In the old days, I would have put together a system like this:

You know, a touchscreen computer monitor with a plugin interface for a smartphone which acts as the portable PC with local, physical, wireless keyboard and other HID as needed for desktop use.

But then, gesture control got in the way.

I’m not one to talk with my hands and arms.

I’ve been typing on keyboards for about as long as I’ve written short stories.

I am not like the kids of today who barely know what a computer mouse is, let alone a physical keyboard.

Watching kids in the classroom manipulate their way through their coursework with a tablet PC makes we worry for no particular reason.

How many of them are more comfortable working with a game controller, including accelerometer/gyroscope/etc. than with a keyboard/mouse combination?

And what about the next set of students more comfortable with natural gesture control, where their indoor environments are wired to respond to them like living beings and augmented reality makes their outdoor environments feel more connected, their senses more stimulated by information [over]load?

What about this worries me?

The digital divide.

Environmental impact.

Collapsing world economy.

What is the sustainable version of these images?

We are not crying “Wolf” here, simply recognising the support structure needed to maintain and enhance these technological achievements for decades more without interruption by global war.

Back to the Committee meeting where we need full cooperation by those willing to reach consensus on a few important issues not yet discussed in this public forum…

Where drone-sized minimissile defense systems line national borders using UWB/mesh network technology to intercept and destroy rogue UAVs, killing a few kites (yes, birds) as collateral in the process.  See the latest cartoon films starring Iron Man for a moving example.  Detente is a terrible deterrent to waste, like al dente is a terrible burden on the waist.