Microsoft spends a great deal of time researching cutting edge technologies and the machine-human interface, but they get it wrong about as much as they get it right. This video is a good example... watch and see if you see what I am talking about, and after reading my commentary that follows, re-watch the video and see if you agree.

My biggest problem is the social interaction... online purchases, for example, continues to grow in popularity, for example, and my own teen can waste hours on end in MySpace.

The shopper who sees the advertised specials on entering a store is an example of something that will NEVER happen in the future. "Browse shopping" will continue to dwindle as people realize there are more options and greater convenience for those who choose to buy over the internet. When houses become ultra-smart - and they will, thanks to RFID and induction-powered microsensor technologies, consumables will either come by delivery or be picked up in a 1 minute drive-through, pre-paid and optimized for the best price. I predict that stores like Target (one of the sponsors fo the video) will actually grow smaller in the next decade, as more options open up for online purchasers (like driving up and having a stock-person place the goods in your trunk). If anything, they'll eliminate all of the on-shelf stock in favor of kiosks and holographic displays of "virtual" merchandise. Eventually, farther our, of course, many items may be even made on demand for consumers, items of clothing, for example, or shoes, built to the customer's specifications and style.

All of this amazing technology has only continued making humans more insular in their social interaction... witness the death of the car cruise. Gas prices are not much more than when I was a young adult, and yet nobody car cruises any more. It died as the internet rose. The plethora of online social sites, games, and availablity of massive amounts of information (including funny videos, sports, news, and, yes, especially porn) has driven people to sit for hours on their computers. Some of the remarkable outgrowths of computer and cellular technology has certainly made social interaction more "efficient" - often making the experience intense, as in the flash mob phenomena. Today we have speed dating and online dating, which has made every other means to have a quick hookup or finding a meaningful relationship obsolete. Eventually, your Wi-Fi devices will find your match in a crowd (where there still are crowds). The "game" continues to be forever altered by new technology, and it makes me wonder if that's a good thing.

Lastly, I'd like to comment on the newspaper bit; that looks very cool, but if a shooper can get a floating display, why not have the same thing for our newspaper? E-paper is pretty cool, and might get very cheap, but why be force to hold something to read? Today, there are still people who may prefer to hold something in their hands while reading, but this generation is barely literate to read anything but a text message or somebody's twitter status. As a race, we are slowly losing our literacy, one of the greatest gifts of democracy in the last two centuries. That said, and as a literate person myself (at least, I think of myself as literate), holding a "newspaper" in my hands doesn't hold much appeal. Video conveys a lot more information, and I think we'll see more invasive video (as surveillance increases), and is far more immediate.

Well, my time s running out, LOL, to write this article, so pelase leave some comments on what you think. Thanks.