I’ve been reading about these types of technologies myself, and although it sounds kind of awesome (except for the data erasing) to have a giant magnet in the basement that powers everything within 100 metres, the near-future approach seems a lot safer.

What I’ve read is that the technologies work best at very, very short distances — like within a foot or two. So, you’ll plug in your TV, for example, but then your DVD player, Wii and stereo won’t need to be connected — they’ll suck power wirelessly from the nearby television (and they’ll share data sans wires, too — no cords!!).

Even now you can buy special magnetic mats that you lay your phones and ipods on, and they’ll be recharged through induction, no plugging in.

Also, I wonder if the next phase of data storage might be something that’s not magnetic. Or if they’ll be somehow able to not interfere with each other (sort of like there are plenty of different radio stations, even through they all broadcast through the same space).