Call me a Luddite if you want, but I remain unimpressed by Bill Gates' vision of the future, which sounds more like Futurama or the Jetsons every day (The revolution is only just beginning).

So, we will see "computing available everywhere", will we? Isn't the word for that "intrusive"? If computing is available via "a wide range of devices, often taking advantage of nearby displays and projection surfaces", that sounds to me more like the future as envisioned by science fiction author Philip K. Dick, with advertising and messages being beamed directly to you wherever you are, as you walk down the street, lie in bed, take a shower, or whatever. Intrusive? The word doesn't do it justice.
And when Gates talks about delivering "the best experience for the device you are using", whose definition of "best" is he using?

My ideal experience is not being surrounded by screens of all differing shapes, sizes and colours, demanding my attention and a response, regardless of whatever it is I am actually trying to do, such as buy groceries, enjoy a drive in the countryside or listen to some music - something I definitely want to do without distractions of any sort.

He needs to remember that visions such as George Orwell's 1984 and Dick's Blade Runner are much better described as dystopias, rather than utopias.

Get in step with the real world, Bill - and by the way, I don't think it is going to look much like your vision of it.

Peter Royle