Doesn’t it seem as if the world get’s smaller everyday? We are living in the communications age, and the more connected we become through technology the more apt we are to understand other societies and cultures. Just seems logical to me.
Historically speaking, todays society has at it’s beck and call, more information than has ever been possible before. And it’s not just information but fast access information. Satellite communication’s, mobile computing devices, cellular services, the Internet. Information available 24/7, and thanks to organizations like Wikipedia, information is not just static information, but information that is ever changing and always under scrutiny from the masses.
The always on, always connected world is just around the corner. We have the technology and the latest technology trends seem to lean in this direction. Mobil devices are becoming smarter and more feature rich and the manufacture’s seem to be listening to what the public is asking for in these new generation devices. New devices like the IPhone from Apple are trying to blend many different and usable technologies into one device that can be carried in your pocket. The next logical step on the road to the connected society would be to link these mobile devices to personal application’s and data that is always accessible.
The average computer user has a computer that has much more storage and computing power than is really needed.
Don’t get me wrong, I love high performance systems for gaming, 3D design, movie editing, graphic design, etc., but for the average home user, the power and storage really is not needed. Enter Inet 2.0, where the users home system and applications are replaced with web accessible versions. The home personal computer now becomes a portal box. You have the basic functionality needed to connect to the Internet, but applications and document storage overhead is now passed on to large servers. There will still be local document storage and applications that will be used to organize data and connect integrated home electronics and communications to the system, but overall everything will be web based.
Imagine this:
You working on some documentation for a client while at home and then get pulled away to a meeting in the city.
The meeting runs late and the client calls to tells you that he needs the information in 25 minutes instead of in the morning. You pull out your next generation mobile device from your pocket, enter your access code, select the document on your network storage and enter the secure address to send the document to. Done deal. Since every connected system has a network address associated with it and a document storage area for the account, its would almost be like dialing a phone number and hitting send. The data is sent over the net from one server to the other without having to worry about your local connection to the Internet.
The above scenario leads the way for very small, light and portable laptop devices. Hard drives would be replaced with ram drives as thin as a dime and there would be no real need for an internal optical drive. A ram card or external drive could be used if needed. These new laptop devices could be thin enough to fold, be very light weight and very durable.
The opportunities and usefulness of this type of connected technology is almost endless:
- Being able to check your home security cameras and system from your phone
- Locking and unlocking the doggie door
- Having your refrigerator call for a grocery delivery
- Checking on your children
- Starting a dinner program
The list goes on and on.
Besides having your applications and data available to you know matter where you are, the cost decrease for home systems would be huge. This cost difference would open up the Internet to everyone with access to a network connection.
Welcome to the next generation of the connected society
