| IntroductionWell, its been an exciting | | | | Service) where treatment was free at the |
| century for me starting with the launch of | | | | point of need but paid for by everyone. When |
| the Russian satellite, Sputnik in 1957 and | | | | this was first introduced many people tried |
| ending with the first space elevator on my | | | | to live for free but soon got bored of |
| 100th birthday in 2057. Its also been a sad | | | | drinking water, eating the same boring food |
| and depressing time too with various wars and | | | | and being unable to go anywhere or do |
| conflicts but it all worked out for us all in | | | | anything interesting. Another side effect was |
| the end.The really frustrating thing is we | | | | another huge layer of bureaucracy was |
| could have done much of this years ago and | | | | removed.Another change was tax. In the old |
| saved our selves so much grief, but we didn't | | | | days huge numbers of "tax inspectors" were |
| partly because we didn't know how but mostly | | | | needed to collect a tax from everyone. These |
| because of greed, self-interest and an | | | | days its automatic, you get paid, your credit |
| astonishing lack of vision.We have lost many | | | | is updated and the state gets a small |
| things but gained so much more in return. | | | | percentage.A major change was the |
| Gone are many of the huge corporations, | | | | accountability of corporations. The laws of |
| out-manoeuvred by many smaller, more nimble | | | | the time assigned the same rights to a |
| companies as predicted by "The Cluetrain | | | | corporation as to an individual. The problem |
| Manifesto" and "Dingoes and | | | | was that the character of many corporations |
| Lions".EntertainmentLike many industries, the | | | | could be described as greedy, paranoid and |
| music industry had to die before it could be | | | | psychopathic. It was the early Internet that |
| re-born. Lets face it, any organisation that | | | | made exposing these much easier and faster. |
| sees its own customers as potential criminals | | | | After a few high profile "melt downs", many |
| is definitely on the way out. In those days, | | | | of the more "psychopathic" corporations where |
| music and movies were distributed on plastic | | | | given the same treatment as an individual |
| discs (called CDs or DVDs) and billions were | | | | would have got.The way companies are run has |
| spent on preventing people from doing what | | | | changed a lot too. In the bad old days, |
| they did naturally - sharing.Various methods | | | | companies would grow and grow until they |
| were tried to prevent this, DRM (Digital | | | | imploded under their own weight. These days |
| Rights Management) was the most obnoxious | | | | things are more dynamic, some companies form |
| partly because it prevented people from | | | | to produce a one-off product and dissolve |
| making copies (to use in their other players) | | | | soon after. Many behave like 'cells', when |
| but mostly because it "locked out" | | | | they reach a certain size, they divide into |
| competitors.The result was that :-1. Most | | | | separate entities. This kept them very lean |
| people ended up with unplayable disks due to | | | | and competitive, and most importantly - |
| incompatible DRM systems or companies going | | | | fun.Things are much simpler these days too. |
| out of business.2. The "pirates" removed any | | | | Walk into shop. Look in special mirror and |
| copy prevention and made the music tracks | | | | see your self in a selection of clothes as if |
| available on the original Internet.3. People | | | | you were wearing them. Real-time 3D |
| found it much easier to download from the | | | | digitising and overlays. No need to be |
| "pirates" than to buy a "legal" disk and run | | | | measured, the 3D digitiser captured all your |
| the risk that it would be unplayable.4. The | | | | measurements and feed them to the machine |
| music industry got more desperate and | | | | that would make your clothes.Law and |
| aggressive until they were sued out of | | | | OrderCrime, though still present, has been |
| existence by their top performers, who had | | | | much reduced. It all started in 2009 when a |
| grown tired of the negative publicity and had | | | | woman was burgled but found the burglar by |
| found a much better way to distributed and | | | | searching through real-time satellite images |
| promote their music - the Internet.There was | | | | of her house via an Internet sat-map service. |
| a brief flirtation with high capacity disks | | | | It was simple to find an image of her house |
| like "Blue Ray" and "HD DVD" but the public | | | | at the time the burglar entered and follow |
| got so tired of paying vast sums on new, | | | | him back to his flat half a mile away. She |
| incompatible formats that they either stuck | | | | presented the images to the local police |
| with the original DVD (Dual Layer 7.5GB) | | | | force who "nicked" him.Another form of crime |
| format or just downloaded everything from the | | | | called "shoplifting" also disappeared when |
| Internet.These days not only is it legal, its | | | | tiny tracking devices called "RFID" were |
| encouraged. You can copy any piece of music, | | | | built into every sellable item. To purchase |
| video or literature to anyone or any device. | | | | all you had to do was pick up the item at a |
| As soon as you have listened or viewed 75% of | | | | shop and walk out. As soon as you walked |
| it, the author gets a one-off micro-payment | | | | through the shop door, your credit card was |
| automatically.In fact many artists gave much | | | | automatically debited by the cost of the |
| of their work away for free knowing that if | | | | item. Anyone daft enough to do this with an |
| it was good enough it would be copied | | | | "empty" credit card was tracked by the RFID |
| millions of times and they would become | | | | in the item and dealt with.Biometrics also |
| household names very quickly. Another | | | | played a part as many things (like cars, |
| advantage of giving your work away was that | | | | computers) would not work with any |
| you could attach contact and gig details to | | | | unauthorised person so stealing them was |
| each track so every time you had a concert | | | | pointless unless you could get round the |
| gig/etc all your fans were informed | | | | biometric security system which was |
