Well maybe not. But my friends and I were discussing what things are likely to happen in the next 10 years and two big ones came to my mind.
- You will no longer see any print daily newspapers. They'll either be only weekend editions or magazines.
- Niche bookstores will go away unless they do something to build communities around their niche.
Anyone got anything else? Doesn't have to be about printing/books.
I think it's a little silly to predict what will happen in the future. After all, according to Back to the Future II, by the year 2015, fax machines will be a fixture in every room of the house (including the bathroom). In reality, email, and other forms of digital communication, have all but replaced the fax machine, and very few people even have them in their homes.
That said, I am curious to see if we what will happen in terms of environmental sustainability in the future. Will solar panels be integrated into the aesthetics of future houses? Will cars come standard with energy harvesting shock absorbers? Will the plants that make up our landscaping be mostly edible? It'll be interesting to see.
I remember the movie Runaway. Supposedly by now we're all supposed to have robotic butlers and Gene Simmons terrorizing us with heat-seeking bullets.
Isn't Japan busy making us robotic girlfriends/wives?
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A Time Capsule thread! Well, not exactly, but I love these.
By 2020...
-alternative-fuel, privately owned vehicles will be the norm
-the average personal computer will have a FSB speed of at least 15 Ghz, and SDD of 100 TB
-flat panels will be ultra-thin, and high-end homes will have embedded systems, 'chameleon tv'
Also, I want a chip in my head to constantly be connected to the internet. Is that so much to ask?
Oh yeah, and a flying car!
DAMMIT! You'll get your flying car when everyone has video phones!
Isn't Japan busy making us robotic girlfriends/wives?
Do they come with the "that's alright honey, you go ahead and buy all the roleplaying stuff you want" module?
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The tag line reminds me of two jokes I saw one time. The first showed a monkey in a lawyers office and the lawyer is telling the monkey, "No I don't think you can sue Darwin for slander." The other shows two monkeys in a tree and one says to the other "I don't think men evolved from monkeys, I think that's the way they are headed."
I think it's a little silly to predict what will happen in the future. After all, according to Back to the Future II, by the year 2015, fax machines will be a fixture in every room of the house (including the bathroom). In reality, email, and other forms of digital communication, have all but replaced the fax machine, and very few people even have them in their homes.
All but replaced, but Fax machines are still needed. If they weren't, then online faxing services wouldn't make any money.
That said, I am curious to see if we what will happen in terms of environmental sustainability in the future. Will solar panels be integrated into the aesthetics of future houses? Will cars come standard with energy harvesting shock absorbers? Will the plants that make up our landscaping be mostly edible? It'll be interesting to see.
Solar panels integrated into houses? Most likely.
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Isn't Japan busy making us robotic girlfriends/wives?
Once they are fully functional my wife is getting booted. [robot voice]Yes Fakey, we can have pleasure tonight, right after 251G finishes the dishes and make your 'sammich', sir.[/robot voice]
I just need a midget with a tapped keg on his back following me around and my happy place will be perfected on earth.|
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Isn't Japan busy making us robotic girlfriends/wives?Do they come with the "that's alright honey, you go ahead and buy all the roleplaying stuff you want" module?
I want one of those chips Sebastian mentioned that will store all my rpg books on it.
Edit: We have the makings of a Transhuman Space campaign here.
Can we have the robot wife powered by the solar cells on the roof?
With wireless energy transfer, it's possible.
Can we have the robot wife powered by the solar cells on the roof? That would be awesome. Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.
Wouldn't a solar powered, robot wife be inactive at night? I'll leave you to mull over that thought for a while.
Can we have the robot wife powered by the solar cells on the roof? That would be awesome. Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.Wouldn't a solar powered, robot wife be inactive at night? I'll leave you to mull over that thought for a while.
You're assuming he wouldn't have a flesh and blood girlfriend on the side.
Robots don't get jealous after all.|
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Can we have the robot wife powered by the solar cells on the roof? That would be awesome. Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.Wouldn't a solar powered, robot wife be inactive at night? I'll leave you to mull over that thought for a while.
