Technology (Stream)
From AdamWiki
State of Technology
Cheap computing and efficient batteries gives everyone a portable computer of some sort. But, all that is unnecessary for many people, who have computers built into their heads.
Pervasive wireless makes everyone's computer devices always on the net.
Quantum nanites allow super fast computers and near-instant communication despite the distance between them. Network traffic between Hong Kong and New York is no longer limited by the speed of light.
Brain pattern digitization allows the holographic "pattern" of a brain to be sampled, recorded, and stored, and permits digital devices to send signals directly to the brain, allowing for "perfect virtual reality." Generally requires to be plugged into a "cord" that injects nanites into your nervous system.
Perfect virtual reality lets people step into other worlds at least as rich as the "real" one. Whatever that is.
Memory sampling creates digital overlays that can be played into a virtual world to give a person or object specific knowledge or skill. Entire worlds are built up quickly using thousands and millions of overlays. VR visitors "skill up" with new overlays.
Molecular memory, or "dry" memory, is a random-access device for storing enormous quantities (many exabytes, or many millions of gigabytes) of data. Relatively slow compared to quantum wet memory. Very stable.
Quantum memory, or "wet" memory, is an associative-access memory storage and retrieval device for quickly accessing memory. It uses real brain tissue to store relatively small amounts of memory (compared to molecular) but can find and associate data very quickly. Unstable and prone to unintentional change and "accidents."
Hybrid memory is a combination of quantum memory for indexing and molecular memory for hard storage. Find stuff fast and load it from dry memory. A large computer built this way is often called a brainframe.
Electromagnetic (EM) signatures are patterns given off by human nervous systems that are very difficult to forge. Machines can sense them passively from a distance and quickly compare the signature to a database for instant authentication.
Quantum teleporters can digitize a person's body and mind and send them safely to another device, where they're re-created. The process of reading the original subject necessarily destroys the original. There is no way (yet) to "copy" a living object teleported in this way, as the existing processes tend to scramble the copy's brain. Nonetheless, objects can be copied in this way. Because quantum copying is much more expensive than manufacturing, it is not used for widescale production.
