PC Magazine Looks at the Future of Computing

Posted on May 27, 1998

They may not look like HAL 9000, the independent-minded computer from the movie, but personal computers in 2001 will be found in TVs, lights, refrigerators and even watches. We may talk to them, but they may not all talk back to us. PC Magazine, a Ziff-Davis publication, addresses these forecasts in its latest issue "2001: Computing in the New Millennium."

The 2001 issue takes a practical look at trends in four computing categories: PCs, peripherals, software and the Internet. In addition, the editors look a little further into the future in a four-page foldout titled "2010: A Day in the Life in the New Millennium."

PC Magazine forecasts the following computing future for 2001:

PCs will offer more realistic 3-D graphics, run full-motion video and will be more powerful, faster and less expensive than today's top-of-the-line models.

In addition to desktop versions, PCs will be embedded in TVs, telephones and everyday appliances, including refrigerators, and may even be flat panels on your wall that you use for specific purposes such as for controlling lighting, security and other home functions. Or, in the case of your refrigerator, they may actually keep a grocery inventory, search databases or the Internet for recipes based on what foods you have in the house, and even place orders at the grocery store for missing ingredients and to replace what's been used. These network PCs will link into massive server databases situated either in the home or across the country.

Homes will have several media computers, many taking the form of a $300 TV set-top box. PCs will support next-generation games, cable TV and Internet access for fast Web browsing. These convergence systems will let users browse the Web while watching television and even allow for videoconferencing with a friend located across the country -- to discuss the final Seinfeld episode, for example.

Next millennium PCs will have higher definition than the televisions of today so that digital video for work and entertainment will be widely used. In addition, editing software will be as easy to use as today's desktop publishing tools. By just answering questions about storylines and views, future editing software will guide users through movie creation. And, the price of digital video camcorders will drop below $1,000, making everyone a budding director.

In addition to pervasive PCs throughout the home, we'll be traveling with a PC all the time. Hand-held PCs will be smaller, use less power, cost less money and offer more features, including the ability to wirelessly connect to others computers. That means you'll be able to check e-mail and surf the Net while walking down the street, and give a client a copy of updated pricing, for example, by simply pointing your handheld at her PC and pressing the send button. Advanced handwriting recognition will make computing easier, battery lives will be measured in weeks rather than hours, and many PCs will support voice-recognition, so users can talk, walk and compute all at once.

By 2001, many more people will be talking to their PCs instead of using mice and keyboards. Efforts are currently underway to create entirely new ways to use PCs, including hand-gesture input and their request for information and then deliver it to the monitor nearest to them.

PCs will make even more strides towards becoming real assistants. By 2001, users will be able to wake up and ask their PC to read e-mail and to play voice mail messages. PCs will provide a run-down of the day's calls and tasks, automatically updating calendars and databases throughout the day. Software agents will regularly search the Internet, and other sources, for news and information that are of specific interest.

Huge strides in 3-D technology will make virtual reality a commonplace in 2001. Immersive 3-D environments will let designers work collaboratively from different locations, visualizing their design in 3-D. Home users will be able to see products in 3-D on the Internet, changing attributes such as color and dimensions. Families will sit under a vision dome that creates a 3-D environment for group games or to "visit" travel destinations.

PC Magazine, published by Ziff-Davis, has a circulation rate base of 1.175 million. PC Magazine publishes 22 times a year in print, quarterly on CD, and continuously on the Web at: http://www.pcmag.com.