In the last 6-12 months alone i'm really starting to see "the future" that I dreamed of as a kid.
Between this article, http://questvisual.com/, Microsoft Kinect, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Surface 2 (first version didn't impress me, was so huge and clunky), Amazon's Kindle 3 (huge fan of HHGTTG, the Kindle basically IS the guide) etc...
As a life-long nerd/geek, it's pretty awe-inspiring.
The Kinect, in particular, is my invention of the year. I've had it for two months now and the freaking menu in dance central STILL doesn't get old. Just moving through that menu is the single most tactile thing I've ever done when interacting with a machine.
I LOVE it... and I can't wait to see how that technology grows and changes in the coming years.
I would also add to that list the Emotiv kit (http://www.emotiv.com), which allows "to create applications that can be controlled by your mind" by making use of the same type of technology that allows paralytics to control robotic arms.
Actually, the technology alone is highly impressive, but that an SDK is available to anyone for $299 is nothing short of mind-boggling.
True, but the fact alone that it can store lots and lots of information, has the ability to obtain new information wirelessly, is "flat, book shaped, with a large screen and lots of buttons underneath the screen", etc... is what sells me on the comparison.
Being able to store Wikipedia offline would definitely clinch the deal though, even if it just stored entries on geographical locations and places, ignoring everything else... or if it had a Wiki app that let you choose topics and "cache" them locally. That would be awesome.
Between this article, http://questvisual.com/, Microsoft Kinect, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Surface 2 (first version didn't impress me, was so huge and clunky), Amazon's Kindle 3 (huge fan of HHGTTG, the Kindle basically IS the guide) etc...
As a life-long nerd/geek, it's pretty awe-inspiring.