What AR might actually look like., Horizon couldn't market it better. Options

[Draco18s]

You can't really generate power effectively from background environmental levels of heat and EM radiation. Light you could do, but that requires a large surface area of PV cells, and still doesn't produce much power. In shadowrun, they explain it away by saying "nanotech" and doing some hand-waving, but that's because shadowrun doesn't have to conform to the laws of thermodynamics. While you are right in that power is a huge issue, what you think is the best way to solve that problem isn't really feasible, thermodynamically.

Nono, they have a whole crew of mages who continually cast Lightning Bolt at a lightning rod to charge the city's giant underground batteries.

[hobgoblin]

You can't really generate power effectively from background environmental levels of heat and EM radiation. Light you could do, but that requires a large surface area of PV cells, and still doesn't produce much power. In shadowrun, they explain it away by saying "nanotech" and doing some hand-waving, but that's because shadowrun doesn't have to conform to the laws of thermodynamics. While you are right in that power is a huge issue, what you think is the best way to solve that problem isn't really feasible, thermodynamically.

would not be to sure:
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications....licationID=7835

http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/07...efficiently.ars

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6129460.stm

but what im gambling on is the sleep state draw of the devices in question, i guess (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

but yes, thermodynamics is one pesky issue in all this...

[Dream79]

That was very pretty and shiny. I like it.

I'm surprised at you M$ haters out there. If you wanted to be properly cynical you'd predict that, with our global economy falling into the crapper as it is, this vision of the future would never come to pass. We'll be bludgeoning each others brains out over a can of beans before too long.

...or most of us will be bludgeoning each others brains out for a can 'o' beans and the fortunate few will be living in a M$ created pseudo-paradise. Though I believe that even if something like that did occur it would likely just be a transitional condition between developing a unhappy acceptable median or societal collapse much like any other time in history.