The digital home appears to be many steps closer. 3 announcements in the last few days lead me to this:
(a) Microsoft has just recently released the Home Server to its OEM partners. (see more here)
(b) Clearwire & Sprint announced that they to jointly build out WiMax networks in the US
(c) Facebook acquired Parakey See this

So imagine Facebook applications increasing social networking, particularly sharing digital content, and MS Home Server reducing the load of managing family produced digital content and WiMax networks making it easier and cheaper for untethered networking for the masses. OK, fine it will be a dream if it all comes together -- but there are some opportunities here given the rapid growth of multi-PC households and enormous rise in the production of digital content

Will service providers like telcos, media or even insurance companies capitalise on these developments to reduce churn (by reducing the consumer-employee-citizen schizophrenia that many customers experience)? I hope mine would

Photosynth from Microsoft Research (see here) takes Hypertexting, Semantics, Graphics and Social Networks to an amazing entertaining level ... with great potential for societies and businesses. See this video and judge for yourself.

Am not sure George Orwell would have approved (not that any one would have asked for approval) but this technology does bring a whole new meaning to "triangulation" -- distance learning, virtual tourism and telemedicine are some areas that can benefit from such technologies and affect the way societies work and live.

I sense a Facebook application (built on their application platform) is just round the corner :-)