You will be able to stay in touch with anyone, anywhere, who wants to stay in touch with you; to browse through any of thousands of libraries, day or night. Your misplaced or stolen camera will send you a message telling you exactly where it is, even if it’s in a different city. You’ll be able to answer your apartment intercom from your office, or answer any mail from your home. Information that today is difficult to retrieve will be easy to find.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes:”When tomorrow’s powerful information machines are connected on the highway, people, machines, entertainment and information services will all be accessible. You will be able to stay in touch with anyone, anywhere, who wants to stay in touch with you; to browse through any of thousands of libraries, day or night. Your misplaced or stolen camera will send you a message telling you exactly where it is, even if it’s in a different city. You’ll be able to answer your apartment intercom from your office, or answer any mail from your home. Information that today is difficult to retrieve will be easy to find. Is your bus running on time? Are there any accidents right now on the route you usually take to the office? Does any one want to trade his or her Thursday theater tickets for you Wednesday tickets? What is your child’s school Ð attendance record?? What’s a good recipe for halibut? Which store, anywhere, can deliver by tomorrow morning, for the lowest price a wristwatch that takes your pulse? What would someone pay for my old Mustang convertible? How is the hole in a needle manufactured? Are your shirts ready yet at the laundry? What’s the cheapest way to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal?”
Biography:Bill Gates, the most influential technology entrepreneur of the late 20th century, was the primary author of the prediction-packed 1995 book “The Road Ahead” and is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 1: A Revolution Begins
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 9
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney