I think that the elves didn't have all the technological advances one might have expected them to have because, don't anyone shoot me, it wouldn't have worked in the book. I mean, can you really see Elrong driving all over Imladris? And all the machines we have today don't really speed things up. It still takes as long to clean the house as it used to.
From a ME stand-point, I think the Elves wouldn't advance too far because they: (1) resisted change, (2) loved nature and wouldn't want to mess it up, and (3) they didn't need it. They didn't need to have central heating etc, because in Lothlorien, for example, they lived on flets with one wall. Central heating would be rather useless in that circumstance. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
The men actually have fairly good technology for their time frame. Only a few thousand years and they had built amazing cities like Minas Tirith (even though it had declined by the time of LotR itself). Their medical advancement seems to me to be better than ours, because they live quite a bit longer than do we (at least, the Numenoreans do).
The hobbits, well, that one is just that the Shire wouldn't be the same without the simplicity. I mean, can you imagine?
Frodo: I'll be right there, Bilbo, I'm checking my e-mail!
Bilbo: Well, don't turn off the computer, I need it!
The hobbits are dear in their simplicity and innocence. They just wouldn't be hobbits if they had the sort of technology we have today.
I hope that makes sense, I'm rather tired at the moment.
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