by Tom Regan

About the author: Tom Regan is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor.

Welcome to the age of online, everywhere, all the time. We are quickly approaching the moment when Internet access will be possible from any point on the planet.

In industrialized nations, that access will become invisible to many people. Networked homes will create a living space where tablet-sized PCs will talk to the fridge, the toaster, even the garbage pail, often when the residents are not home.

For some people, this will be an enormous benefit. Fully wired homes for senior citizens, for instance, will use the Net to help them stay independent far longer than in the past.

These are only a few promises that the Internet holds for us. And even with a...