The Future

How will the future look, oh, lets say about 20 years from now?

For a start, all of us will be driving electrically powered vehicles, and whether we need a battery charging assist with a separate engine running on ethanol, diesel, or hydrogen will depend on how far we need to travel before stopping for a Big Mac, the call of nature, or a shopping excursion to your wife's newly found antique emporium.

Your house or apartment rooftop will be covered with solar cells and windmills allowing total energy independence for individuals.  Most industry, however, will still rely on energy providers for production and other business needs.  Global warming continues if it's hot, or not, if there's snow outside your window.

Most politicians will still be lying, cheating, scandal ridden nabobs, out for a fast buck in exchange for photo ops, because some things are so deeply inherent in the human condition that we wouldn't be human without them.  Scientists say they can tweak the human genome to preclude the propensity of public figures to engage in nefarious conduct, but of course, the politicians, acting on behalf of humanity and their own pocketbooks, won't let them.

Personal computers will be totally different.  People will carry a pen-sized gadget which holds at least 10 terabytes of data, has a couple hundred gigs of memory, will project a three dimensional “screen” and “keyboard,” if you insist on having one, on any flat surface.  The mouse will be your hand, eyes, or maybe some other body part if you feel daring or risqué.  Of course it will be connected to a much upgraded version of the Internet by some technology much better than wi-fi.  And these super computers will be running Linux.

Yes, I said Linux, although in the future we may be calling our favorite OS something other than than what Linus originally intended.  Torvalds, of course will have achieved full saint-hood within the various geek communities (and I mean that in a friendly, non-disparaging way).  Bill Gates  and Steve Ballmer will finally have achieved equal recognition as the opposite of sainthood.  Is there a real word for that?  How about demonhood?

These super computers will have other functions as well, replacing the cell phone, ipod, blackberry, and probably dog whistle, pedograph, and oven temperature monitor as well.

Nevertheless, one thing will not have changed.  Open Source, being what Open Source is, will continue the flame wars over which is the better  environment, KDE, Gnome, XFCE, or any one of  a dozen or so new data management systems.   And it won't be just the “desktop” environment.  There will be those who threaten great virtual conflagrations over which descendant of Red Hat, Debian, Slackware, or Gentoo should be the system of choice.  Will Granular be among the favorites?  We must all hope it will.

And finally, before I have another beer, my lovely wife will finally have given up on Vista and allowed me to install a decent OS on her laptop.  Unless she's stolen my penputer.

What's your vision?

Galjaman

Nice story, and imagination for the future. 

I would have to say you're probably pretty close, in the way I would also view things. But I don't try to look that far into the future. I try to look maybe more into the near future. And I see everything being done by your cell phone, and I think it will do just about everything. It will have your electronic ID, and also replace most forms of currency. So I don't see either men or woman caring wallets or purses, just their phone. I think it will also act as your keys, and replace the conventional keys with some form of a digital signature. I also believe it will replace your laptops as well. I do think that there will always be the desktop computers. But not in the  current forms. In other words I see every household having a desktop computer, but acting as a sever for the management of the home. Anyway something along those lines. 

 In the future... I will be an old man in a bed in a nursing-home.... pinching young nurse's bums
 I'll probably remember Linux as being some sitcom on tv.... and that my name is Al

Very nice projections of the future, galjaman. You have envisioned. a good part of the world by then, which is a nice thing and tells us of your creativity.

Chris, I too feel the same thing about the mobile phones being the omni and multi-purpose devices of the future, with the pace they are proceeding today.

In the future... I will be an old man in a bed in a nursing-home.... pinching young nurse's bums
 I'll probably remember Linux as being some sitcom on tv.... and that my name is Al

 

If there will be a Granular newsletter for the next month, I'll make it sure to include this great article. 

Ahh Gemini, your plan for your doddering years is to believe you're a shoe salesman?  Well . . . to each his own fetish I guess.  But wait a minute!  Your plan may have merit after all.  Didn't "Al" spend a lot of his time in the nudie bar?

And sadly Chris and Anurag, in the short term I'm afraid I must agree with you about the cell phones.  That's the way the trend seems to be pushing the technology.  Or is it technology pushing the trend?

I thought about mentioning cell phones in the original post, but didn't because I hate the stupid things.  They are certainly part of a nefarious plot to take away our freedom to NOT be in touch with the world.  These days you can't even enjoy a cool brew in a quiet bar without having your maudlin musings interrupted by the noxious racket of someone's "cool" ring tone.  And then you must listen to some inane conversation about, "What's for dinner?"

I'd leave my phone turned off indefinitely, but unfortunately, the spouse believes she has a marital right to bend my ear when ever the mood strikes, or whenever she thinks my ear needs bended.

