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Gates Says Technology Will One Day Allow Computer Implants -- But Hardwiring's Not For Him
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 17:17:34 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: "John F. McMullen" <observer () westnet com> Date: July 3, 2005 5:05:48 PM EDT To: johnmac's living room <johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com> Cc: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>Subject: [johnmacsgroup] Gates Says Technology Will One Day Allow Computer Implants -- But Hardwiring's Not For Him
Reply-To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com From Techology Review -- http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/07/ap/ap_070105.asp Gates Says Technology Will One Day Allow Computer Implants -- But Hardwiring's Not For Him By Rohan Sullivan SINGAPORE (AP) -- Technological advances will one day allow computers to be implanted in the human body -- and could help the blind see and the deaf hear -- Bill Gates said Friday. But the Microsoft chairman says he's not ready to be hardwired. "One of the guys that works at Microsoft ... always says to me 'I'm ready, plug me in,"' Gates said at a Microsoft seminar in Singapore. "I don't feel quite the same way. I'm happy to have the computer over there and I'm over here." Meshing people directly with computers has been a science fiction subject for years, from downloading memories onto computer chips to replacement robotic limbs controlled by brain waves. The fantasy is coming closer to reality as advances in technology mean computers are learning to interact with human characteristics such as voices, touch -- even smell. Gates, whose Redmond, Washington-based company is spending more than US$6 billion (euro4.95 billion) on research and development this year to stay a world leader in software development, was asked at the seminar whether he thought computers would ever be implanted in the human brain. He noted that cochlear implants and other medical implants were already being used to treat hearing problems and some conditions that cause constant pain, and were changing some people's lives dramatically. Cochlear implants, which employ digital pulses that the brain interprets as sound, can help profoundly deaf people hear. Advances were also being made on implants that can help fix eyesight problems, Gates said. These types of technologies would continue to be improved and expanded, especially in areas where they would be "correcting deficiencies," he said. "We will have those capabilities," Gates said. He cited author Ray Kurzweil, whom he called the best at predicting the future of artificial intelligence, as believing that such computer-human links would become mainstream -- though probably not for several generations. Gates also predicted that the keyboard won't be replaced by voice recognition software, and that the pen will make a comeback -- although without ink. The three would form the basic ways people will interact with their computers in the future, he said. He said when computer pen technology -- scratching words onto a screen that a computer tries to read -- gets more sophisticated it will do things like let people draw musical notes and chemical signs, as well as recognize handwriting. "Some people today underestimate the pen, because that recognition software is at an early stage," Gates said. "But it's on a very fast learning curve." Speech would probably become the main way to input information in mobile devices, though Gates noted the huge popularity of mobile phone short messages services -- used almost fanatically across Asia. "In some cases -- mobile phones -- speech will be the primary input (because) either the pen or the keyboard is a bit tough-- although a lot of young people are awfully good with that little keyboard," Gates said.
------------------------------------------------------------- Related: Notebook: There was no major announcement in Chairman Gates' speech at this MS confab in Singapore. Still, it was a decent rundown of what one guy is thinking about the future of microprocessor technology -- a guy who controls around $6 billion in computer R&D funds annually. -- By Paul Angiolillo What Others Are Saying: As Forbes noted (below), at the same MS conference, Gates cited Internet security as his company's key challenge. And, as News.com reported (also below), in an interview, the Chairman also hinted that he may license Xbox gaming device manufacturing to third parties. ------------------------- http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/07/01/afx2120303.html AFX News Limited Bill Gates says internet security is Microsoft's biggest challenge 07.01.2005, 07:08 AM SINGAPORE (AFX) - Internet security is Microsoft's greatest challenge while developing mainstream technology to be able to talk to a computer is a frontier about to be crossed, company chairman Bill Gates said. Delivering a wide-ranging lecture on technology to thousands of delegates at a Microsoft forum here, Gates said giving instructions to a personal computer by voice will become mainstream in 'three to four years'. Gates said Microsoft is investing 'tens of millions of dollars' annually on this technology, although he expects the computer keyboard will remain an important device. Asked what is the biggest technology challenge for Microsoft apart from piracy, Gates identified security on the Internet, which he explained included privacy issues and controlling spam e-mails. 'The thing we are investing the most in is our work on security,' Gates said, adding that users should feel more secure in giving out their credit card numbers and other information online. 'I think the security challenge certainly for the forseeable future will be the biggest thing.' Gates also said the 'next big thing' on the information technology horizon is pushing the functions of the Internet to a higher level, such as making online searches faster and easier. 'The Internet is so popular today that we need to just keep evolving ... the way we navigate information -- we need to make it easier to find. 'People are very impressed about searches today but it's really quite poor compared to what it should be,' Gates said. He said searching for information on the web directs the user to a lot of links instead of giving out the information immediately. '(A) higher level of understanding (by the computer) -- that's the biggest thing because it means you will write a lot less code and you'll find anything you want very quickly,' he said. Gates said the next 10 years will be 'far more interesting' than the past 30 years because technology gains will change at a faster pace the way people work and live. 2005 Forbes.com Inc -------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.com.com/Gates+considers+Xbox+clones/2100-1043_3-5770507.html Gates considering Xbox clones? By Michael Singer Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is dropping hints that he may be ready to license the brains of the Xbox gaming device to other companies. It's a risky move to better compete with Sony's PlayStation, according to one analyst. In an interview with Nikkei Newspaper in Tokyo, Gates was asked whether Microsoft would consider opening the manufacture of Xbox units to third parties. Gates responded that "there is nothing concrete" but said the company is always talking with partners about how to expand the Xbox culture. Gates declined to give details, such as which companies Microsoft might be thinking about working with or if a license would be extended to the underlying software of other electronics equipment, such as handheld devices, PCs or home digital media centers. Microsoft's Xbox currently plays second fiddle to Sony's PlayStation when it comes to sales, with Nintendo's GameCube ranking third. The PlayStation makes up more than 60 percent of the market, with the Xbox accounting for 29 percent of sales and the GameCube rounding out the top-tier players with 11 percent, according to the latest statistics from NPD Group. All three console makers are preparing their next-generation gaming box. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is expected to hit store shelves later this year, with Sony's PlayStation 3 available soon after and Nintendo's Revolution console expected in 2006. Despite the suggestion that Microsoft's device could be cloned, Xbox representative Molly O'Donnell reaffirmed the company's stance that the Xbox is exclusively a Microsoft product. "There's certainly a potential for other hardware companies to manufacture Xbox some day in the future, but that is not something we're focused on right now," she said. Licensing the Xbox's underlying software to other manufacturers is, of course, not outside the realm of Microsoft's capabilities. The company found sterling success in licensing its Windows operating system to PC makers. But breaking the traditional proprietary mold of the game console world is something no one else has tried and something JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg says would be a bold move on Microsoft's part. "Clearly, everyone at Microsoft is thinking out of the box to increase sales. I mean, look at the nontraditional way of introducing the Xbox on MTV," Gartenberg said. "It sounds like they are just testing the waters with a hybrid of the (white box) PC model and the (proprietary hardware) video game model." AOL launches video search service Will SAP sample hosted recipe? XP Starter under the gun Previous Next Gartenberg said Microsoft's strategy may be centered on gaming software. The majority of money made in the video game industry comes from the games themselves, not from the hardware. Recently, both Microsoft and Sony reported that the newer models of their devices will be priced far less than the cost needed to make them. Microsoft's reasoning, Gartenberg said, may be that the more Xbox-like consoles there were on the market, the easier it would be to sell Xbox-branded games. That would mean Microsoft would have a larger market for the titles it published. And it could also put the squeeze on the PlayStation by inspiring game developers to focus on titles for the Xbox and its generic brethren. "No one video game software developer just writes for Xbox," Gartenberg said. "But what it would do is tell publishers, 'Hey, look how many more consoles we are on.' "Still," Gartenberg said, "Microsoft would have to make sure that all the people who license their Xbox are up to their standards, and at the end of the day they would still be competing with Xbox sales." Copyright 1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use
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- Gates Says Technology Will One Day Allow Computer Implants -- But Hardwiring's Not For Him David Farber (Jul 03)