You know more and more the way technology is moving we are getting closer to having a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For those that have no clue what I am talking about Douglas Adams' has written a series of books based around "the guide" as it is sometimes referred to. The guide essentially was like having the sum of all human/alien knowledge in the palm of your hand, it updating as new information came in, marketed for those traveling the galaxy I guess I sort of realized the possible reality of the guide after reading CNN's Business 2.0 on the 50 Fifty People Who Matter. One of Google's founders Sergey Brin's long term strategies being, "organizing all that information into a database that will act as a kind of global brain for all human knowledge". Then I read this statement about Flickr an it's co-founders: " means finding new ways to emphasize human-powered keyword tagging and filtering, on everything from your own search results to travel itineraries and restaurant reviews. Incorporating the subjective nuances of human judgment into its search results". Given Flickr's photograph/social site combined with the technlogical info/gathering power that is Google, it would seem natural to assume that in a couple of years such a thing as depicted in Douglas Adam's books will become a reality. A wireless electronic pad/book that when asked can display bus schedules/air flight times/resturants available in the nearby area/directions/culture & customs of the area/helpful tips/etc, etc. As it is now, the framework for such a massive guide has already been laid. The key to all of this is the technology in itself and the reliability of the information ( which even in Adam's books the reliability of the information in the guide was said to be iffy at times). Given recent technological advances (wireless computing, portable battery power lengthening, etc) it makes me wonder how much longer before something like "the guide" is marketed and sold to the general public. Something to think about.