So, one of the things I...

OMG. 

I absolutely loved the song in the movie (if you remember, I actually hummed it along with it right there in the cinema!). 

I clicked on this cover to enjoy it once again... but it lacks something. I don't even know what. I'm not saying that it's a piece of crap, but still - I think he actually ruined the whole thing. The whole song now seems like a boring gospel or something. You know... those creepy songs you have to sing in church. Or is that just me? 

I can almost see a bunch of men dressed in dark capes and singing this as they sacrifice a slave. 

So... because I was curious what Jun Sung Anh added to this mix, I listened to this version too. 

Is it just me, or the added violin makes it a lot better? Yeah. This is subscription value. 

Still, the original remains the absolute favorite. 

Damn, this makes me want to finish really fast everything else that I'm reading currently, just so I can finally start on reading Tolkien's work. 

But this is NOT something I wanted to talk about today, because I had something else planned. Namely, towards where our technology will be going this year.

You see, last year we had quite a few interesting projects started already. You know, projects that will bring a bunch of cool things to our daily lives (you asked me what else could people come up with... well, here they are).

1. Medicine stuff!
You know already that we live a lot more than we did in the past - thanks to the healthcare. But what else could we get in the future from it? Well, first of all, we have that cool thing that's called biomechanics.

Only last year we already had a "cyborg" compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics. Oscar Pistorius, who's nicknamed "Blade Runner" is a double-amputee. Although he failed to gain a medal, it's still cool to see where we are right now. Although this kind of stuff is still too new to be accepted by everyone - Oscar had a bunch of haters declaring that his "fake-legs" gave him an unfair advantage, and then there was that incident when a Canadian university professor was assaulted in France because he was wearing mechanical eyeglasses (that were permanently attached to his skull). I'm guessing that this will only be resolved with time, or possibly with...

Another thing that happened not too long ago was that scientists actually managed to enhance the intelligence of Primates with a chip. This might be the start of the Planet of the Apes, but it could also bring us the ability to actually make some genius people in the future. Oh dear god, and how we need them.

So what else can we hope for after this? Well, what about coma patients? Because, ladies an gentlemen not too long ago some neuroscientists found a way to communicate with people in a coma. Sure, it's not like you would have a dialogue with your best friend - but this breakthrough will mean that sometime in the future we will actually be able to discuss things with them. And maybe they will teach us something.

All right, now we talked about amputees, coma patients and enhancing your intelligence. But there are still a bunch of other things that need to be addressed. Like, what happens to paralyzed people? Well,  scientists also made a breakthrough with this. There's already a machine that can be controlled only with the use of your mind. Which means, that a paralyzed person could actually use a mechanical hand - and other robotics - to help him or herself. Check it out:

And if not this is still not enough, here's some good news for blind people! 

There's a new kind of "treatment" in which a blind person undergoes a surgery, where doctors implant an artificial retina in them. Also, after a similar research some people managed to successfully stream Braille patters into a blind person's retina, and they can read letters and words visually with 90% accuracy. Which is sometimes even better than some people out there, isn't it? 

2. Transportation stuff! 

Let's start with the biggest, most unbelievable of all. NASA announced last year that they began working on a faster-than-light warp drive. Of course, this doesn't mean that we will be traveling all over the universe too soon, but still, the possibility is here. You can find more info about it here. 

And so we still won't live space, you must also know that in October Dragon, a commercial capsule was successfully delivered to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Which means that commercial space flight is not too far ahead of us. 

All right, that's about it where it comes to transportation and space - for now, at least -, so let's go back to Earth. I have some good news to everybody out there who gives a fuck about nature. Last year the best car was proclaimed to be Tesla's luxury Sedan, model S. For those who have no idea what this is (not that I HAD any idea before this), model S is an electric car. A vehicle that doesn't run on gas or doesn't have an interior combustion engine. And in case you were wondering what it looks like, here's a pic: 

Not too shabby, is it? 

And for those who have their doubts about driving, here's something you will love. Self-driving cars are becoming legal in more and more places. Last year three states of America made them legal: California, Nevada and Florida. They are still considering it in Hawaii and Oklahoma at this present date, and who knows where else... A few more years, tho, and shy people will be able to have their own "drivers". 

But if you are not comfortable with driving on the road, you could also soon get your own flying car. I believe I wrote about these in the past already, so I will not waste valuable digital space on it again - but you should know that someone, somewhere out there more than likely owns one already. 

Oh, by the way. I almost forgot that making a car generally comes with a bunch of not too environment friendly technologies.   Well, Honda and some other manufacturers are right now trying to build cars using biofabrics. These are actually tougher than steel, but flexible to absorb and distribute energy during a crash. 

And in case you are still afraid that you will crash, Augmented Reality will come in handy too. Researchers are studying it, and they are almost ready to develop cars with Augmented Reality built inside them - using the windshield as the screen. This means, that you won't need to look away from the road in case you want to tend to your GPS or just check your speed - everything will be right there on before your eyes. Also, this will help drivers when, for example, it's foggy outside and they can't see the road too well. Augmented reality will be able to "draw in" whatever is missing out there - so you would probably be a really big idiot if you actually crash. 

I'm guessing little private auto painting and customizing will become even rarer, because I read somewhere that soon enough manufacturers will provide an online program trough which you will be able to customize your own car - and then in the same day you'll be able to pick it up. This practically means, that most cars will be unique (I'm also pretty sure, that this will allow the police to locate you even easier than before). 

So back to other places you could drive... after the air, we must also conquer the sea. Of course, there were already many amphibious cars out there, but apparently we are taking it to another level. Rinspeed Squba will be able to also dive into the sea, not just float on it like a boat. Of course you'll have to remember to pull up the windows - or take some scuba-diving stuff with you first.  

3. Entertainment, and communication stuff! 

I pulled these two together, because- let's face it- nowadays a mobile phone falls under both categories. 

We all know already the marvels a smart phone can do - but what's the next thing? Well, first off, in the next few years (or will it be months?), smart phones that interact with your home will become an almost every-day thing. You will be able to communicate with your washer or dryer or fridge - whatever you want. If you are on your way home, you'll just have to access your phone, type in some numbers and your oven will wait you with a freshly cooked meal. 

And since there are already a whole bunch of other robots out there, you'll be able to tell them when to actually put your clothes in the washing machine, or when to place your meal inside the oven. You'll be able to remind them to feed your fish, or dog or god forbid, cat. Only with the use of your smart phone, you'll be able to check what you have in your refrigerator, so you'll be able to buy whatever you need as you are on your way home - or if you are not into actually visiting a grocery store, you'll also be able to order everything that's missing. (Not that this is new) 

And if you are all done with your job, your house is clean and your belly is full - you can sit down in front of your new technology entertainment system, which will not only work as  a virtual reality for you - it will combine augmented reality, virtual reality and mediated reality. This means that you will actually be able to interact with your TV shows and movies - or, why not, video games.  

Check this video out: 

All right, so this is not quite here yet - but it's all around the corner, because most of the technology is already here, it's only a matter of time so all of these apps and programs could be put together in, let's say, your glasses. It's pretty cool to see this technology (and it will be funny to see so many people seemingly talking to themselves everywhere - but hey, we're getting used to that already), isn't it? 

And for those guys out there who are complaining about the lack of human interaction - well, that's really all up to us, isn't it? Sure there will be lazy slobs out there - that's not the question. But if you use these apps intelligently, they are only meant to make your life a lot easier - and a lot more fun. 

And just think about it, these things are - as I said - right around the corner. In a few years- five, ten at tops- we will more than likely all see these things as common. Which brings us to the question... what will be next?