However much like a PC the set-top box becomes, there will continue to be a critical difference between the way a PC is used and a television is used: viewing distance … A big-screen TV across the room doesn’t lend itself to the use of a keyboard, nor does it afford privacy, although it is ideal for applications that multiple people watch at the same time.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”However much like a PC the set-top box becomes, there will continue to be a critical difference between the way a PC is used and a television is used: viewing distance. Today, more than a third of U.S. households have personal computers (not counting game machines). Eventually, almost every home will have at least one, connected directly to the information highway. This is the appliance you’ll use when details count or when you want to type. It places a high-quality monitor a foot or two from your face, so your eyes focus easily on text and other small images. A big-screen TV across the room doesn’t lend itself to the use of a keyboard, nor does it afford privacy, although it is ideal for applications that multiple people watch at the same time.”
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: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Internet Appliances
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 4: Applications and Appliances
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 71
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney