Computer Expectations of Today, and a Decade Hence?

Luciq asks: "The other day I was cleaning out my closet and started reminiscing about all the good times I had with my 33Mhz 486DX. I got the machine 10 years ago just as the first Pentiums were coming out. With a 33Mhz processor, 212MB hard drive and a whopping 8MB of RAM, I could surf the net at 2400 baud, manipulate photos and even play games with full-screen video like The Seventh Guest. Today I use an Athlon XP 2400, 80GB HD, 512MB [not 512K!] RAM. While I can do some neat things with it, I must say that it's fallen short of the wonderous expectations I had for such a system in 1993 (no immersive VR?, no seamless voice recognition?). What expectations did you have for today's PC, 10 years ago and how does the reality match up? What do you expect from computing, 10 years from now?"

Comments

Re:input devices

[Transient0]

Various eye and head tracking mice exist (check out this page for alternative mouse devices). They are used extensively by the disabled community, particularly by people with mobility impairments. The reason they haven't caught on more in the mainstream is primarily that using your head or eyes to control a pointer is a lot less convenient than most people think. First off, your hands are actually more precise and dextrous, secondly, you have several fingers which allows for a variety of clicking and scrolling type motions. With a head mouse, you have to dwell the pointer for a period of time in order to click (sure, there are external switches you can use, but that defeats your purpose of not having to use your hands). Also, because eye movements are often instinctive and because we also use our eyes to identify and read content on the screen, it can be difficult to control the mouse and unwanted selections are frustatingly common without long practise. I think the mouse is here to stay in one form or another (until VR style gloves become common or hand motions in open air are detected by lasers).

It is the keyboard we are for more likely to find ourselves disposing of as voice recognition gets rapidly better and better. Of course, I highly doubt that we will actually get rid of it either as many people find that they think better with the keys than with their voice and because so many programs, including games, have learned to take such advantage of the tremendous variety of input the keyboard offers.