Jan-Feb 2001 Forecasts

A magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future.
January-February 2001, Vol. 35, No. 1

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Online Indexes:
Author Index A-L
Author Index M-Z
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Top 10 Forecasts From Outlook 2001 Report

Current Forecasts

Special to Web visitors, here are a few of the editors' favorite forecasts from the January-February issue of The Futurist:

Hardware will soften up: Instead of pounding on hard, plastic keyboards to do your computing, you'll soon be able to gently caress soft electronic fabrics. Among potential applications for smart textiles: tablecloths with piano keyboards and furniture slipcovers with TV remote controls. --Tomorrow in Brief, page 2 of the print edition.

Heavy investment in information technology will drive Asia to the forefront of the New Economy. Among the factors favoring Asian economic leadership are traditionally high levels of government support and an obsessively hard-working labor force. --Economics, page 11.
Bad news for the Energizer Bunny: In the future, batteries will be dead, fuel cells will rule. Size and, hence, portability have been limiting factors in the use of fuel cells. Now, fuel cells the size of soda cans may soon make long-lasting power practical for products ranging from toys to communications and transportation devices. --Technology, page 15.
E-books may spell the end of the publishing industry as we know it. Like digital music, digital text can easily be downloaded and shared among friends, making copyright--the intellectual property that publishers leverage into profits--harder to protect. -- Jason Ohler, technology assessment professor at University of Alaska Southeast, page 19.
Drugs will eventually be decriminalized. As a result, money saved by criminal justice systems may be diverted to antidrug-education programs and treatment, offering a more-humane and effective solution to the world's drug problems. --forecaster Marvin Cetron and science writer Owen Davies, page 36.
The era of cheap oil is NOT over. Not only is the world not running out of oil, but prices are likely to fall again and remain around $20 per barrel for the next decade. Reasons: The current high prices make intensive exploration and development of new oil sources more attractive, thus ultimately increasing supply and lowering prices. --Cetron and Davies, page 40.

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