Virtual Society: 2007

3G was well established by 2007. Almost everyone was using it. Devices came and went. New incremental changes to the technology further boosted the speed of 3G connections. WiMax was beginning to come on the scene offering even higher speeds. However, the cost was still substantially higher and the coverage limited to a handful of large, tech-savvy cities.

As Moore's law continued to work, devices got even smaller. Web connected wristwatches were all the rage in Japan. Nanotechnology was beginning to appear on the scene. While still a bit clunky, these devices were proving popular.

Biometric systems were being used by some companies for personal identification. Fingerprint scans were often required when doing particularly large and suspicious financial transactions. Some companies were requiring them to access company facilities. Israel's El Al Airlines had pioneered the idea of using these systems to identify passangers. Some other airlines were looking into the system.

Another new idea which came about in 2007 was the "virtual office". East Asian economies were booming, while the US Dollar had plunged in value to new record lows. To capitalize on the growth in East Asia, US firms found it easier to allow for people to telecommute accross national borders than to invest in expensive new physical assets in Asia. Seeing some of the advantages of this new model, companies from a number of other countries had followed suit. However, in parts of Europe, the concept was still greeted with suspicion.

While broadcasters and entertainment companies were still fighting P2P sharing of television programmes and movies, some were beginning to come to terms with the new realities. A number of television programmes were available for download over the internet from the broadcasters, some for free and some for a fee. Movie downloads were also available from studios. However, the issues of copyright and property rights were still very much in flux despite these moves.

The sun rises over Shanghai