| automatically.The movie industry was also on | | | | expensive.Micro MRI scanners make police work |
| the endangered list but saw what was coming | | | | so easy now. Round up the suspects for |
| just in time. Even so, its still a fraction | | | | questioning and the scanner will soon know |
| of its original size. Gone are the great | | | | who is lying or not based on their brain |
| actors and actresses (replaced with virtual | | | | patterns.SpaceWith an ever expanding |
| actors), gone are the studios (replaced with | | | | population complicated by people living |
| virtual studios) and gone are fixed 'story | | | | longer the only way was up. It started with |
| lines'. In those days a "movie" was just a | | | | things like the International Space Station |
| fixed sequence of images played one after the | | | | but when space travel got cheaper huge |
| other very fast, you couldn't alter the story | | | | multi-purpose space platforms were |
| line, change the characters or view each | | | | constructed. These originally housed |
| scene from different viewpoints like you can | | | | engineers and scientists but soon grew when |
| now. The main driver for all of this was the | | | | more modules were added like space |
| game industry, they had been doing this kind | | | | telescopes, factories, hospitals and even |
| of thing for years.The way we watched things | | | | hotels.These days, space travel is routine. |
| radically altered when huge, flexible video | | | | Many people go into space to visit friends |
| displays became cheap enough to be used as | | | | living on the space platforms or take tours. |
| wallpaper. These were bright enough to | | | | I went up a couple of years back to watch a |
| replace lights too. Many people used one wall | | | | space probe being assembled and launched to |
| to watch programs and the others to display | | | | study some primitive life on Jupiter's moon, |
| virtual, swimming fish as a form of | | | | Europa. I saw two people recover an old |
| relaxation (Bit like the early | | | | communications satellite. No one uses those |
| screen-savers).CommunicationThe original | | | | any more - the space platforms do that job |
| Internet was classed as "disruptive | | | | too. I also had a quick look at the telescope |
| technology" because it enabled the human race | | | | control room and spent the night in the |
| to communicate across the world in so many | | | | hotel. Its a weird experience when you move |
| different ways much to the annoyance of the | | | | from the outer ring were most of the people |
| media who preferred to keep information | | | | live and work (normal gravity), past the |
| artificially scarce and expensive.Things | | | | middle ring where the hospice / hospital / |
| really got interesting when Internet3 came | | | | research areas, to the hub were most of the |
| on-line. This new network was a mix of the | | | | equipment is (no gravity).Some people choose |
| older Internet2 and NASA's revamped deep | | | | to spend their last days (and cash) in space, |
| space network. Not only could you communicate | | | | the cash helped fund space development along |
| with anyone or thing on planet Earth, you | | | | with some medical research. A lot of disabled |
| could reach people on the many orbiting space | | | | people also worked in space too, no need for |
| platforms, the Moon bases, the Mars base and | | | | functional legs (or a wheel chair) when you |
| any other planet in our solar | | | | worked in zero G.The long awaited "Space |
| system.EnergyFor quite a long time, | | | | Elevator" is nearly operational now. It took |
| electricity was generated solely by "Power | | | | years to find a material that could be |
| Stations" from either Oil, Gas, Coal, Nuclear | | | | stretched 62,000 miles and withstand |
| Fission (later by Nuclear Fusion), Solar and | | | | continuous lightning strikes. There are |
| Wind/Wave turbines. As you can imagine, these | | | | hundreds of companies bidding to build the |
| were huge, dirty, expensive and | | | | huge platforms that will be anchored at |
| inefficient.The power was distributed along | | | | strategic locations along its length. At the |
| cables strung between huge metal towers | | | | end they fixed an asteroid. I heard they were |
| called "pylons" to all parts of the country. | | | | going to put a centrifugal launch platform |
| It was transmitted at a very high voltage but | | | | there too.WeatherFor the very first time, the |
| stepped down to around 100 ~ 240 volts AC. | | | | human race had some useful control over the |
| Most buildings had some kind of "mains" | | | | weather. The space platforms had a continuous |
| supply connected to several power outlets (or | | | | read-out of the global weather condition. |
| sockets) that you could connect various | | | | This data was feed to super computers which |
| appliances to.The main problem with this | | | | in turn controlled huge space mirrors. If the |
| system was that power-cuts were frequent and | | | | gulf stream started to slow, just reflect |
| when they happened, entire cities were | | | | some of the Sun's energy to that point to |
| plunged into darkness. Another problem was | | | | help the evaporation process. If there was a |
| that AC power is very hard to store in any | | | | hurricane brewing near the American coast, |
| useful quantity making unexpected surges | | | | the computers would angle the mirrors to |
| expensive to deal with.These days, all | | | | gently heat the surrounding areas and disrupt |
| buildings are energy self-sufficient and come | | | | the hurricane creation process. By subtly |
| complete with solar tiles, mini-wind | | | | heating and cooling certain strategic |
| generators and storage batteries. Most | | | | locations, rain could be encouraged in fall |
| electronic equipment runs directly from the | | | | in useful places. Huge areas of desert were |
| batteries which are in turn charged from the | | | | made habitat able by this method.Reference |
| sun, wind, fuel-cells or any other available | | | | and Inspiration"The Cluetrain Manifesto: The |
| power source.CommerceThese days, the basic | | | | End of Business as Usual" by Locke, |
| essentials of life are free like water, | | | | Weinberger, Searls & Levine"Dingoes and |
| certain foods and shelter. This was just a | | | | Lions" by David Chan. |
| another extension UK's NHS (National Health | | | | |