First of all, many of his 1999 predictions about 2009 were considered radical. Do you even remember what computers and the internet were like in 1999? Remember dial-up? Do you even remember what cell phones looked like? We came a long way in 10 years. The computer in your pocket is more poweful that the most powerful supercomputer in 1996 and is thousands of times smaller. That is CRAZY!!! In addition, most people thought driverless cars were total science fiction and decades away just a few years ago let alone in 1999. Its easy to say that current technology was foreseeable when you are experiencing it right now. I'd love to have seen you say that in 1999.
And on the topic of R&D, I've already stated that brain/computer inferface technology is already being researched in the lab. Brain computer interfaces will definitely be common by the mid-2020s considering its already possible right now. Quadriplegics and certain people who don't mind having computer chips surgically implanted into their brain are capable of communicating to computers right now simply by thinking. The only reason this isn't common is because it can only be done surgically right now. However, in 15 years, when nanotechnology is more advanced, the use of brain computer inferences will be more widespread.
Instead of requiring surgery, the brain-computer interface can be inserted non-invasively through the use of small robotic nanobots that attach to the brain. And yes, blood cell sized nanobots are already being used in labs right now. The tech is at its infancy but should mature by the mid-2020s when it hits the market. The brain interface software should also improve. Right now people can only move the mouse or robotic arms with their mind. Thats because only simply brain waves can be interpreted resulting in only simple commands to the computer. To allow for more sophisticated controls, there will need to be more study into the brain and how it works. And we're lucky on that front as well because the European Union just announced nearly $2 billion toward mapping the human brain.
Again dude, everything that exists now was the natural and logical progression of most things.
- Most books will be read on screens rather than paper. (iPad, Kindle)
- People use personal computers the size of rings, pins, credit cards and books. (smartphones are about the size of credit cards and tablets are the size of books; though rings and pins is overstating it)
- Cables are disappearing. Computer peripheries use wireless communication. (4G WiFi)
- People can talk to their computer to give commands. (Siri, Google Voice)
- Computer displays built into eyeglasses for augmented reality are used. (Google Glass)
1. There were patents for what is commonly known as an "e-book" as far back as the 70's. Not to mention by the late 80's, they were already in use, just not in a commercial sense. The commercial aspects came by the 90's and mostly in educational or technical aspects cause they were still kind of expensive then, relatively speaking.
2. Computers have been shrinking in size just about every decade. It was not far fetched at all to think that they would be the size of credit cards at all.
3. We have had cell phone technology for quite some time and again, every decade or so it has become more advance. It was not far fetched at all to think that radio communications could advance to the point where we could receive high speed data connections in 2009 when in 2002 when I was a freshmen in college, wireless cards were already on the rise.
4. Much of this already existed by 2002 let alone 2009...again, natural progression
5. If I am not mistaken the army was using this shyt by 2000. I know this cause around 2003 when I started taking my first MIS classes, we had to do a whole section of our presentation around it and a big part of it was the fact that we technically already see it in shyt like football games or when they used to have the hockey puck laser around so people could keep track of it. The glasses shyt was in very very early stages then, in the military as I said before, as well as in medical fields.
Realistically speaking, in 1999 most people could see that information tech and tech in general was moving at an alarming rate and that because of competition, it was only gonna progress.
You could hop on Engadget today and peep the patents that drop every couple of weeks and predict shifts in technology just like this guy did...and anyone that calls you "radical" would be as silly as those people who called him radical in 1999.
Don't be surprised when this quantum computing shyt drops in a few years, we been talking about it since they started popping out quad core PCS and how far back was that? 5? Maybe 7 years?
Liquid is not wrong about DDL becoming the de facto in the future, the question is when? Remember unless companies can properly monetize the shyt and capitalize off of it, it will take much longer than it has to...
