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by Bridget Egan staffwriter

The advent of personal computers, digital organizers, flat television screens and virtual reality is catapulting the human race into the next century. Technology is expanding as rapidly as the human race, and in the next century many predict a very diversified field of gadgets that will enhance the lives of the human race in countless ways.

Since the beginning of our century, technology has undergone a complete facelift. The computer went from a large room full of complicated machinery to a small portable device that a child can operate with ease. Everything seems to have a computer in it, from toys to classrooms.

Many high schools and colleges even have a requirement for students to own and use a laptop computer in correlation with the curriculum. Cathy Yungmann, associate professor of communications, is excited by this computerfriendly classroom environment.

She feels that soon we will be living in a wireless world where infrared beams will hook up laptops to the server. Students will no longer carry pen and paper. Instead, they will take notes on their laptops and be able to access the Internet during class time.

Yungmann already has the infrared beam technology on her own laptop and claims that it is far more convenient. There are no wires to hook up, making technology far more portable.

Portability has boomed in the latter part of this century. Most people now have cellular phones, beepers, laptop computers and digital organizers. It seems that no matter where one goes, one can be reached. Business and personal life have melded so that it is hard to differentiate between personal life and commerce. Even those not involved with business can be seen using cell phones.

This trend will carry into the next millennium in many ways. Yungmann feels that the private home will become one's office. This integration, though, must carry with it rules for separation.

"If society can establish standards for separation of work and home this will be productive," Yungmann said. "But if you're constantly at someone's beck and call, it can be destructive."

This end to t

"place-based communications" means that all wireless technology can be an avenue to endless amounts of information. One's watch can be a way to hook up to the Internet and communicate with others.

Radar technology is also expanding at a rapid rate. Many people have utilized radar detectors to detect police officers on highways. Now, there are "phazers" which will actually make your car invisible from a police officer's radar detector, allowing a car to speed right by undetected by radar.

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Computer companies are making their products look better and better. Nintendo has made their Game Boys not only in different colors, but in different styles. Macintosh has made the new iMac, which comes in several bright colors. Not everyone is excited by the computer craze, however. First-year student Colin McGinley falls into this category.

"I hate computers," McGinley said. "If I had a choice I would kill Bill Gates."

McGinley laments the fact that the broadest base of information is on the Internet because he dislikes using a computer at all. Though he cannot articulate where his hatred comes from, he claims that he tries to stay away from the global connection process. He does not own a beeper, a cell phone or a computer.

Yungmann, on the other hand, owns three cell phones. Each of the phones has a separate use: one for her home, one for her computer, and one for her family to communicate.

As far as predictions for the next century, Yungmann sees amazing alliances taking place in the communication industry. This can even be seen presently with the merging of cable and phone companies. Yungmann sees an integrated Internet, cell phone, and satellite TV engine taking place. This way, a consumer will receive one bill per month that will cover all communication needs. AT&T recently bought TCI, a large cable provider, and is beginning to offer a similar service right now.

McGinley also foresees more technology, like the voice activated typing system that can be used on computers. His one fantasy is to eventually use a car that runs on water instead of gasoline, and he claims that they are being developed presently.

Dr. Rocco Paolucci, computer information sciences chair, believes that computers will be able to recognize languages and be able to interact with humans. He claims that the idea of communicating with a computer through a keyboard will be a thing of the past.

Dr. Sharon Schwarze, philosophy department chair,