NIST was right to allow for a reasonable evaluation period, and then make a decision based on the best information at the time. In software products, some already feature Rijndael now. AES will appear in standards and products by the end of 2001. Smart cards will take somewhat longer. I expect secure AES implementations to be available by early 2003.
Today there are about a dozen well trusted, secure encryption algorithms to choose from.
AES will not become the single monolithic standard that DES was, but it will find its way into security products and standards over the next few years. The Next Dimension Recent breakthroughs could bring holographic storage systems into focus, potentially enabling the storage of massive amounts of data that can be retrieved at record-breaking speeds. Don't get all breathless with anticipation, though. Even then, network limitations may hamper the technology's effectiveness. For awhile now, scientists have tinkered with a variety of holographic storage techniques.