Whose Lifetime Anyway? ... I'll bet that you don't spend a lot of time thinking about your business 100 years from today, and neither do I. So I almost laughed aloud recently when Network Solutions urged me to "add 100-Year Domain Service" to PikeNet for only $9.99 a year in order to save "more than 70% compared to paying annually." Really?

Actuarially, I'm likely to spend over half of the next 100 years underground. Still, it got me thinking. How will real estate change in the next 100 years? What do you think will be the single biggest difference from today? Send e-mail, and I'll report back in a future Dispatch.

But don't predict talking e-mail because Dean Harris with the City of Austin Real Estate Services already has it. In fact, he listens to the PikeNet Dispatch read to him on the road. His service is provided by Copytalk for $35 per month for unlimited usage.

Harris writes: "This service essentially blends cell phone usage and e-mail receiving and sending. For example, I can dictate a message during my 45-minute commute to the office and have it e-mailed to the office, where it is ready for final proofing before being forwarded on to clients. Also, I can keep in touch remotely by checking e-mail directly off the server and keep in touch with incoming e-mails, all with just my regular cell phone." That's cool.

--Peter Pike