RETRO – The Road Ahead by Bill Gates

Technology has been moving at a pace that nobody had predicted, or maybe someone did?
25 years ago, in November 1995, Bill Gates published a book titled The Road Ahead which talked about the future of the internet and technology.

What was he right about in his prediction?

He was right about the impact the internet has had on us - referred to as the information superhighway at the time.
Back then we still had paper maps, music was on CDs and if you wanted a recipe you had to ask your grandma or buy a cookbook.
He predicted that this kind of information and much more will be present and easily accessible to anyone via the internet.
When was the last time you bought a paper map to go from your house to the new restaurant downtown that your friend recommended?

Another accurate prediction was “the computer that fits in your pocket”.
We now know that as the Smartphone.
Cell phones were invented in 1973. In 1995 mobile phones weren’t that much more advanced. So the combination of computer technology and the size and portability of cell phones came as a surprise but the concept itself of the power of the internet in your pocket was expected.

One thing he was wrong about is that he expected we’d have some form of internet kiosks, but with smartphones, we jumped the need for that and the closest thing to his prediction is an ATM.

To know more you can read his article on the GatesNotes blog and watch the video he made about it on his YouTube channel.

What are your technology predictions for the next 25 years?