20/20 Foresight

Here are the 20 products, trends, and technologies that will change PCs in 2002--and beyond.

Hot economies cool down and Net empires collapse, but technology continues to move at light speed. Digital tools are not only getting smaller, faster, and cheaper, they're also insinuating themselves into every corner of life. And these days they're as likely to be found in your pocket as on your desk.

We've picked 20 trends and technologies that will have the greatest impact on personal computing for business and home use. We polled trend watchers, technologists, industry experts, and our own editors to uncover the products that will change how you work--and possibly even how you live.

Not surprisingly, many of these innovations help bring the power of the Internet to mobile devices. Others ensure that your PC's performance continues to scream along (leaving software even farther behind). And most of them will hit the scene within the next two years.

Of course, the road to digital Nirvana is littered with the remains of "can't-miss" products (Internet appliances, anyone?). So we've outlined bumps in the road that each technology will encounter. We've also scored each technology on a scale of 1 to 10; the higher the number, the greater the technology's impact on users.

You'll be amazed by what's ahead. The future of high-tech has never looked brighter.

Contributing Editor Daniel Tynan lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, where nothing could be finer.