Making or receiving a phone call, fax or data transmission over phone lines logically is easier to do if all three items are contained on the computer. Computers sport sound cards speakers, microphones, and other multimedia tools that easily convert the computer to a telephone. Some new models of computers are coming out from Gateway and others that incorporate television in the computer. Perhaps game makers will come up with games and devices like Microsoft s game pad that will allow the whole family to play together in the living room on these new computer televisions. So that computers will actually unite families instead of insulating each member of the family in their own computer cubicle.
Television programming is likely to develop an interactive element in the future.
Sitting in front of the computer we can vote for a particular outcome of the show, or even better move and look around the three dimensional show environment, watching what we want to. Even the dream of being surrounded by a true three dimensional environment is not too far off where members of the family can take part in the interactive movie as individual players. Already devices like video conferencing computers where a simple digital video camera is attached to the computer and video signal is fed down the pipe to another computer. Video conferencing allows you to see the persons you are talking with and hear their voices, something like the Jetson s video phone. Early attempts at the video phone were failures, because the expense and trouble was just not worth the benefit of seeing who was calling you.