Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. Hong Kong's main stock index plummeted as much as 8.5 percent on Wednesday as a sell-off in mainland Chinese shares accelerated despite new measures to support the market; U.S. stocks were poised to open lower. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Technology has become so indispensable that when it breaks down, people’s lives go haywire, too.