The Next Decade
The eleven years of the third millennium have so far been marked by astonishing technological developments. We live in a digital era, everything from wristwatches, to cameras, to television programmes, to our computers is digital. More than ever before, technology is transforming the way we live, relax and work.
At the start of the millennium, smartphones were a distant concept, super high speed broadband was something that was almost certainly never going to happen and tablet computers were a failed concept. Funny how things change.
So, what should we be looking forward to?
Touchscreen technology, so long a concept of science fiction is here, and it’s here to stay. Within the next ten years we won’t be using computer screens as touch screens we’ll be using anything we like. Sensors are already in development which allow a touch screen to be broadcast onto any surface. Theoretically then, our keyboards could be literally broadcast onto our desk, or a window, or a table. Within ten years, the keyboard will be a thing of the past.
In addition computers will have changed beyond all recognition. Digital television and the internet is already drawing together with the likes of Sky blurring the lines between the two. Additionally, the cloud is becoming a store for our computers, and hard drives are more often remote than in built. Within ten years we will just have screens, motion sensors will be our mouses, touch screens will be our keyboards, and the television will come through the internet. Along with films, music and games.
Mobile phones, too, will disappear. Tablet computers will become the new mobile phone, and instead of small smartphones, we’ll have bluetooth connectors to our tablets that allow us to talk on the go. At the same time, texting and emailing will come together and we’ll use our tablets to facilitate that with touch screen keyboards.
So far, so reasonable, in fact, most of these technologies and changes are already on the way, but if you want a more outrageous suggestion, how about this:
In the future, our phones will be built into our wristwatches, but not in the star trek kind of way. Sensors on our wrists will pick up finger movements and commands in thin air, allowing the ultimate freedom of movement and expression.
And as a final prediction: In ten years time there will be stranger and more wonderful technologies than anything described on this page.
