We'll get all the infrastructure we need when somebody figures out a way to make money in space. Same as almost everything else.

A propulsion breakthrough was the most likely linchpin of the 2001 technology, something that would make a civilian hotel in orbit cost-effective. It would be interesting to know exactly what was being done at Clavius Base. Sure as hell it was something more profitable than research. The biggest base in Antarctica would have fit inside that landing enclosure.

It's fascinating to look at where unexpected technological advances DID pop up. Computers, communications, and entertainment. We got Captain Kirk's communicator 200 years early. Heinlein was no slouch at futurism, but his novels often had their space-flying heroes using slide rules, or computers with physical gears and cams. Now I've got a computer on my desk that, when I was in college, would have been one of the most powerful on the planet.

I can watch full-length movies on something that goes in my pocket.

Medical advances would be a whole post to itself.

Still, cars are pretty much still cars, although with more bells and whistles. I love my navigation system. Few people realize how much more reliable the modern auto is than thirty years ago.

Some amazing things are being shown at CES in Vegas, and Popular Mechanics has some of it. I knew video rental stores were dead meat ten years ago.