The single most memorable thing that stood out this week was a particular piece of information set forth: J D R Licklider's in 'The computer as a communication device" in 1968.
To think of a modern computer simply as a 'communication device' would not begin to allow it due credit.
Moving along, to quote: "In a few years men will be able to communicate through a machine than face to face". I'm certain many at the time thought of Isaac Asimov and facetiously giggled. In many ways he was spot on. We can now communicate in a such rich way, and it's an amazing thing.
Speaking as a highly visual learner, I would think that a scenario that shows how immensely far we've come would be two people on the phone, one trying to explain a design to another person. The ability to send a copy over email now or link to a website link lets these people something they are both looking at, at the same time. This might have been created 5 minutes prior to the phone call, and they would be able to even simultaneously edit and improve it on the fly.
The aspect where I think there is still a way to go is communicating feelings over the internet. One obvious sure fire way to do so is to record it in video, however that's not normally what happens. For most, putting feelings into words (and to a further extent, emoticons) is frought with the risk of misinterpretation by the receiving party. A sentence ending in a ;) Wink could be a cheeky, facetious, mean, playful or spiteful. Even the "Well we all know what that's about" that precedes it can be open to interpretation. The only element that is not accounted for is the tone of voice behind the words, that will inevitably uncover the remaining elements of the communicator's intended message. Making communication more 'human' will be huge step forward, showing things like moods, faces and colours will help things along in the meantime!
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