This list is a work in progress.

Current Technology Issues:

Global Network Latency & Bandwidth

• Real-time Media (Audio/Video)
• Live Interactive Applications

Reliability

• Intermittent, Narrow Coverage Connectivity
• Software Bugs and Programming Practices
• Power
• Mother Nature

Scalability

• Database
• Multiple Persistent Connection & Session Serving
• Power Consumption
• Mother Nature

Parallelism

• Programming Paradigms
• Network and hardware architecture

Persistence

• Historical
• Metadata
• Data
• Identity
• Reputation

Interoperability

• Data Formats
• Application Platforms
• Hardware Drivers

Security

• Spam
• Viruses
• DoS Attacks
• Trojans
• Adware
• Spyware
• Access Control
• Identity Theft

Potential Solutions:

Supercrunchers performing; Grid Computing tasks(federated database, distributed swarming file stores, distributed pub/sub multiple persistent connection messaging, dynamically customisable virtual machines) with low latency geo-spatial network distribution.

Concurrent Pipe-lining Component Programming Frameworks built on top of Supercrunchers, Browsers & OS

Rich, Cross-Platform, Event-Driven, Relational 3D Vector Design Interfaces

Geo-spatial Aware Applications and Devices

Always-on Wireless Connectivity

Safe-band Radioactive Wireless Power Hotspots

Personal & Identity Servers & Reputation Frameworks (Federated)

Fine-grained Personal Data and Service Access Control

Vendor/Personal Relationship Management Applications

Multi Layered, Cross-Platform, Virtual Machine APIs for Web Browsers/Servers aka WebOS 3.0 with Relational Metawrapper Filestore & Web Service API

Live Clipboard for Virtual Machine Widget Instances

'Smart' General Pattern Recognition Memory Systems (Data Mashup/Audio/Video)

Semantic Web

Dynamic Multi-Sensor Object/Screens (eg. electomagnetic field 'feel' feedback and dynamic object morphism)

Biological Machines

Nanobots

Flying cars & Super-humans

Crazy mutant things

Artificial General Intelligence

Singularity

This post by Jon on persistent metadata prompted some thoughts I've had a while now. Only after reading his post did I finally take the time to sit down and flesh out what's been floating in my head.

To answer Jon, I believe the truth lies in the 'file system'.

Here are my thoughts: 

What about a "universal file format metawrapper". Such that the wrapped files can only be opened by applications that support the format and treat metadata nicely. The format as having a header with metadata about the file type it contains for OS file typing, a unique identifier(to solve your photo tagging dump in a directory issues) and with other metadata that users add to the file. Applications not in the know wouldn't be able to read the files and corrupt the metadata because of the wrapper.

While it's not a solution for existing application file types, as that would likely have to be done at file system level with an API, I believe it would cater for future usage.

Operating systems of the future(and upgrades to existing ones) could natively support this metawrapper such that legacy applications could read and write the files. Redundancy could be achieved for legacy apps on native metawrapper OSs by storing the metadata in the existing file formats and in the metawrapper. The OS backing up known filetype metadata. Metawrapper plugins could exist to extend that. When there's a change the user could be alerted by the OS to take action. New formats that people create would use the metawrapper. The metawrapper having redundancy in the form of a metadata update history.

And maybe if we plugged this into web services, we could annote URIs with metadata using a standardised ReSTful metawrapper API and build a data web.

Also important for me is the ability to share additional metadata back with the source I get that data from. Podcasting metrics come to mind. Human computation tasks as well. I'd like to be able to download a photo, tag it in whatever program I choose and have that additional information sent to the origin host if I so choose to opt-in. All done through discoverable ReST webservices. A simple WADL, PEP(HTTP Extension Framework) or derivative of description language being pointed to in the metadata contained in the photo or say podcast.

Podcast metrics would be possible this way if a standard could be agreed upon. A player plays the audio, finds the metadata namespace saying it supports X standard and tracks what you listen to, stores that in it's database for later syncing or if it's always-connected, syncs to the host using the service discovery language and connects to a port(cometd/jabber). One could additionally have it sync to a personal server. Say your OpenID or I-names provider so that anywhere you go anyone could know what your currently listening to, have rated it, etc. And you could get the latest album art, current band news, other music like it, and anything else people can think up.