[PEN-L:11468] Capitalism + the Revenge of the Nerds; Geekorama Uber Alles

[Anders Schneiderman <aschneid@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Penlrs,

You couldn't make up this stuff if you tried--unfettered capitalism at its
finest.  This is from the San Jose Mercury News, from an article about
Microsoft's future:

In the realm of advanced research, two Microsoft researchers showed an
experimental user interface that interprets what a user is doing and
applies a template to help give a document structure. For example, if the
software deciphers that a user is writing a memo, it applies a memo
template that gives the document a memo structure.

In other ways, too, Microsoft envisions that the operating system of the
future will be somewhat intelligent. ``Like smart sinks in public
restrooms, it's aware of human activity,'' Belfiore said. ``It  becomes a
part of their lives in a little more intimate way than it would today.''

 Of the futuristic technologies, Ryder of Zona compared them to what's seen
at an auto show. ``You see great cars and you think `Only Batman would own
that,' but years down the road, the  climate control system in Batman's car
will be common.''
("Microsoft puts face on Windows 98," 7/23/1997)

Anders Schneiderman
Progressive Communications