My prediction of the most important technology

[ballmode]

My prediction is that the advent of Cell Phones, Pictures, and faster broadband will enable us to communicate even better.

I predict that one can take a picture of anything and it will automatically get posted on an internet forum, where you can access from cell phones as well as computers.

Just imagine a world where everybody was so connected it even helped change events!

Imaging people in the burning World Trade Center able to take pictures from their cell phones and send them instantly to forums where the world could see!

Or on that plane being hijacked... we could also witness crimes and it could be instantly reported to the police on who suspects were and how crimes took place.

People would be safer, but it would also make the world a more cautious place... where every move could be instantly transmitted...

then again it would be funny just to see half of ATOT and what they did during their lives on here in picture real time format...


I'd love to see this happen, would you?

 

[Ricemarine]

The most important technology...

1. Hydrogen Fuel Cells that will hopefully become mainstream.
2. Flash-based hard drives.
3. CPU's using less voltage.
4. More enviromentally safe stuff.
5. Uhh...

 

[Colt45]

They'll just beat you up and smash your phone so you cant transmit any evidence. heh

 

[Chaotic42]

I still refuse to get a cell phone, so that sounds pretty horrible to me. I enjoy being "disconnected".

 

[gsethi]

I would say GPS becoming more mainstream along with RFID. You can track any person anywhere with those two technologies....kinda scary though.

 

[BlancoNino]

So everything around us is constantly being photgraphed? I hate that idea. In fact, I'm sick of this whole trend of everyone taking pictures of everything and posting it all over the place.

No wonder everyone is so depressed...everything and everyone is constantly taking pictures or videos of them and reminding them of how ugly they are compared to what we think is necessary to be beautiful.

Me, bitter? Nah..just tired. And for the record, I could really care less.

 

[SirStev0]

I believe frozen poptarts have paved the way for the new century

 

[phisrow]

My prediction is similar to OP's; but without the cheer.

Incontrovertable facts:
Storage is cheap and getting cheaper
CPU time is cheap and getting cheaper
Text, voice, image, and video analysis algorithms are getting considerably better
Cameras, transmitters, RFID, and crypto chips are cheap and getting cheaper.
Collaboration between public and private data brokers and agencies is already considerable and very unlikely to decrease.
All fundamental research and technological development necessary for the deployment of very strong DRM has already been done.
DRM systems are becoming more common.

Arguably true statements:
Government enthusiasm for surveillance is considerable and unlikely to decrease.
Private sector enthusiasm for gathering marketing information is considerable and unlikely to decrease.
DRM is likely to find political as well as economic uses within the near future.
DRM systems can ultimately only succeed if the 'default-allow' model of general purpose computing is replaced by a 'default-deny' model of trusted computing.

Likely implications:

An ever increasing number of physical surveillance devices(cameras, mics, RFID scanners) in both public and private use.
The widescale monitoring of all channels of communication.
Continual monitoring of all legal channels of transaction and exchange.
Use of advanced algorithms to aggregate and parse the vast majority of data collected in a centralized fashion through contractual and legal data sharing arrangements.
The development of strategies to disable surveillance attempts by individuals through technical means(camera phone firmware that refuses to take pictures if the phone knows that it is in a "secure" area, use of infrared lasers to blind unauthorized lenses, automatic encryption and classification of internal documents to render leaks impossible, revocation of documents, images, and footage deemed unacceptable).
The increased rationalization of human life and activities, based on economic pressure and the availability of vast quantities of machine parsed behavioral data. A combination of the scientific management and time/motion study methods of the late 19th/early 20th centuries with modern surveillance technology.
The progressive elimination of all unmetered public and private spaces, services, and activities in favor of extremely fine grained machine driven microtransactions.
The subjection of all technological and cultural artefacts to the most stringent conditions of software and intellectual property licensing as a necessary condition of use. All objects will be bound by, and enforce, their licence agreements.
A continual improvement in the ease of aquisition and use of extremely powerful weapons, counterbalancing and driving the development of ever more pervasive and powerful surveillance and control systems.

An asymmetric surveillance society composed of vast mass of wholly transparent individuals, and the almost completely opaque expert systems that continually monitor them.

Doesn't it sound like fun?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
So everything around us is constantly being photgraphed? I hate that idea. In fact, I'm sick of this whole trend of everyone taking pictures of everything and posting it all over the place.

