The Economist is out with their latest edition, including their Tech Quarterly, which has some of the best writing/topics about the future of tech I find anywhere. There are some great stories in there, but the one that I like best was this one on the intersection of virtual and real. Nine months or so ago I wrote about the danger of losing the idea by focusing too much on the current example. What I liked about the economist story is that it actually explored the way virtual reality was driving a new wave of augmented reality, combining the best of what we're seeing in the online world with real world examples.
Stories like this reinforce my native optimism on two points. First, the Economist is going great guns from a revenue and circulation standpoint, and high quality article like this sure do help. They certainly do seem to have cracked the nut on this "new" journalism thing. Second, it's a great reminder of the wonder of technology. Anyone who can read about the research and implementation that is taking place and not be blown away at the potential for technology to change our world for the better gets the scrooge of the month award.
We're living in magical times, let's not forget it.