The Year 2000. The Millenium. With these phrases come the thoughts of the future and futuristic living. Although the lifestyle of the Jetson's, with moon shot apartment complexes and flying cars, is more science fiction and entertainment than science fact, how many of their fantasy inventions might someday be a fact?

With the new century less than 3 months away, the year 2000 quickly brings to mind the inventions we once thought of as children watching movies about the future. Flying cars, colonies on the moon, and meals in a pill once floating through our minds. Although it may seem that many of these things are still decades away, and maybe for the better, we should look at how far things have already come, especially in the way that we talk and communicate with each other.

How many times have we heard about "the good old days" when things were "so much simpler?" When the only communication possible was telegrams, telephone calls, and writing letters. All of those mentioned ways of communication hasn't become totally obsolete yet, but with all the current technologies, such as the Internet, email, and video-conferencing, it would make most people back in the "good old days" s

But as we head into the new millenium, there is so much emphasis being placed on computer technology as a whole. Our society embraces things and ideas and technologies that are more convenient, more efficient, and faster than conventional, ordinary ideas. Computers have become the tools that are used more than any other on a day to day basis. It is very difficult to imagine trying to function at home and at work without a computer and a fax machine. It is even more impossible to fathom a world where e-mail doesn't exist. Computers as a means of communication are single-handedly changing the faces of communications, as we know it.

tare wide-eyed and shake their heads in disbelief. How would one even begin to explain modems and servers and chat rooms to someone who had just bought a touch-tone phone? Yet, it was back in those "good old days" when things that we today consider necessities would have then been considered impossible.

So, what about communication technologies of tomorrow? Will they have us shaking our head and staring wide-eyed as our parents and grandparents did so many years ago at the mere hint of an idea of communication beyond the telephone? Can we even begin to comprehend the way communication will change the world; the way it is changing the world as we speak? Or will we just accept it a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Paul Taylor, Communication Millenium, flying cars, communication millenium, parents grandparents, ten ago, beyond telephone, image communications, world speak,
Approximate Word count = 887
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)