* Chats, with the option of having pictures of the people we are talking to up on our local screen (for example in a window, each time he or she is saying something). Eventually, we may get the pictures in 3-D.
* Database searches in text and pictures, with displays of both.
* Electronic transfers of video/movies over a telephone line (fractal image compression technology may give us another online revolution). Imagine dances filmed by ethnologists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., or an educational film about the laps in northern Norway from an information provider called the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp.
The "Internet Talk Radio" is already delivering programs by anonymous ftp (e.g., through ftp.nau.edu in the directory /talk-radio).
* Online amusement parks with group plays, creative offerings (drawing, painting, building of 3-D electronic sculptures), shopping (with "live" people presenting merchandise and good pictures of the offerings, test drives, etc.), casino (with real prizes), theater with live performance, online "dressing rooms" (submit a 2-D picture of yourself, and play with your looks), online car driving schools (drive a car through Tokyo or New York, or go on safari).
The Sierra Network has been playing around with these ideas for quite some time.
* Your favorite books, old as new, available for on-screen reading or searching in full text. Remember, many libraries have no room to store all the new books that they receive. Also, wear and tear tend to destroy books after some time.
Many books are already available online, including this one.
* Instant access to hundreds of thousands of 'data cottages'. These are computers in private homes of people around the world set up for remote access. With the technical advances in the art of transferring pictures, some of these may grow to become tiny online "television stations."
These wild ideas are already here, but it will take time before they are generally available. New networks need to be in place. New and more powerful communications equipment has to be provided. Farther down the road, we can see the contours of speech-based electronic conferences with automatic translation to and from the participants' languages. Entries will be stored as text in a form that allows for advanced online searching. We may have a choice between the following: