Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Aurora (Part 2) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Aurora (Part 3) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

• Payment facilities will be further integrated into our online experience. Absolutely. We can expect to see a single account (Google, maybe Paypal?) and there will be a single click buying option for every single online store. Stores will become much more streamlined.
• We’re only two years (this one’s 2010) before the government wakes up to the internet era - they’re still living in the industrial era. Yes, they are still in the industrial era, but I think they want to stay there. I believe the government won’t get involved till AFTER the knowledge era - they will start to get involved in the age of Wisdom.
• There will be an i911. That is, a massive event where the insecurity of the internet is manifested, forcing the government to respond with policy similar to the Patriot act. The iPatriot act will shut down the openness of the internet, and attempt to control it. They have the iPatriot act ready to go already, they’re just waiting for the event to occur. Yes, this is definitely a possibility which we need to be careful of. If it does occur, then we can expect George Orwell’s 1984 to happen somewhere around 2024. I don’t think it will though.
• Mobile internet gives the money to the mobile companies who don’t reinvest in startups. If we want to continue to make money on the internet we need to think about the ecology. Makes sense. We either see the popularity of Mobile Internet technology slow down, or innovation slow down.
• The future of internet is 3D. I disagree - it might happen, but not in 10 years. We won’t have the infrastructure to support this concept properly. Also, the internet is still being learnt by a lot of people. There won’t be any massive changes (like 3D) until society is mostly Digital Native - at least 30 years.

What do you think about the video and the predictions? Do you have anything to add to the list? I’m surprised nobody mentioned multi-touch, which I really think will revolutionise what we see the internet as - more than just a hyper text transfer protocol.

Obama and McCain talk about many big issues: economy, war and gas aren’t the least of them. But discussion on technology and telecommunications has been kept to a minimum; surprising, considering the growing amount of Digital Native voters. Even so, after a little bit of research, I have discovered a little bit about each Presidential hopefuls tech-policies.

McCain

In an article run by WIRED, it’s suggusted that McCain “understands science and technology”. Good news… until you see this YouTube video. When asked whether he prefers PC or Mac, the mouth of this horse replied “Neither, I’m an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance I can get.”

Other than his support for a space program, McCain’s tech-policy is described by some journalists as thin, at best. Another article by WIRED reveals that McCain is only just learning how to use the internet, and that doesn’t even use email, because he doesn’t have a particular need to.

Obama

Obama, on the other hand, has a little more to say on this subject. In fact, his website details his stance VERY thoroughly. At a glance, Obama wants to ensure an open Internet, create a transparent and connected democracy, encourage a modern communications infrastructure, employ technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems, and improve America’s competitiveness.

Obama’s sophisticated Web 2.0 campaign website also reveals that he is a little more tech-savvy than his opposition. Plus, he’s comfortable talking about what’s on his iPod.

Conclusion

So there you go, tech-concerned voters. As far as technology is concerned, Obama is your man, though keep in mind it’s not at the top of his GTD Moleskine.

• Computer crashes resulting in disrupted workflow
• Slow computers and constant upgrades disrupt workflow
• Data backup infrastructure needs to be implemented
• Software overhead
• Data loss via computer malfunctions, upgrades, or even hardware burglary
• The list goes on…

That’s why there’s such a buzz around cloud computing in corporate circles.

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is basically outsourcing your computing needs elsewhere. For example, using Google docs to work collaboratively on documents being stored on Google’s servers, rather than working on a document on your personal computer and emailing it back and forth. Or Customer Management Services that all function on a remote web server.

Some analysts say that cloud computing represents a major shift in the way computing is done in corporations. Merrill Lynch estimates that the annual revenue for cloud computing will increase to $95 billion in the next 5 years. In a May 2008 report, Merrill Lynch estimated that 12% of the worldwide software market would start using cloud technology within that period.

So, the important questions are:

01.Is cloud computing a major part of our long term corporate future?

02.Who will be the major players in the cloud computing market?

03.Will we see cloud computing enter the home market, and to what extent?

My prediction:

In 10-15 years, cloud computing is a major part of our corporate AND home computing futures. With faster internet speeds and advances in web technology, we will begin to see cloud computing perpetrate every aspect of our computing experience - in fact, the whole operating system will operate on a cloud.

Further to this, all our cloud computing will be integrated into a massive push toward web personalisation - an index of our browsing habits and internet identity.

