Something that I realized this year is that I like pondering the future -- looking way out and imagining how the world will be different, what things people will be doing, etc. This probably stems from my interest in technology.
Paper meets computerApril 16, 2009
I had an interesting thought today: Imagine, say 30 years in the future, you're sitting at your desk and in front of you is what looks to be an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. It's a bit thick, around 1/32 of an inch, and it's glossy. It's also flexible.
But this paper is special: You use it much like we use computers today, using your finger to navigate through menus, scroll through documents, etc. You can use a stylus to write information, or an on-screen keyboard that works like the keyboard on today's iPhone. You can even speak at this little piece of paper.
It has a very small internal battery, but it derives most of its power wirelessly from the table below it. Its onboard electronics are responsible for transmitting input to a computer somewhere else, which is responsible for actually running the programs. Screen updates are passed back wirelessly and rendered on the screen. And once the image has been rendered, it takes little-to-no power to keep it there.
The paper can be taken virtually anywhere, and it still works, so long as it has an energy source.
Throw it in your backpack, head off to classes, and you're set, with access to all of your lecture notes, the Internet / email, etc.
The devices are so cheap to produce that virtually every person on the earth affords them, and if one breaks, you throw it out and grab another one.
Prediction: Electric CarsApril 13, 2009
As of 2009, electric cars are still something of the future. The gas pump remains the source of energy that gets us from place to place. With the plunge of the economy and oil prices falling to 25 percent of what they were a year and a half ago, it's a little unclear where we're headed.
But I'm convinced that once the economy recovers and growth resumes, we'll be right back to where we were. In the end, I think the electric car will become as mainstream as the gasoline-powered cars were in the twentieth century.
How quickly that will happen, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of electric cars on the road by 2030, perhaps even a majority, and there will be no going back.
Automatic gas/brake
March 12, 2009
An interesting post on Gizmodo today made me realize that this will be the first feature of autonomous driving that will be developed: Fully automatic gas/break in cars. I like how this post describes it, especially the part about using GPS to know when to decelerate for corners. Of course! It makes so much sense. I would tend to agree that this technology will likely see the light of day in the next ten years. I'm not sure how pervasive it will become, but I wouldn't be surprised if it catches on. One of the biggest obstacles I foresee is having stop lights smart enough to communicate to the surrounding cars. Maybe in large cities, but not smaller towns?
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