future cities (die email von herrn paul gibts spaeter)

[uzs106@ibm.rhrz.uni-bonn.de]

In Sachen elektronische Mirtgliedsantraege etc: 

>But the domestic lifestyle is also going to change with all                    
>these internet,virtual reality and other inormation technology -               
>isn't it? And the design of future housing will also be influenced             
>by that change.Can anybody comment on this? Is any work going on               
>regarding this?                                                                
                                                                                
Let's indulge the fantasies of the digerati for a moment, and see               
what happens...                                                                 
                                                                                
First off, there's the wonder of embedded intelligence. Now, it is no           
longer the VCR that is incomprehensible - in this Jetson world,                 
*everything* is incomprehensible. And forget solid user interface -             
If you've mislaid the controller (or the thought police have                    
deactivated your ApplianceNet account) you're hosed.                            
                                                                                
On the plus side, however, the whole of your bijou Chiba City home              
can be controlled by a remote palmtop from Lagos, via a direct                  
satellite link. [Of course, when the Vladivostock mafia won't release           
the catch on the dishwasher until you transfer half a million                   
e-credits to an unmarked mailbox on an anonymous remailer, it becomes           
something of a pain - but let the intelligent agent from Interpol               
worry about that.] Here, in the home of the future, you can                     
painlessly transfer your laundry from the washer to the dryer by drag           
and drop (but avoid the recycler!). The microwave, thoughtfully                 
networked to the 'fridge, can be reconstituting an e-pizza in                   
seconds. And don't forget the humble freezer! But how could you?                
Granny's in it...                                                               
                                                                                
Fancy a spot of DIY? Nanobots are painstakingly recreating a Roman              
atrium in the discourse room - from the latest post-modern                      
archeological theories. Don't worry though - it's clearly signed                
'site under construction'.                                                      
                                                                                
Down in the entertainment parlour, holograms of Bruce Willis and Rock           
Hudson (how do they do that?) are slugging it out. Young TestosteRon            
loves this - he's already chalked up his fifty-first kill of the                
morning, and that's without the neutron gun he got for his fifth                
birthday. Upstairs PheroMonia and her chums are having a slumber                
party - slumbering this time with a party of virtual bikers through             
their total immersion suits (typical bloody teenagers!).                        
                                                                                
But I'm going to have to go. Microsoft Laboratory (TM) has just                 
synthesized this morning's batch of n-amityl-butyl-diethyl-aminizide            
- and it's going to be a crazy afternoon!                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
alpha dog