[EdZ]

It isn't really that far off technically speaking. The main issue is the amount of processing power you need for the visual recognition vs. the size and power requirements to make it portable. You can do it now with larger computers.

Considering what 'luggables' were like 30 years ago, and what an iphone can do today, we'll be doing portable holographic video conferences in another 30 years. You can do it virtually right now rather effectively (business versions of 2nd life)

I've got a high def video conference unit on my desk that I was just testing out yesterday for a company. It is about the size of my hand, at the least we'll be using those very soon instead of your standard phone. Combine that with facial/object and voice recognition that we already have, and the holographic part is simple.