Future Today

I’m a huge fan of the “In Death” series of books by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts).  In her fictional New York City circa 2059, things have advanced beyond what a lot of people could even think of.

One is a gadget called the AutoChef (I heard the line “auto-wash” from the movie Fifth Element when I typed that, but I stray).  Evidently ingredients for various dishes are placed in the AutoChef and then when a meal is needed, you program what you want and wham bam, out comes your meal.   Kind of a high-tech way of micro-waving stuff, only you don’t have to mix anything.  No dirty dishes either as they go back into the AutoChef to be cleaned.  I’m hooked - give me three please!

Another feature of Ms. Robb’s 2059 work are flying cars. Don’t need one of them thank you.  The people around this neck of the woods fly enough in their cars without the help of a special engine.

There is the “I need my eyes adjusted” fix - lazer surgery during lunch.  

I love the parts where Eve runs up on “girlie” stuff - that I would kill for now.  But …what I was most fascinated with when starting to read this series of books (Born In Death comes out November 7th) was the communications devices they use - the link.  Souped up Blackberry is the best way to describe them.  No one has “hard-line” phones in 2059.  Sorry Ma Bell.  From communication ala visual, to printing out documents (yes for some reason there still is paper in that world ugh), to managing your life, these devices I read about in the first book are now coming forth faster and faster.  Heck, I’m ready to dump my PDA and Cell-Phone for a Blackberry myself. 

But what about security?  Sure you can lock up your PDA or cell-phone, even your Blackberry’s from what I understand, but Tokyo has come up ahead of everyone else, again.

TOKYO (AP) - A new mobile phone in Japan takes security pretty seriously: It can recognize its owner, automatically locks when the person gets too far away from it and can be found via satellite navigation if it goes missing.

The P903i from NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile carrier, comes with a small black card about the size of a movie-ticket stub. The card works as a security key by connecting wirelessly with the cell phone.

If an owner keeps the card in a bag or pocket, the phone recognizes when the card moves too far away and locks automatically to prevent someone from making a call. The user can choose to have the phone lock when it is 26 feet, 66 feet or 130 feet away.

People who lose their security cards can punch in a password to unlock the phone. But they will have to buy a new card to set the lock again.

The extra security is handy because, like other recent Japanese phones, the P903i can be used as a credit card or a prepaid cash card.

I don’t recall what security features Ms. Robb uses in her books, but since she seemed to peer into the future on this, I bet there is something there and I missed it over the excitement of the books!

I’m wondering now that the “link” seems to be coming forth faster than anticipated, features upgrading every day, when are we going to get the AutoChef and flying cars?

Like I said above, I’ll take three AutoChefs and skip the car please!

Tags: Books