The Digital Future

For a quarter century, computing technology has advanced at a dizzying pace. Each year, PCs have gotten faster, smaller, cheaper. If the auto industry moved at a similar pace, observers say, we'd all be driving disposable, jet-engine Ferraris by now. But it's probably a good thing this isn't the case, since a system crash at 700 MHz is a lot safer than one at 700 mph. Nevertheless, judging by current evidence, computing technology will continue to accelerate at an unprecedented rate. Last month we looked back at the history of computing. In this issue we look forward to the developing technologies that will shape our world tomorrow and the players behind them. Will PCs survive Internet madness? Or will they go the way of eight-track tapes and the Apple Newton? Will Microsoft be a formidable force in 2010? Or will the company's OS empire crumble like the former Soviet Union?

Standing at the cusp of the millennium, we've arrived at the era depicted in many sci-fi masterpieces. Much of what was predicted has come true, and even grown mundane. As we look ahead, the hype appears to be denser than the circuits on a Pentium III chip. What say you to molecular computing machines that you can't even see? How about a computer mouse that measures your moods (but regrettably doesn't change color to match them)? Not all the conceptualizations featured in these pages will come to pass. But fasten your seat belt anyway, because the next few years promise to be a wild ride.