Charles Stross says, "We are living in interesting times; in fact, they're so interesting that it is not currently possible to write near-future SF." (See Stross' essay, for more on this.)

Nancy Kress advises those who are trying to predict the future to "Study the cutting edge of the specific field. Create wild cards. And then don't worry about being wrong-it's science fiction."

One thing we personally feel safe in predicting: You'll enjoy reading what these authors have to say. And what could be cooler than reading science fiction as part of your job?

Daniel P. Dern is a freelance technology writer based in Newton Center, Mass. His website is www.dern.com and his technology blog is TryingTechnology.com.