovation of technology and its conquering effect on society like a wave covering countries. He introduces the book talking about Thomas Edison's invention of electricity and it's affect on the world. Technological Inventions such as this "reveal variations in resources, traditions, political arrangements, and economic practices from one society to another and from one time to another." (Hughes 2) Technology, moreover, is the cause and effect of social change. Hughes examines many different electric power systems in three major cities; Berlin, Chicago, and London. He examined the role of technologies such as subways, coal industries, power stations, hot water supplies, and household appliances - all things we take for granted today. Even though all of these structures were introduced at different times, they all are related through the model of system evolution that has five phases of development: involving the creation of a product, to creating attention in other countries of a product, to observing the system growth and watching it acquire momentum, to a change in nature of society from the product. The final phase most directly influences technologies impact on society because it relates together the managers, financiers, and engineers who structure our material environment. Hugh's book shows that technology plays its own role in changing society. It is more dependent on the producer's view rather than the consumers because how well it goes through each phase will determine its success in society. In this way, it suggests that since the consumer does not have the ability to change technologies impact, whether the consumer initially approves of the product or not will not matter, as opposed to Baron's argument, because the producer will determine the impact of technology on society. 

 Marvin's view implies that the advancement of technology will depend on the consumer's approval of the new technology. This approval actually is irrelevant because even if people initially dislike a product, they will learn to appreciate the new technology and advantages it will have on their daily lives. By accepting and adapting this technology, people will live in a better society. Hugh's view fully agrees with Baron's claim because he states that technology has a direct impact on society. Technology is created and produced, and if it is an effective use then it will advance society. He also states that technology is the reason for social change, because it runs and controls society. As previously stated, it creates the resources, traditions, political arrangements, and economic practices that we use and have used since the start of our country. 

Works Cited

Baron, Dennis.  "Pencils to Pixels." Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois.  N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/pencils.htm

Marvin, Carolyn. When Old Technologies Were New : Thinking About Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press, USA, May 1990.

Hughes, Thomas P., Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930, (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983).