In 1999, Bill Gates wrote the book "Business at the Speed of Thought", in which he made 15 bold and fantastic, at that time, predictions about the technological future, writes Business Insider.
1. Sites for price comparison
Prediction: "There will be automatic services for comparing prices in stores. They will allow people to see prices from different sites and without too much effort to find the cheapest product, regardless of the industry. "
Today: You can search for the right product through Google or Amazon and get different prices for the same product. Resources, such as NextTag and PriceGrabber, are specifically designed to compare prices. And, of course, Yandex.Market.
2. Mobile devices
Prediction: "People will carry small devices that will allow them to stay in touch and use computers wherever they are. They will be able to check the news, look at booked flights, get information from the financial markets, in fact, do anything on these devices. "
Today: Yes, Bill predicted smartphones
3. Online payments, banking services and Internet medicine
Today: IT has not yet made a revolution in healthcare as Uber did in transport, but there are already services like ZocDoc and DocDoc (in Russia) that allow you to find a doctor, study reviews for him and make an appointment. And start-ups One Medical and Forward are trying to get great data to work for medicine. They offer monthly subscriptions for remote health monitoring. Money can be borrowed on sites like Lending Club (in Russia, microfinance organizations, it seems, even more) and can easily make payments through PayPal or Venmo.
4.Peronal Assistants and "Internet of Things"
Prediction: "Personal assistants will appear. They will connect and synchronize all your devices, be they at home or in the office, and allow them to exchange data. The device will check your mail or notifications and show the information that you need. When you go to the store, you can tell him what dish you want to cook, and it will show you the list of products you need to buy. It will inform all your devices of your purchases and schedules so that they automatically adjust to what you are doing. "
Today: Google Now, the "smart" assistant that works on the smartphone, seems to be moving in this direction. At the same time, devices like Nest collect data about your daily activities and automatically adjust the temperature in the house. There were assistants, controlled by voice, - it's Amazon Alexa, Google Assistent, Siri. They can be asked to check the mail or voice the recipe while you are cooking.
5. Live video monitoring at home
Prediction: "Streaming video surveillance of your home will become the norm and will inform you about who came in while you were out."
Today: In 2014, Google bought Dropcam, the maker of the camera for home surveillance, for $ 555 million. But this was just the beginning. The Ring Company is developing an intelligent doorbell with a camera that shows online who came. There are even cameras like PetCube that control the laser pointer so you can play with the animal while you are away (though, it's better not to do so: the laser is too exciting for cats and dogs).
6. Social Media
Prediction: "Private web pages for your friends and family members will become the norm. They will allow you to correspond and plan events. "
Today: Billy has predicted Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and many other services.
