tlug: weekend prognostications

[Jim Schweizer <schweiz@example.com>]

Hi all,

Ah, the weekend is upon us, so it's time to do a little
nonconsequential browsing. Off to http://www.isp-resource.com/

"Today is my birthday, I am required by tradition to do the
bidding of others today (family, friends), as they have something
planned for me that I don't quite understand. As such, no news
today. But I will post my predictions. By this time next year, a
preventitive cure for carpal tunnel syndrome will be in wide use,
light-emitting plastic screens will replace active and passive
matrix screens on laptops, high output, low heat overhead
projectors will replace large screen monitors on desktops (you'll
be using a big white board to project onto), someone will make
an add-on for Quake 2 or Unreal allowing you to surf the net in
3D with your voodoo2 board, and USB will populate the land.
Linux will have gained massive steps against Windows, while
Redmond was busy fighting off a worthy yet non-threatening
OS. The mystery OS will still exist, and its popularity will be
significantly boosted by Microsoft's misguided
attack, but this will mean the end of the Redmond monopoly. Will
that OS be OS/2? Possibly. Possibly Be. Possibly a new
variant of Solaris. And what of lowly Netscape? While they won't
be the massive competitor to Microsoft that the press touted
last year, they will be the dominant browser developer.
Meanwhile, two other companies will enter the race for browser
superiority. One will be Opera. The other hasn't been formed yet.
The newcomer will offer a browser that is significantly different
from the others on the market. This time next year, Cable modem
speeds will be possible via standard phone lines. The entire
bandwidth of the Internet will be much greater than any of us
expect, and the Net will become a permanent fixture in 80% of
American households. The key? Small and mid-sized ISPs.
AOL will still exist because they will differentiate
themselves. But these predictions of massive ISP buy-outs are
just plain wrong. The Small ISPs will become the default leaders
in information technology. The larger national ISPs, such as
AT&T will begin selling their clients to local ISPs who are
willing to promote their long-distance charges. It is estimated
that over 60% of the end users in the US are on the Net via a
small ISP. That number will increase to 75% or possibly as high
as 80%. A new concept in computing, one where all screen
navigation is done via joystick, and all typing is done via voice
commands, will become standard. Satellite technology will
improve the bandwidth problems on downstream access. Upstream
will be taken on by DSL. The ability to have voice messages sent
to an email in-box will become completely transparent to the end
user. News sites will become the primary source of information
for individuals looking for news. Every school in the US, even
the lower income schools, will have at least one Net computer.
ISPs will sell NetTV devices for less than $100, or rent them
at a rate of $12 per month on top of regular Net access charges.
Intel will find a worth adversary in AMD, who will bring a 64-bit
chip to market before Merced. PowerPC chips will get a new name
and hit that 1Ghz speed easily. The average new PC will ship
with either 64 or 128 Mb of RAM, some will ship with 256. DHTML
and style sheets will really take off when system
requirements for version 4 browsers are within the reach of the
average joe, and when those capabilites are integrated into
NetTVs. Several manufacturers will begin selling a NetTV that
incorporates a DSL or cable modem. The cure for cancer will not
be found, but an effective treatment (which will ultimately
lead to the cure) will be the result of the drug now in testing.
A middle-eastern country will rise as an economic power when
their government starts offering subsidies to high schools and
colleges to teach Unix programming. Crazy bin things: Apple will
sign that deal with Sony to bring a PPC native PlayStation
emulator to the Mac platform. It will ship with iMac. Intel will
fund development of a wrist-watch PC, and a new company will
design a new interface to Windows reminiscent of Microsoft BOB,
but featuring nude women."

:-)

Jim S.

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Jim Schweizer <schweiz@example.com>
#include <disclaimer.h>
Hello, GORRY-O!!  I'm a GENIUS from HARVARD!!
http://www1.harenet.or.jp/~schweiz/
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