Bill Gates gave his last keynote speech as CEO of Microsoft this weekend at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.He had some interesting things to say about the future of technology and the last “digital decade” as well as the next one.
The last decade was about the growth and proliferation of the PC (think about the huge success of Windows 95), and the advent of the internet: “We’ve made a lot of progress. The first digital decade has been a great success. Thousands of companies have worked together… this is just the beginning. There’s nothing holding us back from going much faster and further in the second digital decade.”
The next digital decade will be defined by the fact that: “People want to share content, ideas, community and entertainment”. The future of entertainment will be software driven and he emphasized the importance of mobile computing, and connecting, getting, creating, and sharing content on the go. Consumers will dictate this next decade and the innovation will be happening in the cloud, on the phone, in the car, and in the TV as well.
I liked the part about connecting and sharing, and doing it all on the go. When I think about how these innovations have changed my own life and how they will continue to do so over the next decade I don’t have to look any further than my morning commute:
- Finished half an episode of The Office on the train on the way to work
- Replied to 4 people by email. I emailed 2 of them photos I had taken on my phone.
- Read the financial news online.
- Made 3 business calls, wrote a blog post, did my online banking, then walked to the office listening to music. Sent 2 text messages before I got on the elevator.
That was just my morning commute. This is what I did on the go: I got my entertainment (TV show, music), shared my content (photos), created my own content (blog post) and shared it, consumed content (online news sites), conducted personal business (banking), and communicated with coworkers, colleagues, and family (by way of email, phone calls, and text messages).
This always brings me back to the larger question of mobile computing and education. Things like podcasting, blogging, and online courses are helping students get their education on the go already. There is a lot of room for growth here and a lot to think about. I’ll be writing a blog post later this week exploring each of these a little more in depth.
You can catch the keynote on Microsoft’s website if you would like to watch it in streaming video.
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