In 2059, the computer under your desk will not exist. In fact,
the very definition of a computer will change, as will the
gadgets we carry around, the data centres used for storing
information and the electronics in our living rooms. Stan
Williams, the noted HP researcher, says that technology changes
by a factor of 100 every 10 years. In the movie 2001: A Space
Odyssey, the HAL computer used something called "optical
storage" – a medium so commonplace now they are used for
throwaway marketing. "In a few decades from now, our current
concepts of a PC and IT in general will seem so quaint and
arcane that the only place to see them at all will be in old
attics or museums, where they will sit next to an abacus and
vacuum tube computers, and seem very alien to those being born
now," says Williams. In fact, most researchers believe the
technology we will use in 2059 has not been invented yet.
Imagine the scenario: those who were born in the last 10-15
years have grown up with the Internet and computers. They are w