The prediction, in brief:

In a world of bandwidth abundance, specialized, hard-wired processing will be mostly unnecessary … The new world of the telecosm offers no rest for weary microchip magnates or future-shocked PC producers. Driven by the new demands of video and multimedia, the pace of advance will now accelerate sharply rather than slow down.

Predictor: Gilder, George

Prediction, in context:

In a 1994 article he wrote for Forbes ASAP titled “The Bandwidth Tidal Wave,” George Gilder looks at the technology involved in the networking revolution. The article is a portion of his 1996 book “Telecosm.” Gilder writes:”In a world of bandwidth abundance, specialized, hard-wired processing will be mostly unnecessary. In the extreme case, images can flow uncompressed through the network and onto the display. Bandwidth will have obviated thousands of mips of processing. The microprocessor instead can focus on managing documents on the screen, popping up needed information from databases, performing simulations or visualizations and otherwise enriching the conference. The arrival of bandwidth abundance transforms the computing environment … Sorry, but the new world of the telecosm offers no rest for weary microchip magnates or future-shocked PC producers. Driven by the new demands of video and multimedia, the pace of advance will now accelerate sharply rather than slow down.”

Biography:

George Gilder was a pioneer the formulation of the theory of supply-side economics. In his major book “Microcosm” (1989), he explored the quantum roots of the new electronic technologies. His book “Life After Television,” published by W.W. Norton (1992), is a prophecy of computers and telecommunications displacing the broadcast-TV empire. He followed it with another classic, “Telecosm.” (Futurist/Consultant.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1994

Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure

Subtopic: Bandwidth

Name of publication: Forbes ASAP

Title, headline, chapter name: The Bandwidth Tidal Wave

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~gaj1/bandgg.html

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney