future technology

With this years CES in the rearview and a new IPad just released, there is no better time to discuss future technology.  I'll start with CES.  I've never been, only an outsider looking in.  From what I've seen through the media, online or other, it seems like a "WOW!  LOOK AT US!" environment that rarely exposes the real future of a company.

Each company is trying to impress a of variety consumer types.  Investors, Corporate Decision Makers, The Competition (Recruiting) and finally End Users.  The real cool stuff is often confidential.

That isn't to say you can't glean some insight into a companies future focus.  I just don't think you need to go to CES to do it.  For example, Microsoft has been giving software away for years.  My first exposure to the practice was with Internet Explorer 4 beta on Windows 95.  Windows 98 wasn't a huge surprise because of the preview presented by active desktop.  I ran Vista and Win7 Betas in production for almost 3 years.  Can you imagine!  Microsoft giving away free software!  What in the name of Linus is going on!  Actually, it's really smart business.  Why pay beta testers when you can have your future customer do the work more accurately for free.

Speaking of tablets.  I have had several laptops over the years that could be used as a tablet.  My last, a tx-2525 from HP, had a very nice touch screen.  It was just too heavy and it got very hot.  That takes the cool right out of the tablet.  I bought a 7 inch android tablet from China about early last year.  It runs 1.6 and the touch screen is horrible.  The biggest problem I have with it is the usb interface.  It is an external adapter.  I  hook up a wireless keyboard and mouse and I am set.

There is my dilemma with tablets.  On screen keyboards reduce an already limited viewing area and you can't interact with multiple inputs at the same time.  I think the future will be projection phones, maybe to a pair of glasses.  The phone will act as the control device for output.  Display, mouse and keyboard, camera, etc. Make it voice controlled, that's a drastically different approach to input.

So, none of this is really far fetched