from chapter 1, "A Revolution Begins"

"There will be a day, not far distant, when you will be able to conduct business, study, explore the world and its cultures, call up any great entertainment, make friends, attend neighborhood markets, and show pictures to distant relatives - without leaving your desk or armchair. You won't leave your network connection behind at the office or in the classrooom. it will be more than an object you carry or an appliance you purchase. It will be your passport into a new, mediated way of life. Firsthand experiences and pleasures are personal and unmediated. No one, in the name of progress, will take away from you the experience of lying on a beach, walking in the woods, sitting in a comedy club, or shopping at a flea market. But firsthand experiences arent' always rewarding. For example, waiting in line is a firsthand experience, but we have been trying to invent ways to avoid it ever since we first queued up." ~ Bill Gates, The Road Ahead, 1995 p.5 The implications of this are terrifying...