{"id":36281,"date":"2021-02-26T17:16:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T11:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/?p=36281"},"modified":"2021-04-27T18:11:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T12:41:19","slug":"how-accurate-were-bill-gates-predictions-for-the-future-in-1999","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/how-accurate-were-bill-gates-predictions-for-the-future-in-1999\/","title":{"rendered":"How accurate were Bill Gates\u2019 predictions for the future in 1999?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"boston<\/p>\n

Bill Gates has long been considered the richest person on the planet. For over two decades, the Microsoft co-founder held that title until the fall of 2017 when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos eventually overtook him with an estimated net worth of $90.6 billion. Those figures don\u2019t even bear thinking about, but Gates remains a fascinating individual; a man who has his fingers firmly on the pulse of technological change in the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

On the eve of the new millennium, Gates, who was still chairman and CEO of Microsoft at this point, made a series of ambitious predictions for technological advancements in the years to come. His book titled \u201cBusiness @ the Speed of Thought\u201d contained over a dozen forecasts \u2013 many of which appeared outlandish at the time. Little did we know that Gates would hit the nail firmly on the head with so many of them. Let\u2019s take a look at some of his most bold tech predictions amid the dotcom bubble that have since gone on to enhance our everyday lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall devices\u201d that allow people to \u201cconstantly stay in touch\u201d<\/h2>\n

Bill Gates could foresee a world in which consumers would \u201ccarry around small devices\u201d that would allow them to \u201ccheck the news\u201d, book flights, chat to friends and carry out all forms of \u201celectronic business\u201d. It\u2019s fair to say that this prediction came to light in a big way. It\u2019s not just smartphones and tablets, we\u2019ve got all other forms of wearable tech today including smartwatches and speakers, as well as smart headsets like Microsoft\u2019s HoloLens that solve real-world problems using intelligent apps and data.<\/p>\n

\u201cAutomated price comparison\u201d portals will help find the best value for goods and services<\/h2>\n

Within his book, Gates insisted there would be demand for \u201cautomated price comparison services\u201d. Gates said the technology would exist to enable comparison portals to pull through available prices for goods and services across multiplier brands and service providers, allowing consumers to find \u201cthe cheapest product for all industries\u201d. Let\u2019s face it, Gates really hit the nail on the head with this one. There are comparison portals out there for almost anything these days. Whether it\u2019s changing your broadband provider, car insurance policy, smartphone plan or even find the latest deals in the lead up to the Grand National<\/a> for sports bettors.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmart personal companions will be developed\u201d<\/h2>\n

\"amazon<\/p>\n

Gates hit the nail well and truly on the head in terms of personal assistants and the rise of the so-called \u2018Internet of Things\u2019 (IoT). He was positive that \u201cpersonal companions\u201d would be par for the course. He was also spot on about the ability to synchronize and hook-up smart devices and companions together, allowing them to \u201cexchange data\u201d. Voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant have been game-changers in this field. Meanwhile smart devices elsewhere in the home have had revolutionary impacts on everything from home security to temperature control.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevices will have smart advertising\u201d enabled<\/h2>\n

Gates also intimated that brands and online advertisers would be able to understand the \u201cpurchasing trends\u201d of their customers. He predicted that companies would be able to strategically \u201cdisplay advertisements\u201d based on an individual\u2019s preferences and previous buying history. Today, the effectiveness and sustainability of the online advertising sector depends heavily on accessing a user\u2019s buying and search history. Retargeting ads are online advertising campaigns that provide a timely reminder to users that have previously visited a brand\u2019s goods or services.<\/p>\n

Project managers \u201cwill be able to go online\u201d and find remote workers to \u201cfit their requirements\u201d<\/h2>\n

The future of remote working and the gig economy for freelancers and contractors was also predicted by Gates. He believed a time would come when project managers could \u201cput a team together\u201d online. Freelance portals like PeoplePerHour, Fiverr and Gigster have helped connect businesses and entrepreneurs to the freelance talent they need to get the job done properly. Furthermore, the advancements in enterprise-grade workflow software like Slack, Trello and Asana have radically overhauled the efficiency of working as a team \u2013 even if there are hundreds or thousands of miles between them.<\/p>\n

Is Gates something of a modern-day\u00a0Nostradamus or was he privy to many of the technologies that were being developed behind the scenes and prepared to come on-stream? Either way, it\u2019s easy to see how much technology has changed everyday life in less than a generation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill Gates has long been considered the richest person on the planet. For over two decades, the Microsoft co-founder held that title until the fall of 2017 when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos eventually overtook him with an estimated net worth of $90.6 billion. Those figures don\u2019t even bear thinking about, but Gates remains a fascinating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93090],"tags":[93112,93107,93108,40013,39998,66921,93101,93103,40005,93100,93105,93102,93106,93104,40019,93109,93091,93093,93094,93095,93098,93097,93092,93099,93118,93125,40020,93116,93117,93120,93124,93121,93122,93119,93123,93110,93114,93113,93111,40000,93096,93115],"class_list":["post-36281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-of-things","tag-alexa-amazon-in","tag-alexa-from-amazon","tag-alexa-in-amazon","tag-alexa-speaker","tag-amazon-alexa","tag-amazon-alexa-app","tag-amazon-alexa-devices","tag-amazon-alexa-dot","tag-amazon-alexa-echo","tag-amazon-alexa-login","tag-amazon-alexa-pricing","tag-amazon-alexa-setup","tag-amazon-alexa-skill","tag-amazon-alexa-skills","tag-amazon-echo","tag-amazons-alexa","tag-bill-gates-prediction","tag-bill-gates-prediction-2021","tag-bill-gates-prediction-2022","tag-bill-gates-prediction-2023","tag-bill-gates-prediction-for-2030","tag-bill-gates-prediction-for-coronavirus","tag-bill-gates-prediction-for-the-future","tag-bill-gates-predictions-for-future-technology","tag-blackjack-free-bets","tag-bookies-free-bets-offers","tag-echo-amazon","tag-free-bets","tag-free-bets-blackjack","tag-free-bets-picks","tag-free-bets-sport","tag-free-bets-sports","tag-free-bets-without-deposits","tag-no-deposit-free-bets-online","tag-sports-free-bets","tag-the-amazon-alexa","tag-the-amazon-echo","tag-the-echo-amazon","tag-what-is-alexa-amazon","tag-what-is-amazon-alexa","tag-what-is-bill-gates-prediction","tag-who-is-alexa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechy.com\/technology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}