The futurists are envisioning a pretty cool future, as usual. In this latest set of predictions:
Simplicity, Mobile Socialization, The end of the combustion engine, and a move towards greener living, capped with a 2006 Technology Explosion the likes of which we haven’t seen in like, at least 8 years. Fun stuff, but a lot of it seems positioned to be true.
Wired News: Futurists Pick Top Tech Trends
Simplicity: Over the past couple of decades, gadget makers have toiled ceaselessly to add functionality. As a result, your cell phone can now play games, do math and sound off like a barking dog when your ex calls. Your digital camera can shoot extremely poor-quality video. And nearly every device you own with a screen also contains a clock.
The problem, says Ian Pearson, futurist in residence at British Telecommunications, is that most people buy a device for a particular purpose. They neither want nor care about all the extra capabilities.
“We’ve done 20 years of adding functionality, and 99 percent of that functionality isn’t needed,” Pearson said. “There will be an enormous market over the next several years for really simple stuff.”
