web 3.0 - taking the web away from the desk

And maybe this is beyond Web 3.0, but I've heard people say the evolution of the internet is that it, er, disappears -- it melts into everyday stuff. It becomes less a specific and different thing or place and just a property of the world. This seems pretty plausible to me. You don't think about the electrical grid; you just plug things in. Ditto for networking of people & devices, and sooner than we think.

Eventually, we won't have desktop computers. (besides ones used for data entry) More and more appliances are "connected" like refrigerators that know when the milk is going to go bad or when you need more bread.

Do RF transponders and Star Trek-like communicators come with a world like that? Actually, if you think about it, bluetooth headsets look a little like communicators. And doesn't that cell phone you got have a GPS locater on it (you know, for 911 calls. wink wink). And so when you get a bluetooth headset for your iPhone, you're basically living in the future described by Robin. Regina's sounds more advertising based. Just like that annoying thing they've been talking about for the last 10 years when, as you're walking past the Starbucks, you get a text coupon for 50 cents off your next latte. Coupon expires in 20 minutes.

And I know the government has been trying to get internet connections through powerlines. (instead of dial-up or cable lines) Then, any product that you plug into an AC outlet has the potential of retrieving info from the web. Or maybe the governenment will use it to have a Big Brother presense in all of our homes. BWAHAHAHA!

Why can't I click into the image Regina posted to see it full size?

Should newest responses be on top?

I can't wait to blend GPS tracking and location based social services with a pair of augmented reality glasses so I can see virtual signs pointing to actual places in the real world. Star ratings floating in space over the doors of restaurants, specialized virtual coupons on the sidewalk placed in front of businesses that carry what I'm looking for, the mind boggles at the possibilities...

It'd be cool if we could fix that whole poverty/AIDS/war/ect. thing first...