There will be plenty to ooh and aah about when we greet the new millennium: increased reliance on standard platforms, operating systems and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks; new “mainframes” made of stacks of linked PCs running Microsoft Corp. Windows NT and SQL-based databases all connected to a high-bandwidth switch; some consolidation of the flavors of Unix; and, perhaps most important, a worldwide dial tone of sorts that will encompass telephone, videophone, videofax and computers and that will let anyone communicate with anyone else anywhere in the world.
Predictor: Bell, Gordon
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Computerworld, Gordon Bell looks ahead: ”There will be plenty to ooh and aah about when we greet the new millennium: increased reliance on standard platforms, operating systems and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks; new ‘mainframes’ made of stacks of linked PCs running Microsoft Corp. Windows NT and SQL-based databases all connected to a high-bandwidth switch; some consolidation of the flavors of Unix; and, perhaps most important, a worldwide dial tone of sorts that will encompass telephone, videophone, videofax and computers and that will let anyone communicate with anyone else anywhere in the world.”
Biography:Gordon Bell proposed a plan for a U.S. research and education network in a 1987 report to the Office of Science and Technology in response to a congressional request by Al Gore. He was a technology leader at Digital Equipment Corporation (where he led the development of the VAX computer) and with Microsoft. (Technology Developer/Administrator)
Date of prediction:
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Pipeline/Switching/Hardware
Name of publication: Computerworld
Title, headline, chapter name: The View from Here: Unflagging Technology Activist Gordon Bell Previews a Future in Which Plugging in to a Worldwide Network is as Easy as Getting a Dial Tone
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=13531e2e97a46b9c44af8b4913d14576&_docnum=3&wchp=dGLbVtb-lSlAl&_md5=3abf7f5c887ef6c7d2467e2587d65a8f
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Bolger, John S.