Maturing technologies are enabling an enhanced vision of reality, where information follows the eye.
Forget virtual reality - augmented reality is more likely to change how humans and computers interact. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not create a simulated reality on a computer screen. Instead, it overlays images on spaces or adds information to images.
A report on cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent by 2015 has been branded "a network solution looking for a problem". The report, Towards a High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future: Telecommunications-based Opportunities to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, by analyst Climate Risk in conjunction with Telstra, claimed households would save $6.6 billion a year if its recommendations were adopted, and would contribute greatly to meeting Australia's obligations under the Kyoto protocol.
Initiatives range from increased use of renewable energy such as solar panels to high-definition video-conferencing and decentralised business districts. More radical ideas include the use of mobile phone networks to facilitate a personalised transport system where mini-vans and buses avoid fixed routes.
Over the past few years, the humble flash memory - most commonly found in USB memory sticks, digital cameras and mobile phones - has been slowly killing off other forms of data storage. Just as flash memory has been replacing floppy, Zip and compact discs, it is now set to take on the largest storage component in any computer - the hard disk drive.
By combining flash chips on a dedicated circuit board, some laptop manufacturers are now experimenting with solid state drives (SSDs) in their premium models.
Software as a service is the delivery of computer programs over the internet. It removes the need to install software on your own computer as all the functionality is accessed through a web browser. The processing and computation occurs at the service providers' data centre, often called "the cloud".
Everyday, millions of people use software as a service through web-based email offerings such as Hotmail. Businesses have also caught the bug with a recent ACA research survey showing that nearly a quarter of Australian businesses already use some form of software as a service.