A lot has changed since then. But sometimes I wonder if the computing industry — all of it, from software to hardware to web services — really has the right priorities in mind. So here’s my list of the things that I hope to hell are working flawlessly by 2018. The frustrating thing is that every single one of these things can be done with today’s technology (except possibly for #7).

1. Automatic file syncing. It’s astounding how badly computers do this. Every operating system on every computer sucks at syncing files; it’s only a matter of degree. I should be able to turn on any device I own and access any file I own, and it should all happen transparently. I don’t want to have to think about where I put a particular file, or whether I can access it from my iPhone. My calendar events should automatically sync between my Blackberry, my desktop, my Google Calendar, and my websites. Perhaps the key is to have everything save to “the cloud” and sync locally for offline access; I don’t know. I just want it to work.
2. Automatic configuration syncing. The younger, hotter sister of automatic file syncing. Now that we’re all starting to use web applications for everything instead of sending files around, these web applications all need to be able to talk to each other. My bookmarks should follow me from machine to machine, and from browser to browser. Every time I configure my Firefox or my Windows Media Player just the way I like it, I shouldn’t have to go through the same painstaking customization process on every machine I touch.
3. Automatic backups. Macs now do this as a matter of course with Time Machine software. But Windows doesn’t. Well, let me qualify that — Windows will back up important system files as a matter of course, and create confusing “shadow copies” of documents in the background that you can roll back to. But it’s confusing as hell and inefficient to boot. What’s more, I want my computer to back up to an online storage facility, not some clunky piece of crap that’s hogging space on my desk.
4. Automatic upgrades. I’m not just talking about the operating system software here — I’m talking about every piece of software and hardware should automatically check for upgrades on a regular basis from a single, unified interface. And then give me the option to install or not install. Linux does this, and Microsoft has made efforts towards this with their Windows Update facility. But right now I have separate programs on my desktop working in the background to check for updates from Java, Logitech, Apple, Adobe, ESET, Mozilla, and Dell. And that doesn’t include all of the programs that check for updates when you fire them up.
5. Integrated security. This whole system of remembering a million different passwords in a million different places is unworkable. Not only that, but it’s not secure, because everyone on Earth except for Bruce Schneier either a) has their passwords written down on a Post-It note, b) uses ridiculously insecure passwords like their dog’s name, or c) has a handful of relatively secure passwords that they use over and over again, because we can only remember so many garbled strings of letters and numbers. I’m not a security expert, but it seems to me that biometric security would be a step up from where we are today.
6. Centralized identity management. Why do I have to constantly retype the same address information, the same email address, the same websites? Why is it that when I update my official bio to reflect a new book release, I have to log in to 4000 different websites and manually change my bios one by one? I understand the need to respect privacy — but if I want to share my information with a particular website, application, or company, shouldn’t I be able to do that with a click or two? We need trusted, universal services that can verify your identity wherever you are online.
7. Useful battery life. I am sick to death of power cords. If I never saw another power cord in my life, it would be too soon. But I could deal with power cords if they only led to docking stations that charged up my appliances enough to make them usable for an entire day. But right now, my laptop barely survives three or four hours untethered; my Blackberry struggles to get through the day with the WiFi switched on all the time. Fer the love o’ Christ, people, I need at least a day’s worth of juice for every machine I own. Please.
8. Everything wireless. I’ve got connecting cables for my BlackBerry and my iPod. The printer’s wired to the desktop, as are the quad speakers and the subwoofer. The keyboard and mouse aren’t wired anymore — but the wireless transmitter for the keyboard and mouse is wired. I want, at most, one power cable snaking from the back of my computer to the wall. Apple is leading the way on this one, as usual. But with Bluetooth moving onto more and more devices, we’re getting close to achieving this one on all platforms.
9. True, modular upgrades. For years, I’ve had the dream of having a single system that could be upgraded in a modular fashion. I’ll snap in the newest processor every couple of years. I’ll beef up my sound card on alternate years. I’ll upgrade the video card as circumstances warrant. But it seems that no matter how hard I try, I have to scrap everything and start from scratch after a few seasons. Is it really that difficult to future-proof hardware so I can upgrade my systems one piece at a time?
10. True plug and play. Let’s say it together: every piece of equipment I buy should be able to interface with every other piece of equipment I own. I should never be in the position of having to struggle to get photographs from the camera to the printer, or having to figure out whether the DVDs I burned on one computer can be read on another — much less have trouble networking my Linux, Mac, and Windows boxes together.

Agree? Disagree? And what have I missed?

My existing Toshiba Satellite 2435-S255 has served me well since 2003, but now it’s showing its age. I banged the left corner at some point, making it difficult to open and close the display. About 33% of the time, the laptop doesn’t wake up from hibernation properly, and I have to shut the whole thing down and reboot (losing whatever I hadn’t previously saved). No matter how careful I’ve been, the keyboard is carpeted with crumbs from a million Starbucks muffins and the screen is a little splotchy. The battery life is down to about 45 minutes — which is generally fine, because I almost always use a power outlet.

So now here’s the big question: should I buy a Windows laptop, a Mac laptop, or a Linux laptop? And what brand?

Here are the primary things I’m looking for:

• A nice big, clear screen
• Just enough horsepower to run office applications, but not totally choke when I try to crank up Photoshop
• Light weight
• Good battery life
• If I choose a Windows laptop, it’s got to be Windows Vista and Office 2007 ready, in case I decide to upgrade
• Cooooool look and feel

As you can see, this doesn’t have to be a real powerhouse of a machine. It’s mainly going to be used for word processing, Net surfing, and the occasional light web programming/Photoshopping. I won’t be playing Quake 4 on it, and I won’t be storing my music collection on it — that’s what the desktop’s for. I do keep multimedia reference materials on my laptop (e.g. Encarta), but nothing that’s gonna really smoke up the microprocessor.

I’m leaning towards sticking with Windows, for all of the standard reasons. It’s familiar and I already own all the software I need to run. You can find Windows laptops all over the price spectrum too, from bargain basement to luxury. And despite what everyone says, Windows XP is quite a stable and secure operating system if you know what you’re doing. (Turn that Remote Registry off, people.)

But I’m certainly open to switching to Mac. I’ve admired many a MacBook Pro from afar, and they definitely meet the coooooolness test. Macs are also reputed to have that “it just works” quality that Windows sometimes has, given the right hardware and phase of the moon.

Yet there are always the standard caveats to switching to Mac: it’s much more expensive, I’ll need to rebuy all of my software, and I simply don’t know all the cool OS tricks like I do with Windows. How do you boot one of those suckers in Safe Mode? Is there such a thing? What’s the keyboard combination to call up the Task Manager (or Mac equivalent) to kill frozen programs? Is my Firefox Google Browser Sync gonna work?

As for Linux, I’ve heard plenty that Ubuntu is a professional-class operating system that rivals Windows or Mac in usability and stability, while eating their lunch in price point and configurability. But the learning curve for switching to Linux is much steeper than switching to Mac, and nobody’s ever convinced me that it’s worth the effort. I’m willing to be convinced otherwise, but I’m skeptical.

Here’s the bottom line, folks: I want to write Geosynchron and thus finish the Jump 225 trilogy as quickly and comfortably as possible, with as few oh-shit-I’ve-lost-two-hours-of-work moments as possible. What’s my best option?