Like any great visionary, Bill Gates is vague on the specifics. That's nothing new, says computer guru Steve Franklin. That is, buying and revamping DOS before licensing it to IBM and copying Apple's Macintosh interface with Windows. After all, he successfully predicted a software gold mine, the rise of the CD-ROM and the popularity of personal computers. It will take about four to five years to develop digital money cards, followed by a two-decade adoption period.
Cash rapidly becomes the only safe way to keep income off the books.
The prediction looks shaky. Franklin adds that this is particularly important because it outlines the kind of technologies Microsoft is trying to push in the next five years. In a way, Gates' predictions are self-fulfilling. There's still a big tech hurdle before computers can recognize divergent handwriting styles. We give Gates all our money.