The central point of a 1999 house was the TV room, where families gathered to watch such classic fare as "Seinfeld" and "God, the Devil, and Bob." Dad's office, located just off the TV room, was where the families of 1999 kept their computers, primitive affairs with sub-700 MHz processors. They used these computers for entertainment, Internet access, and work. Often, the three came together, such as when Dad dreamed of setting up a dot-com and benefitting from the seemingly endless amounts of venture capital.

After school was out, it wasn't uncommon to hear children bickering over who got to use the computer next. "I want to check out the new programming at DEN," one child would say. "I saw this great blouse at Boo.com, and I want to order it before they sell out," another would answer.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Mom is taking her Rezulin and brushing her teeth with a toothbrush whose head does not swivel to scrub even the hard-to-reach places. And downstairs in the kitchen, the family's oldest daughter is making a pizza. A pizza whose crust does not rise while it bakes! It looks primitive to our jaded, modern eyes, but to her it's the state of the art.