__ Tomorrow Today __ - What's coming.
DECEMBER 1998
__ Timber! __
Canadian researchers complete an initiative to track the genetic fingerprints of yellow and red cedars. The Canadian Forest Service hopes that this tree-bank will help Mounties catch and prosecute rustlers, who make off with about US$1 billion annually from the sale of the country's timber. Law-enforcement officials will soon take DNA samples from everything from a log to a pine needle to determine whether the wood was harvested illegally.
WINTER 1999/2000
__ Smart Fridge __
Households switch on the first Web-enabled refrigerator, created by Okayama's V Sync Technology. Connected to the Net via high-speed cable networks, the IP cooler lets home owners send email, order groceries, or check their local garbage-collection schedule. The door is graced with an LCD touchpad running 24-7 over Windows or the popular Linux OS. You can even watch cable TV on the screen - turning your icebox into an idiot box.
WINTER 1999/2000
__ RetrOS __
Amiga, which first wowed the multimedia crowd in the '80s with its groundbreaking graphics computer, releases the Amiga 5.0 OS. This time, the company forgoes the box and focuses on the multitasking system that won a cult following - the same software strategy used by Microsoft to decimate Amiga's home-computer base in the '90s. Running on a mystery chip, 5.0 can be licensed to power a variety of next-generation tools, from the notebook to the gaming console.
2000
__ Silicon Retina __
Optobionics, in collaboration with Stanford University, brings an artificial silicon retina to market, giving people afflicted with certain maladies a second chance at sight. Tiny solar cells in the implant convert ambient light to electrical impulses, which prompt healthy cells to send messages to the brain. Although the chip doesn't translate into 20/20 vision, it does detect light waves beyond the normal human range, meaning users can see the infrared beam of a remote control or the glow of a hot muffler.
OCTOBER 2000
__ Terror Toon __
The monster mecca of Hollywood, Universal Pictures, brings the classic Frankenstein back to life - again. The latest twist: Mary Shelley's fiction is now a fully animated CG feature. Universal's f/x division gets its first silver-screen credit, while critics debate whether the producers succeeded in overcoming the film's biggest challenge: making a toon that terrorizes even those outside the PG crowd.
JANUARY 2005
__ Plug-and-Play Cable Box __
The FCC makes it illegal for cable operators to make proprietary set-top boxes. The action, stemming from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and from the lobbying of retailers like Circuit City, propels the creation of a plug-and-play unit that, like the phone, can be used anywhere in the US. The hope? The universal set-top will bolster competition, which in turn will pave the road for a digital TV market - something the OpenCable group, for one, is banking on.