The major players will be Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon. Microsoft is already investing in this area with features such a LiveOffice - this software giant isn’t going down any time soon. Apple, despite it’s recent challenges in this area, have launched Mobile Me and will continue to use cloud computing to sync mobile devices, laptops and workstations. As well as this, Apple are unrivalled in their interface design elegance, which is an important part of our future seamless computing experience. Google and Amazon are already major players in cloud computing, and will continue to extend their services. Google in particular will be a major innovator, as they have been in the past.

Grey has dedicated his life to overcoming the ageing process, and breaking down the idea that human ageing is inevitable and even preferable. As a spokesman for immortality, he preaches several interesting points.

• Ageing, like disease, kills people - only it kills a LOT more people than disease does
• Ageing is something that should not be tolerated in a civilised society
• We need to stop thinking that ageing is a good thing

What about over-population? Grey doesn’t suggest we ship off to some other planet - rather, he states his case as a simple choice. Longer lifetimes or higher birth-rates?

Grey suggests that defeating the aging process isn’t a case of wam-bam-thank you for the extra 900 years-mam. Instead he believes that like all technology, a fundamental breakthrough will be made, that may extend life for, perhaps, 30 years, and after that a series of incremental breakthroughs will see the average age increase. In that way, someone alive today may live to be 1000 or more. This theory is demonstrated on the chart below.

For more information on defeating the ageing process, take a look at this video.

Nocera and Matthew Kanan have developed a revolutionary process which will allow use of the sun’s energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen and hydrogen are recombined later in a fuel cell - creating energy. This process in clean, efficient, and inexpensive.

Nocera hopes to see the technology implemented within 10 years, providing electricity in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell.

A few thoughts:

01.What percentage of our future energy requirements will be met by this technology?

02.Will ‘in-home’ renewable energy solutions replace the need for wired electricity (what will happen to all the electricity lines?)

03.Will ‘in-home’ renewable energy solutions replace the need for alternative energy plants, such as wind or hydro?

• Generation Y is made up of people aged 18 - 25
• 90% own a PC, 82% own a mobile phone
• Generation Y spends more time online than watching TV

This raises some interesting questions:

01.With the first Digital Native generation beginning to make an influence in the corporate world, what changes do you expect to see in regard to traditional business structures

02.Does the future of advertising involve more of a move away from traditional media and more toward online media

I believe that we will soon begin to see a move away from tradition business structures, because of the increased influence of Digital Native people on corporations. This will involve.

• A move away from a centralised office location - goodbye high-rises
  • Working from home
  • Improvements in internet communication technology
  • Supported by: Increased concern about the environmental impact and cost of daily commutes
• An extreme decline in the popularity of television
  • Television shows will be made available online for free
  • Decline in television advertisements
• An increase in online advertisments
  • Google text-based ads
  • Alternative and brand new advertising techniques
  • Not just on the www

What do you think? What are some of the other implications of an increasingly tech-savvy workforce?

The UnMouse Pad is touted as “Multi-Touch on steroids”. It’s pressure sensitive surface is paper thin, and, according to creator Ken Perlin, dirt cheap. With the next version of Windows set to be multi-touch focused, is the UnMouse the next Mouse?

Check out a video of the UnMouse Pad in action here.

Ionic polymers have the ability to generate current when they move, and researchers are now focusing on finding the best size, shape and array of the plastics to put in the Kiskiminetas River sometime in the next five years.

What questions does this pose for the future?

01.Will Polymers be part of our renewable energy future?

02.How long will it be until we see Polymers used in hydro-electric plants in all major river systems (if at all)?

03.What percentage of our total power usage will Polymers account for?

04.Will Polymers be made redundant by other renewable energy sources?

A few recent examples include, Lenovo’s aquisition of IBM’s personal computer, China National Offshore Oil Corp’s aquisition of US Based Unocal, Huaneng Power International aquisition of Singapore’s Tuas Power, and Sinosteel’s aquisition of Australian based Midwest.

As a beginning futurist, rather than make my own predictions as to the nature of this trend in Chinese Economics, I am only going to pose a few questions. Here they are:

01.What does a growing interest in foreign companies mean for China’s economic development?

02.What does a growing interest in foreign companies mean for Western Capitalist economic development?

03.If a large portion of companies in a given country are owned by the Chinese, how will this effect politics?

04.What part do the Chinese have to play in an increasingly globalised world?

05.How will the lack of Chinese cross cultural knowledge effect Chinese corportations which operate abroad? Specifically, will the Chinese adopt foreign cultures, or will foreign cultures adopt Chinese culture?

Let me know what you think.