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No flying car by 2010: official

Deloitte crushes dream of millions

Deloitte this morning unleashed on an unuspecting world a report entitled "Eye to the future" which outlines how technology will affect our everyday lives by 2010 and, well, blow me down, it appears that there will be more technology affecting our daily lives in ways which it does not currently affect our daily lives.

The inexorable march of technology may, we suspect, be behind the burgeoning use of technology in our daily lives. Here, according to Deloitte, is how your daily life will be suitably affected by 2010:

How we work in 2010

The growing ubiquity of technology will have a number of impacts on our everyday lives. Work place boundaries will blur, both socially and geographically. Offshoring, remote working and virtual teams will become more widespread. As the consequence of this, the division between work and private time will probably become yet more opaque as the ability to connect and communication becomes increasingly universal.

How we communicate in 2010

The number of tools used for communication will continue to proliferate, although consumers will probably settle on a preferred set of communication tools which serves their particular needs best. Email will continue to grow in popularity and usage, but voice (and in particular mobile voice) will still dominate revenue-generating applications. By the end of the decade half of the world's population will have access to telecommunications services.

How we are educated in 2010

By 2010, education will have undertaken a rapid – and sometimes controversial – adoption of technology innovations. Digital whiteboards, extranets for parents and typed coursework will have become commonplace. But alongside this, cheating will have become easier than it ever has been.

How we are entertained in 2010

Despite the growing range of alternative distractions, television will continue to dominate our entertainment, locking-in our attention by offering high definition content delivered to ever larger, flat-panel screens. On-demand television and video will likely grow in popularity, and will be selected and delivered using a variety of technologies and transports. Although on-demand programming and interactive television will grow, the scheduler's job will remain. The effort involved in choosing what to watch may well be too much for people, who will default to whatever happens to be on.

How we travel in 2010

Another key development in the use of technology will be safety, particularly within the context of transport. Robotic systems will increasingly support drivers, alerting them to hazards and even taking over steering and braking when circumstances require. Head up displays (HUDs) will present critical information on the windshield – allowing the drivers to keep their eyes on the road. Haptic systems will use drivers' sense of touch to issue warnings, and even wake up drowsy drivers. Drivers will increasingly use speech recognition to control satellite navigation systems and text to speech to listen to email messages.

Yup, let's file this one under "department of the bleedin' obvious". In summary, then: "A typical day in 2010 is unlikely to feel much different to today. We will probably not be teleporting breakfast or using quantum computers, nor will we be watching holographic TV or traveling to work in flying cars."

Hold on a minute. What's the point of all this technology if it is not driving towards that ultimate aim of all human endeavour - the flying car? God alone knows who does all this futurologising down at Deloitte, but here's something for them to chew over: I want my flying car and I want it now. Not by 2010. Where's my bloody flying car? ®

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