re: Impact on most of us
Short term (20 yrs) social impact:
* Drugs taylored specifically to an individual's genome
* 'Cellphone' 911 style health monitoring and emergency call in
* Shift away from fossil fuels
* Robotics - home (assist elderly) & workplace Fallout from Iraq War
* Ubiquitous security cameras accessible via net for crime & terrorism monitoring
* Nanotech - surprises too difficult for me to anticipate
* Custom local manufacturing via digital blueprints (probably later than 20 yrs out)