Time Capsule for January 1, 2010
To be opened by ... Anyone who clicks here on or after that day.
So, why did I made a time capsule for just 10 years?
The Internet is moving so fast these days that 10 years probably have the change effect that one
century, perhaps more, have on people and things in the normal pace of life. So ten years look
actually right.
Did this time capsule really start on January 1, 2000?
No. I actually created it one Monday morning between 10am-11:30am at work, while waiting
around on a usual 'pre-tax-season' day at Person & Company.
So, tell us more about you...
My name is Yigal Rechtman. I am 32 and I work as a computer consultant and a staff accountant
(well, I am just starting to learn how to do that,) at Person & Company, CPAs. I am originally
from a Kibbutz in Israel and I live in the U.S. since December, 1989. My wife, Hara and I have
two children ages 7 and 5. Hara is an ordained Reform Rabbi and she also helped setup some web sites as www.clickonjudaism.com.
What can you say about the Internet today?
Well, people are still getting conected to it. There is a real debate about how most people will
connect to it: will it be dial up (there is a 56K speed limit because of the copper wire and phone
company limitation); there is cable-TV that can provide a connection; there are these new DSL
connections, too that can be more expensive ($60 per month, if you get a good deal for 384Kb
upstream.)
Also, not everyone is sure that e-commerece is the way to go. Of course, most commercials that
ran in the Superbowl last night were a .com commercials, but there are still fears of hackers
breaking the SSL-128bit codes, and there are issues regarding privacy (some companies are
selling customer information.)
What are your predictions for the Net?
The Internet, also known as the Net, will be more and more part of our lives; cellular phones,
pagers, Personal Organizers (PIDs), copy machines, printers -- any and all items that relate to
information will become a Net node. Problems will occur when the Netmask will run out of
space, and a new IP format will have to be designed (perhaps by adding a segment or segments.)
Media will all go via the Net, and advertising and marketing will be global, not regional. Video
phone will be common communication way, as will be Television and Radio broadcasting. In fact,
there will be no such distinction because they will all become one media event, sound & voice
together. Perhaps even smell.
What else is in the time capsule?
Well, the Nasdaq market on Januray 1st, 2000 is hovering at 4000 points (3835 on January 29th,
2000.) The Dow Industrial Average is around 11,500 on January 2000, and closed on January 29th
at 10,838. So where will it be in 2010? The Nasdaq index will probably go around 15,000? I
don't think it'll be more than 20,000 points.
Checking on www.whois.net, 12,204,077 com/net/org domains registered and 950,970 domains
on-hold as of January 31, 2000. Recently a company paid in excess of $800,000 for drugs.com
and a judge ruled that a teenager who tried to sell the domain name morganstanley.com is not
entitled to it at all.
How about Politics? News?
Well, Al Gore and Bill Bradley are the nomination hope-full for the democrats. McKein and Bush Jr. are the Republican runner ups. Bill Clinton just finished an eight years candidacy which was parallel to an expansive economy. His term was marred by allegations by one Ms. Monica Lewinsky who claimed - and obtained acknowledgement to - from Mr. Clinton about sexual relations he had with her at the White House. I wonder where she will be in 2010.
Hillary Clinton is running for Senate in New York State, and just bought a house upstate New
York.
Medicine and Biology
Well, cloning was the latest medicinal technology that came about. A sheep Dolly was cloned by
her mother's eggs. Everyone is talking about computer technology that is based on DNA.
HIV and AIDS are the epidemic of the last decade, but although there are advances in research,
Cancer continues to be a killer along with heart attack.
Smoking related illnesses are also on the rise. Although the tobbaco industry can no longer claim
that it is "not proven" that smoking causes cancer et al. (their own study showed it, although they
tried to hide the results until a whistle blower started talking,) teens are turning to smoking in
hordes.
Every winter we hear about the "Flu vaccine" and how its going to be less and less effective. In
the winter of 1999 it was only 60% effective, and only for those who obtained it well in advance.
Every winter the influenza takes more and more lives, too, as people get pneumonia and other
complications from tougher to fight virus.
Sports
The Rams won the Super Bowel XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans 22-16. Yankees are world
champions for 1999 and looking strong in 2000. However, their stay in New York City is always
at question as owner, George Steinbrenner always squeezes concensues from the Mayor for tax
breaks etc. in exchange for staying in the City and not moving elsewhere.
Other
Cell phone charges are around $29.00 for 200 minutes.
The PDQ800 from Qualcomm is a popular choice in 2000
The only type of company that makes money on the net is porno web sites.
The wealthiest people in the world are:
The population of the world is today, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau: 6,041,553,788.
2000 Copyrights Yigal Rechtman ©