No wonder everyone is so depressed...everything and everyone is constantly taking pictures or videos of them and reminding them of how ugly they are compared to what we think is necessary to be beautiful.

Me, bitter? Nah..just tired. And for the record, I could really care less.

I agree

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
So everything around us is constantly being photgraphed? I hate that idea. In fact, I'm sick of this whole trend of everyone taking pictures of everything and posting it all over the place.

No wonder everyone is so depressed...everything and everyone is constantly taking pictures or videos of them and reminding them of how ugly they are compared to what we think is necessary to be beautiful.

Me, bitter? Nah..just tired. And for the record, I could really care less.

I agree

lol hey get that picture of me off there!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
So everything around us is constantly being photgraphed? I hate that idea. In fact, I'm sick of this whole trend of everyone taking pictures of everything and posting it all over the place.

No wonder everyone is so depressed...everything and everyone is constantly taking pictures or videos of them and reminding them of how ugly they are compared to what we think is necessary to be beautiful.

Me, bitter? Nah..just tired. And for the record, I could really care less.

I agree

lol hey get that picture of me off there!

I went to the trouble of actually taking a picture rather than a screenshot, it stays

 

[SirStev0]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
So everything around us is constantly being photgraphed? I hate that idea. In fact, I'm sick of this whole trend of everyone taking pictures of everything and posting it all over the place.

No wonder everyone is so depressed...everything and everyone is constantly taking pictures or videos of them and reminding them of how ugly they are compared to what we think is necessary to be beautiful.

Me, bitter? Nah..just tired. And for the record, I could really care less.

I agree

lol hey get that picture of me off there!

I went to the trouble of actually taking a picture rather than a screenshot, it stays

He makes a valid point.

 

[KaChow]

Am I the only person who feels that the more means we have to communicate, the LESS we actually DO communicate?

 

[0roo0roo]

the communications/cellphone companies need to stop overcharging for the few bits of data required for people to easily and commonly share pictures. they charge an absurd amount for a few bytes of text ..and its 2006 never mind video or pictures.

 

[HannibalX]

The ability to grow body parts/limbs/organs in a lab... for consumption of course.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I still refuse to get a cell phone, so that sounds pretty horrible to me. I enjoy being "disconnected".

Disconnected...but a lifer on a forum...

 

[ranmaniac]

The "Borg" effect of technology to humans is becoming apparent. Everytime I see someone wearing those wireless cellphone earpieces, I'm thinking it won't be long before we'll have implants to "wear" to make our lives more "convenient" for us.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Chunkee

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I still refuse to get a cell phone, so that sounds pretty horrible to me. I enjoy being "disconnected".

Disconnected...but a lifer on a forum...

My 10 post per day average is just that: An average.

The first two years were probably something like 30 ppd while I was on the night shift at a radio station.

 

[bobdelt]

RFID will change the world. In a few years, when you go food shopping, you'll know how many people have certain products in their shopping baskets. The about of knowledge (consumers/corps) for everyone will increase tremendously, theft will be almost impossible.

Accounting will be real time. You'll be able to login into Walmart's website and see exactly what their sales is like.

Cars will communicate with eachother, cell phones will have as much power as laptops now.

I also think online storage will take off. Eventually your hard drive will be google, you'll login into google at any computer, and your desktop\applications will be there for your use, this will probably come with internet2, as the bandwidth requirements will be huge.

 

[theeedude]

Probably, the most important technology will be some medical advance that really makes a huge difference in people's lives, and not some trivial cell phone, computer, or broadband gizmo.

 

[SirChadwick]

Wireless POWER will be the most important technology in the next 5-10 yrs.

 

[Jadow]

RFID

 

[z42]

Originally posted by: ranmaniac
The "Borg" effect of technology to humans is becoming apparent. Everytime I see someone wearing those wireless cellphone earpieces, I'm thinking it won't be long before we'll have implants to "wear" to make our lives more "convenient" for us.

You are describing most models/actresses.

 

[rockyct]

Originally posted by: ballmode
...then again it would be funny just to see half of ATOT and what they did during their lives on here in picture real time format...


I'd love to see this happen, would you?

Ha, we're talking Anandtech here, not a forum for supermodels. I sure don't want to see real time pictures of you, like most people don't want to see real time pictures of me.

 

[Cawchy87]

Easy...

Clean coal burning. The technology is there, but they need gov't support.