Sigh, no they recharge during the day otherwise she wouldnt be of any use to me. Oh wait, what was that dear....... we need to move to stepford, ok dear.
Sigh, no they recharge during the day otherwise she wouldnt be of any use to me. Oh wait, what was that dear....... we need to move to stepford, ok dear.
On a somewhat related, but completely tangential note, did the men who invented the Stepford wives ever think about the fact that, one day, they'd all be dead, and there'd just be this whole town full of robotic women perpetually cleaning house?
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Sigh, no they recharge during the day otherwise she wouldnt be of any use to me. Oh wait, what was that dear....... we need to move to stepford, ok dear.On a somewhat related, but completely tangential note, did the men who invented the Stepford wives ever think about the fact that, one day, they'd all be dead, and there'd just be this whole town full of robotic women perpetually cleaning house?
Why do you think there is the robot Armageddon? its all that pent up pms. Neither Neo, nor John Conner had a clue what caused the mess. But I tell you, it's because of all the sexbot models outliving their owners.
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Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.
That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
:ohnoes:! ^^ That is seriously, seriously messed up.
Bet they're in vogue by 2020 ...
Love and Sex with Robots?
Repliee Q1Expo?
Aiko?
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Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
The scariest part is wondering what the hell you could have really been looking for when you stumbled across that little slice of yuck.
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Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
That is seriously twisted. How did you find it?
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That is seriously twisted. How did you find it?Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
Better yet how do I get it off of my computer at work and bleech my brain from it!
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Better yet how do I get it off of my computer at work and bleech my brain from it!That is seriously twisted. How did you find it?Personally, I'm looking forward to animal-human hybrids.That glorious day is already here, my friend!
Warning: Not Safe For Work.
No. Seriously.
Not. Safe. For. Work.
Take two of these and you should feel better.
Semi safe for work.
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The scariest part is wondering what the hell you could have really been looking for when you stumbled across that little slice of yuck.
It's a product from the 'Unnovations' catalogue, based on a TV show here in the UK, by the makers of other shows like 'TV Go Home' (denouncing the state of TV by providing spoof listings of what TV would be like if execs could get away with it).
The writer is currently hosting 'Newswipe' on BBC4, where he harangues his fellow members of the journalism profession.
My prediction for 2020 as it related to our hobby :)
The ubiquity of both PAN, voice recognision software and Enhanced Reality technologies means that when we sit down to game we will be able to see three dimensional models of the game enviroment, have our entire groups gaming library at out disposal without carrying heavy books. With but a simple question of 'how does grapple work again?' we will be provided with step by step instructions huskily voiced, posh digital totty and statisicial packages will help optimisers assess their best options faster and better at the table.
Seriously, imagain being able to look down at a table full of pizza and crisps and brownies and cookies and see a perfect 3d display of your game.
The only down side would be having to wear glasses, unless mind gate makes some seriously major advances in the next ten years and we have cheap and safemind machine interface by 2020.
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In my view, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will take place... 2020 is only 11 years away.
Our cars will not fly, and I suspect alternative fuels will still not be used in a majority of cars, although they will have a larger market share than they do now. Most cars will probably be highly efficient diesel engines with hybrid technology to obtain 60 to 70 miles to the gallon.
Desktop computers may be a thing of the past, although people who do a lot of gaming and video editing may plug their portable computers into larger monitors for a better view. (Heck, I guess that's not that much different than how a lot of people operate now.)
I agree the print news will be all but gone, but I don't think we'll lose bookstores (even the small ones). If the recession lasts much longer, some of the larger chain stores may not survive, since their shareholders demand profitability. While I wouldn't expect an explosion of new small bookstores popping up everywhere, I think they will exist in about the same numbers as they do now, but may see their business pick up marginally as their larger competition suffers.
I also plan on voting for President Timberlake that year.
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Dude, why is he trying to harsh our dream mellow?In my view, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will take place... 2020 is only 11 years away.
Also take a look at how much the world has changed in the last eleven years. Sometimes things change a lot faster than we think. Just as an example, there were no Ipods 11 years ago. There were no hybrid cars. We'll ignore the political changes for now.
