Further commands will navigate through voice mail or modify a spreadsheet. Speaking your memo into a microphone will replace typing on a keyboard to produce a document. On the ascent will likely be Spanish and Chinese. Look for workers to know more languages as globalization proceeds apace. With all that, one reader urges caution with such projections.
Cases abound in which ideas once sounded great but amounted to massive flops.
Two examples suffice. First, the computer was to usher in the paperless office. Instead, Steelcase sells more filing cabinets that ever before. On The Ledge is a biweekly column that offers a glimpse into the digital future. Web pioneer John Makulowich will at times venture into the realm where fact and science fiction merge.