Ultimately, incremental improvements in computer and screen technology will give us a lightweight, universal electronic book, or “e-book,” which will approximate today’s paper book. Inside a case roughly the same size and weight as today’s hardcover or paperback book, you’ll have a display that can show high-resolution text, pictures, and video. You’ll be able to flip pages with your finger or use voice commands to search for the passages you want. Any document on the network will be accessible from such a device. The real point of electronic documents is not simply that we will read them on hardware devices. Going from paper book to e-book is just the final stage of a process already well under way.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”Ultimately, incremental improvements in computer and screen technology will give us a lightweight, universal electronic book, or ‘e-book,’ which will approximate today’s paper book. Inside a case roughly the same size and weight as today’s hardcover or paperback book, you’ll have a display that can show high-resolution text, pictures, and video. You’ll be able to flip pages with your finger or use voice commands to search for the passages you want. Any document on the network will be accessible from such a device. The real point of electronic documents is not simply that we will read them on hardware devices. Going from paper book to e-book is just the final stage of a process already well under way.”
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: Publishing
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 6: The Content Revolution
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 113
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne