Bill Gates predicts in his long-awaited book, "The Road Ahead," that future technology will enable people to customize movies, give up paper currency and play bridge with faraway friends.
"There will be a day, not far distant, when you will be able to conduct business, study, explore the world and its cultures, call up any great entertainment, make friends and show pictures to distant relatives - without leaving your desk or armchair," Gates, the billionaire chairman of Microsoft Corp., wrote."None of this is intended to take away from you the firsthand experiences and personal pleasures of life, of lying on a beach, say, or walking in the woods. But just as physical tools speed up work and rescue people from hard labor, so informational tools amplify the intellect."
The Sunday Times of London published the first excerpts from Gates' book on the information highway. Newsweek magazine is expected to publish excerpts Monday. The book goes on sale Friday.
Gates' book is being marketed with an arsenal of high-tech gadgets, including a companion CD-ROM containing links to information on the Internet.
"When you hear the phrase `information highway,' rather than seeing a road, imagine a marketplace where all manner of human activity takes place, from billion-dollar deals to flirtations. Think of the hustle and bustle of the stock exchange or a cattle market or of a bookstore full of people looking for fascinating stories and information," Gates wrote.
Say you're thinking about trying a new restaurant. You'll be able to see its menu, wine list and specials of the day; find out what your favorite food reviewer had to say about it; and get the health inspector's verdict. Still interested in going? You'll be able to book a table and get driving instructions based on current traffic conditions.
Away from home, the portable laptop computer will be replaced by pocket-size computers with snapshot-size color screens.
"Rather than paper currency, the wallet will store unforgeable digital money. It will link into a shop's computer to allow money to be transferred without any physical handing over of cash or check," Gates wrote. You'll even be able to digitally slip five bucks from your wallet PC to your kid's.
Many applications on the highway will be just for fun - like playing bridge with your best friends, even though you live in several different cities. Watching televised sporting events, you'll be able to choose the camera angles, the replays and even the commentators.
"You'll be able to listen to any song, any time, anywhere, piped in from the world's largest record store: the information highway," Gates wrote.
"Or you'll watch `Gone With The Wind' with your own face and voice replacing that of Vivien Leigh or Clark Gable. Or see yourself walking down the catwalk at a fashion show, wearing the latest Paris creations adjusted to fit your body - or the one you wish you had."
"Hyperlinks" would allow you to leap from from one information source to another.
"Let's say you're watching the news and you see someone you don't recognize walking beside the prime minister. Using your television's remote control, you will point at the person. That action will bring up a biography and a list of other news accounts in which he or she figured recently," Gates wrote.