The highway will combine the best qualities of both the telephone and the cable network systems: Like the telephone network, it will offer private connections so that everyone using the network can pursue his or her own interests, on his or her own schedule. It will also be fully two-way like the telephone network, so that rich forms of interaction are possible. Like the cable television network, it will be high-capacity, so there will be sufficient bandwidth to allow multiple televisions or personal computers in a single household to connect simultaneously to different video programs or sources of information.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”The highway will combine the best qualities of both the telephone and the cable network systems: Like the telephone network, it will offer private connections so that everyone using the network can pursue his or her own interests, on his or her own schedule. It will also be fully two-way like the telephone network, so that rich forms of interaction are possible. Like the cable television network, it will be high-capacity, so there will be sufficient bandwidth to allow multiple televisions or personal computers in a single household to connect simultaneously to different video programs or sources of information.”
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 5: Paths to the Highway
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 103
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne