What can we expect from computers in the future?  Here are a few Blue Sky (BS) predictions.  We'll start with what is actually happening now.

You probably read where GM, at the Consumer Electronics Show,  predicted a driverless car in the next ten years.  If you missed it see:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/

At the end of January BART began a four month test (230 riders) of a pay by cell phone system.  If you missed it see:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/30/BUPEUODJN.DTL&hw=bart&sn=001&sc=1000

Shell is doing a test in Chicago allowing customers to charge gasoline using only their fingerprint.  See:  http://www.shell.com/home/content/us-en/shell_for_motorists/payments/pay_by_touch/goldfinger_main.html

In December IBM announced the five innovations which would most impact us in the next five years.  They were in the area of:
1    Smart Energy technologies - control home appliances from the net or a cell phone.
2    The way you drive - connectivity between cars and the road.
3    The food you eat - you'll know the source and makeup of the food you buy.
4    Cell phones - it will be a guide to shopping, banking, touring and more.
5    Doctor's diagnosis capabilities - technology will give doctors super senses to diagnose you.
The full description is below.

The January 2008  PC Magazine was their 25th anniversary issue.  They had forecasts for the next 25 years from many "experts".  Here are their predictions:
*    Michael Miller, Editor-in-Chief:  Technology will be embedded in our bodies, we will have massive hard drives (2 terabytes will be common), software will take advantage of multiple cores. voice recognition will be commonplace, we will have 3D chips, databases will track our every online move, we will still worry about privacy and security an complain how long it takes to get things done.
*    Bill Gates, Chairman Microsoft:  Technology will change the way we interact with each other, information and technology will extend seamlessly across our lives, there will be a huge amount of storage available via the internet making all information instantly accessible, documents will available across PC, TV, mobile phone, game player or music device, we will have speech, handwriting, vision, touch and gesture recognition, technology will be more affordable and easier to use.
*    John Dvorak, columnist and curmudgeon:  video and audio content will be delivered on demand.
*  Paul Otellini, President and CEO Intel:  Processors will have ten times the power and use one tenth the power, doctors will combine computers, sensors and communication devices to provide real time analysis of the human body.
*    Bill Machrone, former Editor-in-Chief:  Everything will be downloadable and legal making entertainment on-demand, all hardware will be energy conscious justifying replacing existing technology, heat generated (waste heat) will be used to heat buildings, we will have a single chip PC with multiple CPUs, the Star Trek tricorder and hand held medical diagnosis tool will become a reality.
*    Vint Cerf, VP Google:  Databases will be self indexing, browsing will include text, video, audio and images, we will have a global computing grid, there will be a video on YouTube which says "Hello, me name is Eliza, tell me how I can help you."
*    Sascha Segan, wireless columnist:  Wireless will be everywhere and in everything, there will be a combination GPS/videophone/internet portal.
*    Colin Angle, CEO iRobot:  There will be more single purpose robots which will be affordable and commonplace, more than 75% of homes will have at least one robot, there will be a hierarchy of robots in your home which will do many things humans do, there will be robots embedded in your body (e.g.. an artificial eye which gives you telescopic vision or a neural interface to your brain controlling your PC, MP3 or cell phone).
*    Neil Rubenking, security columnist:  P. T. Barnum says there's a sucker born every minute and that's not going to change, there will still be scammers, common sense will be essential.
*    Philip Rosendale, CEO Linden Labs:  We will be creators of information instead of just consumers
*    Jim Louderback, former Editor-in-Chief:  HDTVs will direct half of the screen to one eye and the other half to the other, you'll be able to step into a virtual space, unbreakable encryption will be developed.
*     Dirk Meyer, President AMD:  Inspired engineers will continue bring us exponential transistor density.
*     Oliver Rist, columnist:  There will be a tenfold increase in internet speed, office applications via the internet will be the norm, applications will run on multiple CPUs giving grid computing.
* Michael Dell, CEO Cell:  We will unleash the power of technology not just to enhance our lives and grow our businesses, but also to regenerate the planet.
For more see:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2243309,00.asp

From the March 2008 PC World
From SciFi to reality, TechCast.org predicts:  (The small print says predictions carry a margin of error of plus or minus three years with the results not guaranteed.)
2010 - Biometric Security - You body (fingerprint, voice, iris or retinal scan) is your password.  (Don't lose it!)
2013 - Space Tourism - But no space hotels for 20 years.
2016 - The Holodeck - Virtual Reality finally arrives.
2019 - Self-Aware Computers - Machines using artificial intelligence techniques will be handling routine tasks.
2020 - Domestic Robots - Robots will outsell cars by 2025.

Doug Tougaw, engineering professor at Valparaiso predicts computers using nanotechnology will debut in5 years, 5 to 10 years later silicon chips will no longer be made smaller so we'll start using optical computers which will operate at the speed of light.
Researchers at the University of Edmonton in Scotland are exploring how to spray computerized sensors into patient's chests during heart surgery, so the sensors can relay information to the hospital computer.  The process could be commercially viable within ten years.

 

ARMONK, NY - Unveiled yesterday, the second annual "IBM Next Five in Five" is a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years. The list is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM's Labs around the world that could make these innovations possible.

In the next five years, our lives will change through technology innovations in the following ways:

It will be easy for you to be green and save money doing it: A range of "smart energy" technologies will make it easier for you to manage your personal "carbon footprint". As data begins to run through our electrical wires, dishwashers, air conditioners, house lights, and more will be connected directly to a "smart" electric grid, making it possible to turn them on and off using your cell phone or any Web browser. In addition to alerting you about leaving appliances on when they could be off to conserve energy, technology will also provide you with up-to-date reports of electrical usage, so you can monitor how much you are spending and how much energy you are putting out, just like you can track your cell phone minute usage today. Intelligent energy grids will also enable utilities to provide you with the option to use green energy sources, like solar and wind, to fuel your home, and innovations in solar and wind technology will bring cost-efficient options to a utility near you.

The way you drive will be completely different: In the next five years, a coming wave of connectivity between cars and the road is going to change the way you drive, help keep you safe, and even keep you out of traffic jams. Technology is poised to keep traffic moving, cut pollution, curb accidents, and make it easier for you to get from point A to B, without the stress. The cities you live in will find a cure for congestion using intelligent traffic systems that can make real-time adjustments to traffic lights and divert traffic to alternate routes with ease. Your car will have driver-assist technologies that will make it possible for automobiles to communicate with each other and with sensors along the road - allowing them to behave as if they have 'reflexes' so they can take preventive actions under dangerous conditions. Your car will automatically tell you where traffic is jammed up and find you an alternative route to take.

You are what you eat, so you will know what you eat: We've all heard the saying 'you are what you eat', but with foods being sourced across international borders, the need to 'know exactly what you eat' has never been so important. In the next five years, new technology systems will enable you to know the exact source and make-up of the products you buy and consume. Advancements in computer software and wireless radio sensor technologies will give you access to much more detailed information about the food you are buying and eating. You will know everything from the climate and soil the food was grown in, to the pesticides and pollution it was exposed to, to the energy consumed to create the product, to the temperature and air quality of the shipping containers it traveled through on the way to your dinner table. Advanced sensor and tracing systems will tell you what you eat, before you eat it.

Your cell phone will be your wallet, your ticket broker, your concierge, your bank, your shopping buddy, and more: In the next five years, your mobile phone will be a trusted guide to shopping, banking, touring a new city, and more. New technology will allow you to snap a picture of someone wearing an outfit you want and will automatically search the web to find the designer and the nearest shops that carry that outfit. You can then see what that outfit would look like on your personal avatar - a 3-D representation of you - right on your phone, and ask your friends, in different locations, to check it out online and give their opinion. Your phone will also guide you through visiting a city. When you turn on your phone in a city you are visiting, it automatically provides you with local entertainment options, activities, and dining options that match your preferences, and then make reservations and purchases tickets for you - like a personal concierge.

Doctors will get enhanced "super-senses" to better diagnose and treat you:
In the next five years, your doctor will be able to see, hear and understand your medical records in entirely new ways. In effect, doctor's will gain superpowers - technologies will allow them to gain x-ray like vision to view medical images; super sensitive hearing to find tiniest audio clue in your heart beat; and ways to organize information in the same way they treat a patient. An avatar - a 3D representation of your body - will allow doctors to visualize your medical records in an entirely new way, so they can click with the computer mouse on a particular part of the avatar, to trigger a search of your medical records and retrieve information relevant to that part of your body, instead of leafing through pages of notes. The computer will automatically compare those visual and audio clues to thousands or hundreds of thousands of other patient records, and be able to be much more precise in diagnosing and also treating you, based on people with similar issues and makeup.
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