The arrival of the Year 2000 has put amateur and professional forecasters alike into overdrive. Many of their predictions are online. The homepage of the 30,000-member World Future Society (www.wfs.org) has its top 10 forecasts for the year 2000 and beyond. Among them:
The world's centenarians will increase from 135,000 today to 2.2 million by 2050.
By 2010, watch-like bio monitoring devices will provide up-to-the-minute information about wearers' health.
Microchips implanted in people will communicate with computers controlling intelligent buildings.
University of Cincinnati staff have put their great expectations on the college site (www.uc.edu/info-services/tips.htm). Their predictions include:
Terrorists will use high-tech methods. There will be fewer incidents but more casualties because of increased potency in explosive, biological and chemical weapons.
Home products like video recorders, televisions and coffee makers will be voice-activated in a variety of languages.
Films and music will be available online and the downloaded versions will allow consumers to place themselves within a favourite movie or sing along with a favourite group.
One report by the Rand think tank In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age predicts that "network-based conflict and crime will become major phenomena in the decades ahead". The "netwar" report is at www.rand.org/publications/featured.html and other forecasts are at www.rand.org/HOT/index.html.
On CNN.com The Next millennium: Now what? has 14 experts prognosticating about topics as varied as language, sports, space and religion. (www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/future).
National Geographic magazine is starting a major examination of the next millennium, which includes a special section on its website (www.nationalgeographic.com/2000/intro).
Time magazine is also getting started on a five-part special series, Visions of the 21st Century. (wwww.pathfinder.com/time/reports/v21) More sections, including science and technology, are due during the year.