They foresee a “wired world” in which everything from books and movies to doctors’ advice and blueprints are delivered in a blend of words, images and speech on a hand-held device … The future of computing has to move beyond business and into people’s everyday lives. To do that, computers must be not only inexpensive and easier to use, responding to handwritten notes or voice commands, but also linked to faster, cheaper phone lines or by wireless transmission.
Predictor: Experts
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for The New York Times, Steve Lohr writes about the coming technological transformation after spending time with computer executives at the 1993 PC Forum in Phoenix: ”Though the personal computer industry has grown to be a $70 billion-a-year business, it is still remarkably tribal, dominated by a few hundred people who grew up together … Many tribe members gathered [in Phoenix] this week at the Arizona Biltmore, a desert-parradise setting … to attend the three-day PC Forum, a leading industry conference, especially for software companies … Though older and grayer than a decade ago, they still believe they are on the cutting edge of a technology-led transformation in the way people work and live – a transformation that is just under way. With advances in software, equipment and telecommunications, they foresee a ‘wired world’ in which everything from books and movies to doctors’ advice and blueprints are delivered in a blend of words, images and speech on a hand-held device … What was once considered a nerd’s bailiwick has become a sexy industry … A glossy new magazine called Wired, based in San Francisco, has just published its first issue … among its charter members: Steve Spielberg and Cher. For all the talk of a computer revolution, the machines are still used mainly on the job and at home by people doing work. The future of computing has to move beyond business and into people’s everyday lives. To do that, computers must be not only inexpensive and easier to use, responding to handwritten notes or voice commands, but also linked to faster, cheaper phone lines or by wireless transmission.”
Date of prediction: February 27, 1993
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: New York Times
Title, headline, chapter name: Here’s Where Woodstock Meets Silicon Valley
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=2035a9da69e64f92f3dca6d9324e3f93&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVzb-lSlAl&_md5=2c0543295581c2fdd4fc5dd129e9fdb3
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Pagano, Shawna