Gates' comment coincides with a flood of new flat-panel LCD screens from several companies. ADI Systems, Panasonic, Samsung, and others have shown desktop LCDs ranging from 13 to 15 inches.
High price remains the barrier to widespread adoption of flat-panel desktop displays.
DisplaySearch, a market research firm, predicts that desktop LCD sales will grow nearly 100 percent annually from now to 2000. Sharp Electronics expects LCDs to grow to 15 percent of the desktop monitor market by then.