Thirty Years in Computing

Jacob writes "Jacob Nielsen, usability guru, writes about the last 30 years of computing and his predictions of the next 30 years of computing. An interesting read. quote: 'Computer games in 2034 are likely to offer simulated worlds and interactive storytelling that's more engaging than linear presentations such as those in most movies today.'"

Comments

Computer games in 2034?

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

DNF due in March.

The Unix Clock will Overflow

[lildogie]

Airplanes will crash, nuclear weapons will detonate, and NBC will air a hokey movie about it all.

I'm just glad I live in a later timezone. Oh, wait....

Scott Adams figured this out a while ago

[JoeBuck]

Dogbert: I can predict the future by assuming that money and male hormones are the driving forces for new technology. Therefore when virtual reality gets cheaper than dating, society is doomed.

Woman (to Dogbert): Is Dilbert available?

Dogbert: He's been in the holodeck since March.

In Thirty Years I predict....

[platypibri]

1. Finally!!!! Computers will wreck a nice beach... er recognize speech.
2. EUI. Emersive User Interface, perhaps something like Minority Report or The Matix. I mean manipulating virtual object in real space, not jacking in.
3. Cyrrano Virus proof of concept hits on your girlfriend (or mom, in the case of hopeless nerds)
4. Indian Tech Giant "Bollysoft" is investigated for anti-competative practices, cuts cost by farming out tech support to the up and coming Afganistan tech industry.
5. Computers finally translate dolphin speech. Turns out it's mostly fart jokes and machismo pick up lines. And, they are very interested in our culture's "beer" and "ESPN"
6. PentiumXI prosessor requires a 220 volt electric connection, liquid oxygen cooling. Intel investigates opening small wormholes between processors and surface of Jupiter moon Europa for joint processor cooling/planet heating terraforming project.
7. That's right, virtual 3D holographic blue screen of death.

Re:Think outside the box!

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that in 30 years we won't have any computers at all. Instead, we'll have spice, and hot Bene Gesserit women. Yes, I am predicting the Butlerian Jihad.

Don't forget Legal advancements

[freeze128]

The computers of 2034 will be impressive indeed! They will have many functions that will be illegal for you to perform.

Re:we'll never recognize computers

[filmsmith]

But I predict that within 100 years computers will be twice as powerful, 10,000 times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings of Europe will own them.

nngh-hey!

fs

Re:we'll never recognize computers

[mhesseltine]

What I think will be interesting to watch is how software also starts evolving from apps with a narrow focus (think along the lines of early 90's WordPerfect) to apps which try to do pretty much everything - perhaps a bad example, but MS Word already allows table and cell editing similar to Excel, graphics manipulation, and desktop publishing.

One word: EMACS