OK, Best and worst technology of 2003. What do I think?

Best technology: 64-bit computers for The Rest Of Us. ^(tm) No, I don't just mean the G5, although it is the best-realized 64-bit personal computer in current release. The AMD Athlon64 and the AMD Opteron promise to put 64-bit power in usable form for everyone, if not now, at least in a couple of years when the prices go down. And as far as AMD's 64-bit arch goes, it's supported by a real OS right now: Linux. And even when the Opteron was released this year it was released at a price point far lower than Intel "Itanic" was available for. The early-adopters (hi DBurr) who got G5s can't get a 64-bit version of MacOS X right now...they'll have to wait for Panther's successor.

Worst technology: Fortune Magazine called this a "runner-up" after the Diebold voting machine, but I'd have to say this is worthy of worst technology of the year by a landslide. The company Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. announced at an ID technology trade expo that they now had a subcutaneously implantable version of their RFID chip ID technology. OK, where have I heard about that sort of thing before? Right, in the Bible. Revelation, chapter 13. I mean, no, I don't believe in the religious ramifications of this, but consider the social ramifications if someone offered this technology, even on a voluntary basis, in the USA. You would have every yahoo with a gun and a membership in a militia headed for the hills to fight the New World Order.

One thing, though: if someone in the Bush administration decides this is a "great anti-terrorism idea" and it gets pushed through, imagine how bad Bush the Younger will look. Especially in an election year.