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