Which brings up my major pet peeve.  It's the woman or teenager driving a gigantic SUV, so short she can barely see over the steering wheel, but not so short she can't hold the cell phone to her ear while she blithely runs the stop light or nearly clips the senior citizen in the crosswalk.  Totally oblivious she describes the cute little dress she just bought, or, "We're having take-out.  I'm on my way to Taco Bell right now.  You want burritos?"

Galjaman

Galjaman,

Nice very nice, and well worth a good laugh. 

I also used to hate the cell phones, but it seems now I feel rather usless and out of touch if I don't have or use one. They really do work for their purpose of communication. It's all of the other added stuff that people insist upon that actually drives me nuts some times. And that is as you've said, the ring tones, pictures, and cell phone videos. But by far the newest thing that I cannot stand or get used to is those ugly ear attachments that everyone is walking around with.

And the worst part of those, is now people can be looking right at you, or be in a conversation and then just start talking on their cell phone. You don't know if they are talking to you, themselves, or on the phone. At least with the normal phone, it requires some physical sign that someone is going to answer the phone.  And then just to add to it, it would seem that those things have only given the loud talkers even more of an excuse to talk even louder. To the point their conversation is the only thing you can hear.

Can't hardly wait until we can actually just think a conversation without actually speaking. But then your wife won't just be bending your ear, she'll have your brain as well. 

 Cell phones are the essence of evil. They have completely removed any hope of sanctuary for all of mankind. I hate them, but am thought of as a bad parent if I do not posses one. Most people completely forget how well we all did all the many centuries without them.
 They are revered as "so important" and a "must" in our society, but are used mostly to amuse (as Galjaman says) teens and females. I have seen women talking on the phone to their friend, on their way to the friend's home and do not hang up until they pull into the friend's driveway and they wave to one another
 What could possibly be left to talk about? If you did a 'true" survey, it would be mostly men (and I'm talking real men) who would say they hate cell phones. Then, there are the "pretend" men who like to have one because it makes them look important... even sadly enough to hold entirely fake conversations with non-existent people on the other end to impress people around them They are easily picked out by how loud, abnoxous, and demanding they are speaking to the fictitional person on the other end. (and yes, I have actually witnessed this being done)

 I forgot to mention how my own cousin calls me from his cell phone when he's stuck in traffic, just to pass the time.... cuz he says I always cheer him up I have thought about starting an 800 number for people to call while in traffic just to pass the time... but then thought about the impending law-suite from the person who rear-ends another while using my services

My vision of the future.

Despite the fact that the oceans of thw world are now permanetely frozen over...we'll still all be told by the media... its hotter than ever..

And yes, Al Gore, who by then will weigh about 2 carbon tonnes ... will still be telling us, that that the UN sanctioned  'one charcoal bead per person fires' we in the West are allowed to burn once every week......are still causing way too much global warming.

Meanwhile...China will have officially opened its 2,500,000 coal fired power station that runs on "Clean Socialist Coal" that emits..only socially permissable Co2 gas.. (The so called 'climate scientists' within the politburo of the IPCC's, will have, by then proved that the CO2 produced  by Socialist Coal is chemically and enviromentally clean when compared to Capitalist Co2 Coal..)

In the meantime...In some other bits of news.

Queen Clinton of America has declared a public holiday to celebrate the capture of the last.."in the wild' feral man without an electronic dog tag on his nutz..

Men will not be allowed out of doors after 6pm in the evenings...unless authorised to do menial work.

Football will be replaced by Footsies...

Baseball and Cricket will be replaced by Croquette..

and Beer and all alchoholic beverages will be banned.

As for me...

I'll probably end up in an olde peoples home earning my keep producing methane Fartes gas that they ( the United A*hole Gass Corp) will extract directly from my butt...

At least I won't be turned into Soylent Green for as long as I have my marbles...

But before that happens....

Seriously....

I intend to go for my last walkabout into the desert, find a suitable tree to climb up into, and make my peace with God.

Aqua

galjaman,

You'll be happy to know that this article is the featured article for this month's Granular Newsletter:

http://www.granularproject.org/content/newsletter/2008/06/

 

 Great.... now all the pretty nurses will be warned about me, and switch places with "Helga"
 

Oh my God, I'm being PUBLISHED!!!!  Wow!!!  Someone's editorial standards must have slipped to the vicinity of street drainage - and I'm the beneficiary. 

Galjaman

Oh my God, I'm being PUBLISHED!!!!  Wow!!!  Someone's editorial standards must have slipped to the vicinity of street drainage - and I'm the beneficiary. 

Galjaman

I am reminded of a quote by Oscar Wilde..

"We are all of us, lying in the gutter, but some of us, are looking up at the stars"...

So sometimes, the gutter is a better start, than no start at all...

Aqua