On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 16:57:31 GMT, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

:On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:36:12 -0400, "Morgans"
:wrote:
:
:Seems to me, the goal of this program and a man carrying craft a greatly
:different. A laser craft as demonstrated here, is designed to circle one
:area, and provide recon. or relay signals. A man carrying craft wants to go
:somewhere, and take it away from the power source.
:
:Years ago, I read a science fiction story where everybody carried their own
ersonal telephone with them wherever they went. I remember thinking,
:"Geeze, that's impossible...they'd have to put up radio stations
:everywhere!" Yet, now, I can put a wallet-sized phone in my pocket and
:ride from Seattle to Los Angeles, taking and receiving calls practically
:all the way.

I had that reaction when I read "When Gravity Fails" by the late
George Alec Effinger about '88. I bought into skull sockets for data
and personality chips, 10 minute sex-change operations and the like.
But when the hero unclipped the telephone from his belt, I put it
down. I didn't pick it up again for a couple of years - and by that
time I had my own cell phone.