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Also take a look at how much the world has changed in the last eleven years. Sometimes things change a lot faster than we think. Just as an example, there were no Ipods 11 years ago. There were no hybrid cars. We'll ignore the political changes for now.Dude, why is he trying to harsh our dream mellow?In my view, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will take place... 2020 is only 11 years away.
It depends on how big a difference you consider the introduction of the iPod to be. Yes, they are ubiquitous now, and yes, most people now download music rather than buy it in a store, but is that a dramatic shift? Listening to a portable music device is not new. It may be a new way to store and listen to new music, but new methods of storing and listening to music have been coming out consistently about every 10 years or so for decades. Predicting whether iPods will stick around or be replace in 10 years is a question I avoided, given how impermanent that technology has been historically.
In contrast, hybrids didn't revolutionize cars, they simply made what the car already does more efficient. If you strip a car down to its basics - a self-propelled vehicle for overland travel powered by the combustion of fossil fuels - it hasn't changed from that model in over a century.
I am being a wet blanket aren't I? You can show your disapproval by making my candidate lose in 2020 and voting for Kanye West instead.
Hey. He's going to be Prime Minister of the British Empire by then. Hands off our leader. :)
The British have an Empire?
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Also take a look at how much the world has changed in the last eleven years. Sometimes things change a lot faster than we think. Just as an example, there were no Ipods 11 years ago. There were no hybrid cars. We'll ignore the political changes for now.Dude, why is he trying to harsh our dream mellow?In my view, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will take place... 2020 is only 11 years away.
It depends on how big a difference you consider the introduction of the iPod to be. Yes, they are ubiquitous now, and yes, most people now download music rather than buy it in a store, but is that a dramatic shift? Listening to a portable music device is not new. It may be a new way to store and listen to new music, but new methods of storing and listening to music have been coming out consistently about every 10 years or so for decades. Predicting whether iPods will stick around or be replace in 10 years is a question I avoided, given how impermanent that technology has been historically.
In contrast, hybrids didn't revolutionize cars, they simply made what the car already does more efficient. If you strip a car down to its basics - a self-propelled vehicle for overland travel powered by the combustion of fossil fuels - it hasn't changed from that model in over a century.
I am being a wet blanket aren't I? You can show your disapproval by making my candidate lose in 2020 and voting for Kanye West instead.
CH,
Ok. Take a look at each decade over the last 60 years. Each decade had things that occurred that most people in the previous decade couldn't possibly have imagined. I see no reason why the next decade shouldn't have the same. Will everything change radically? No. But a lot will.
I agree with CH. Near future predictions will get more scrutiny since the time is so close. Far off futures tend to be sci-fi/fantasy material.
I agree that cars will trend towards more fuel efficieny, although I hope it's not diesel.
I think in the near future you're going to see more and more big box stores only because their model is more profitable than the local mom and pop stores.
Other things?
I think all computers will contain only SSD memory allowing for smaller and thinner notebook PCs.
Music and most movies will no longer be sold in most stores.
Video on demand will be available for any movie or TV show.
Many more people will be allowed to work from home.
PDF publishing will become 75% of the RPG business (I wonder what it is currently). Only core rulebooks and high-profitability books will have print runs.
Media Center PCs and other entertainment devices will all be PCs. The Netflix software will go open source, bandwidth usage and access to their library will cost you.
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<snip>
CH,
Ok. Take a look at each decade over the last 60 years. Each decade had things that occurred that most people in the previous decade couldn't possibly have imagined. I see no reason why the next decade shouldn't have the same. Will everything change radically? No. But a lot will.
I will concede that something will change which we can't conceive. Perhaps that's why I'm so dismissive of the things which we CAN conceive. I fully expect a mind-blowing advance or two, but fundamentally, I doubt that any advancements will come out that will dramatically change the way we live, and I am highly dubious of anything particularly fantastic - flying cars, humanoid robot butlers, etc.
N.B. I'm not suggesting that the way we live won't change dramatically, I am suggesting that the way we live won't change dramatically because of new technology. I won't predict any social, political, or economic changes that may or may not wildly change our society.