FUTURE BOY
My Wish List for 2003
Robotic bartenders would be nice, but I'd settle for reasonably priced broadband.
By Erick Schonfeld, January 07, 2003
business2.co.uk
Now that we're all back from the holidays, it's time to start thinking about 2003 -- and what we might expect during the coming 12 months. For me, that means thinking about what technology may bring. I don't claim to have any crystal ball, so these aren't predictions, just a wish list for the year ahead. Here's what I'd like to see:
1. Verizon will finally figure out how to hook up my DSL. The best thing that could happen to me technologically this year would be for Verizon (VZ) to actually deliver the DSL service I ordered last November. Without getting into the painful details, let's just say that my activation date has already been postponed twice, even though the prior occupants of my apartment had DSL (so it really shouldn't be that difficult, right?). It would be nice if companies would refrain from advertising a service unless they could actually deliver it the same year in which it was ordered. That's especially true if it's something they're asking consumers to spend $50 a month on. Which brings me to my second wish ...
2. Broadband prices will drop to $20 a month. Maybe that's an unrealistic goal -- I'd settle for $30 a month. After all, this is the year broadband is finally supposed to go mainstream, but that won't happen until the technology is available at mainstream prices. The price is bound to come down over time, as the market grows and companies compete to gain more share. In a perfect world, that would start happening this year, and people would start thinking of high-speed Internet access as a basic service, something akin to cable TV. Any broadband provider that wants to continue to charge a premium will have to learn the HBO lesson and offer something extra that's at least as good as The Sopranos.
3. A digital music service will launch that can rock my world. One premium option those broadband providers can offer is a digital music service that brings the same endless selection as illicit file-sharing communities like Kazaa, only with faster and more reliable downloads. They could also add an array of independent reviews and other resources to help people find new music. I would be willing to pay for such a service. (None of the current for-pay music services really cuts it, in my opinion.) I would have to be able to transfer any downloaded music from my laptop to an MP3 player or other device. Better yet, I'd like to have access to my playlist from anywhere I can log on to the Internet -- even from my phone. There's an idea for Verizon: Justify that $50 fee by bundling in an awesome music service, and then make extra money on top by offering broadband customers an MP3-capable wireless phone that works on its new third-generation (3G) network. Verizon could give the music away for free and make money on the airtime (although the phone would have to include a significant amount of local storage and the ability to download from a PC).
4. Mobile-phone e-mail will become a reality. The one thing that would make me truly happy is the ability to access my e-mail via my cell phone. Although this has been technically feasible for a while now -- many cell phones allow you to forward your e-mail from either an Internet or corporate account -- apparently it's too complicated for most tech departments at major corporations to bother with. The newer PDA/phone combos are best for reading e-mail, but even a 2-inch screen is sufficient for scanning subject lines. This isn't a technology problem; the IT guys out there just need to make it a priority.
5. Wi-Fi mania will sweep the nation (or at least my neighborhood). Of course, if there were more wireless broadband (Wi-Fi) hotspots in place throughout the country, then I wouldn't have to rely on nascent 3G cellular networks for my (somewhat pathetic) need to always feel connected. Last year saw the Wi-Fi craze sprout, and this year promises a fuller flowering. I guess if Verizon doesn't come through on the DSL for my apartment, I can set up a Pringles-can antenna on my roof to try to pick up a Wi-Fi signal from one of my more fortunate, broadband-linked neighbors -- or maybe even from the Starbucks (SBUX) down the street.
6. Robots will clean up my life. Since I spend so much time on the Web, other things I used to do on a regular basis seem to have fallen by the wayside. Like vacuuming and dusting. That's why my heart gladdened this past holiday season to see ads for the new automated vacuum from iRobot. This disk on wheels is a little robot that scoots about your apartment guided by its own sensors, sucking up all the dust and dirt in its path, all for only $200. I can't vouch for how well it works -- I haven't seen one in action yet -- but my sincerest hope is that this is only the beginning. I could also use a full-feature Jetsons-style maid, a bartender/butler, and maybe some worker bots to help me build a roof deck in the spring.
7. Cloning claims will become more commonplace. Perfecting machines to act more human may turn out to be an unnecessarily tedious task. Wouldn't it just be easier to create clones of our best workers? Whether the Raelian sect's recent claims that it is successfully cloning people turn out to be true or just a hoax, the possibility of human cloning is becoming less theoretical every week. Of course, there is the issue of raising, feeding, and training the clones to do the work you want them to do (and the fact that, even as clones, they still have the same legal rights you and I do). Then there are all of those messy ethical issues to worry about -- like whether it's really a good idea to try to create a subservient race of genetically selected clones (or a superior race of genetically superior ones, for that matter). On second thought, maybe it's better to just stick with the robots after all.
8. And, oh yeah, world peace would be nice too. |
