It is pretty hard to imagine what will the world will be like in the next 5 years. The technology is already improving so rapidly such that we do not know what these new technology is capable of. Just like the Internet, it has evolved and integrated so rapidly that we practically cannot live without it.
I shall discuss some predicted future trends of the Internet today.
Micro-payments will b more prevalent in the near future. Currently, micro-payments can be seen used within MMORPGS (massively mulit-player online role playing games). These systems use credits that are usually a fraction of a dollar to buy and exchange stuff within the game. Interestingly, there are numerous people that earn a living through these systems. Pay Pal is already offering support for micro-payments at a rate of 5% plus $0.05 per transaction. Amazon is also experimenting with micro-payments through its Flexible Payments Service (FPS). Dedicated micro-payment systems are also starting to crop up. Micro-payments in the future may be linked to hand phones where we can pay through it. I believe that this will open up a whole new area of economic interest and opportunities especially in areas where hand phones usage are more prevalent and you can do payments on the go much easily.
Moreover, i think that more and more print media will do an online integration sooner and later. Reason being to tap onto the online audiences and also to save trees. Many magazine come and go with little or no notice. Together with handheld devices have HD capabilities, the quality of magazines online will not be affected. moreover, the portability of our handheld devices have a better edge over printed media. I believe that magazine do go online, they have much more content. They will be able to link content to wikis, blogs, other sources and will be able to add audio files, videos on top of it. These will make magazine more interactive than before. Editors are also able to play with the format of these magazine, be it page flipping, blog-like, etc. Whatever format it is, the cost of printed media will go up but the web remain relatively cheaper and more creative.
Agumented reality will also play a big part of our lives in the near future. With research and testing on going as we speak, it is sooner or later before this technology will be used widely. Take for example in handheld devices, with the camera attached to it, we will be able to identfy places using agumented reality. You may also be able to identify people will pointing your phone at someone and read about his/her details. While many people still see augmented reality as the stuff of science fiction, the truth is that some apps are already available. Layar, a free augmented reality app, is available for both the iPhone and Android-based phones. It uses layers provided by a range of content providers such as Flickr, Wikipedia and Twitter to display an overlay of information on your mobile screen. Other apps will also likely follow.
These are some of the interesting developments that I would like to see it in future. Surely one day we will all be able to experience it!
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