Hidden behind tomorrow’s television screens will be tremendous computational power that will let viewers search through vast databases by answering multiple-choice questions and pointing and clicking with a remote control. Potentially, such systems could automatically comparison-shop for us, popping up the names of merchants offering the mix of price, quality, and service that most closely matches our needs … For business, the hard part is designing interactive systems complex enough to give consumers a wide range of choice yet simple enough to operate with a beer in one hand.
Predictor: Sherman, Stratford
Prediction, in context:The 1995 book “The Information Revolution,” edited by Donald Altschiller, carries a reprint of the April, 1994, Fortune Magazine article “Will the Information Superhighway be the Death of Retailing” by Stratford Sherman. Sherman examines the mixed effects of the online revolution on the retail industry. He writes:”Hidden behind tomorrow’s television screens will be tremendous computational power that will let viewers search through vast databases by answering multiple-choice questions and pointing and clicking with a remote control. Potentially, such systems could automatically comparison-shop for us, popping up the names of merchants offering the mix of price, quality, and service that most closely matches our needs … Consumers will probably have to use a specially designed remote control to let the system know what they want. Once they master the on-screen ‘user interface’ that translates their instructions into commands computers understand, they will be able to pluck other sorts of data from the network and gain access to whatever information businesses offer, including details about products. For business, the hard part is designing interactive systems complex enough to give consumers a wide range of choice yet simple enough to operate with a beer in one hand.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: The Information Revolution (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Will the Information Superhighway be the Death of Retailing?
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 76
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne