In A World That Can Create Something Like This

And on this side we seem to be moving well into a completely hightech si-fi future.

The Sony mylo, slated for availability in September at a retail price of about $350, is a first-of-its-kind product that uses Wi-Fi networks, analysts say. It is not a cellular phone and thus doesn't carry monthly service fees. And though it could handle Web-based e-mail services, it doesn't support corporate e-mail programs.

Instead, the slim, oblong-shaped gizmo that has a 2.4-inch display and slides open to expose a thumb keyboard is specifically geared toward young, mainstream consumers for messaging and Internet-based calls, commonly known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls.

As long as a Wi-Fi network is accessible, a mylo user could chat away or browse the Web.

The mylo — which stands for "my life online," — will be marketed toward 18- to 24-year-olds, the multitasking generation that relies heavily on instant messaging and is already viewing e-mail as passe, Sony said.

One of these days soon you'll be walking down the street on Moonbase Alpha 9 and talking to your friend on your wi-fi instant messenger device in your lapel. When a news alert will interupt to tell you about the situation in the middle east being just about on the cupst of the brink and the midst of maybe with a little bit of eehhhh of becoming a war.