“I am making a point of saying ‘these systems’ and not just ‘hardware’ because nearly always we need more than just the hardware to create these extensions of human capacities” (Kline, 217).
This sentence adds more logic to the idea of what technology is. Often times, when defining technology, people will think of electronic developments to the world or major inventions to enhance cities and citizens lives. In reality, these ‘technologies’ would not be possible without the additional components to the hardware, thus making it a system. As stated in the article, with instruments, the knowledge of reading music and chords are still necessary to play. With a car, one must know how to operate the vehicle for it to be any use to them as means of transportation. In terms of technology, it truly is a system due to all of the components that make them work. From the idea, to plans, to manufacturing, to actually utilizing the technology, it becomes more than just the invention that makes the technology useful. Without each of these components, they would be useless, thus making them not technologies at all as they would not extend human capacities. So it is agreeable that the author makes this clarification that technologies are systems and not just merely hardware. It is definitely an unique perspective as the common thought of technology is just the final product itself, not all of the factors contributing to it.
Kline, S. J. (1985). What is Technology? Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society,5(3), 215-218.