What's the next big thing?

The internet gained public eye somewhere around 1994-1995. it went from small usage, to 100% growth a year. Can you remember a time when you only could look in a book, go to a library, buy a 20 volume encyclopedia, or rent a video to research the information you were looking for? I remember I had Microsoft Encarta as my main source of information on a CR-ROM. Everything was so close minded and to the book, if you know what I mean. How could anyone grasp other concepts, communicate with several other humans instantly, post their thoughts for the world to see. Everything was so different before the internet became so popularized and readily available. It's such a time warp when you think of life before that.

Cell phones nearly around the same time. And it took some time to catch on with that as well. Can you remember a time when you were driving, and got a flat tire, and had to walk your rump 5 miles on the freeway to the nearest offramp to a gas station to put 10 cents in a payphone and call a towtruck? I do. Anytime you were out of your residence, and wanted to make a call, you HAD to use a payphone. Otherwise, the only way you could make a call, was from inside your house. More people would have died from emergencies not having a phone in the vicinity of them, for feet, or miles. You couldn't report an accident on the freeway. You couldn't call your boss and tell him you'd be late for work, stuck in traffic. You couldn't call home and ask someone a question of one came up. It's just something else that trips me out when I think about it.

What is the next technological equipment to be handed down from the Government, to you? Communication has been solved, and can only be innovated. Free energy? Teleportation? I basically think of all the hassles in my life, and how to improve on them.

Like new crazy shoes that don't need laces, you just walk on them, and they surround your feet.

A car that fills up it's own fuel while you are doing something else. AKA Complete Energy Efficient electric car w/ electricity wirelessly beamed into it. Holy crap, I just thought of the craziest idea.......

Electric cars, on a highway with ELECTRIC WIRELESS TRANSMITTERS on the sides of the road, Kinda like call-boxes, but twice as frequent. your car could process the signal from 1/2 mile away, and recieve a charge, and a maximum charge the closer it got to the outpost on the side of the road. And then the signal from the next station could judge/check your battery before you arrived at it, and determine if you needed a charge or not! Wow. Has this even been thought up before?

Update: This grid could be run on solar/wind energy, be it high-tech panels along the highway, or connection to green power grids nearby.

[edit on 2-2-2009 by SpadeofAces]

I Robot had a similar transport grid, as I recall.

It's a great idea, but such a project would require a HUGE infrastructure overhaul, and a great deal of capital to do. Might be the new government NEW DEAL though, so who knows?

Personally, not sure if it's the NEXT thing, but I'd wager we have something akin to (if not actual) antigravity as the next major advancement... It's past the year 2000, and still waiting for my flying car...

Of course, with the way idiots drive already, I'm not so sure I want to deal with it in 3 dimensions yet....!!!

Im waiting for cars that drive themselves on "smart highways." If this could become possible it would totally eliminate the risk of auto accidents and deaths, plus the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Think about it, you get in your car, plug in where you want to go into the GPS, and then sit back and relax. Sensors all over the roads will guide you to your destination, along with monitoring traffic and keeping you safe. Yes this would require a vast amount of infrastructure change and technology, but I think eventually one day it will be common.

See, the hard thing about transportation reform is that everyone has to go along with it. You could either buy the new "vehicle" with specifications/equipment/technology for the new upgrade in roads, but if you couldn't afford it, you'd be stuck I suppose.

Your '95 Honda Civic, or Classic car would not be adaptable to the infrastructure, unless they sold "kits" so to speak, to convert your car to this (which would be expensive in itself anyways I'm sure).

But in the case of Antigravity, they could just simply make the roads at an elevation of 100' or more and let the "people in the dark" drive there gas powered beasts.

P.S. I love the smell of gasoline.