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High-tech '97: New products promise speed, convenience
January 2, 1997
Web posted at: 5:45 a.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Dennis Michael
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- When you talk about technology in 1997, one word will drown out all others: "Internet."
Even though most people still think of the World Wide Web as a loosely organized electronic mall system filled with semi-useful information, it will soon become a life-line connecting millions of smart devices together.
Microsoft, among others, is already programming to a future that can't exist without the Web. The computer giant will unveil its "Office '97" software that, along with a planned Windows 95 upgrade, will put the Internet in the center of the action.
"The key thing is to integrate the Internet in a very deep way. So the way you browse your local files and the way you browse the Web and the way you look at messages -- all these will be brought together," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
Not only will computer users be using the Internet differently, they'll likely be accessing it in a different way.
Conventional phone lines are becoming too slow, so the techno-savvy should expect to see cable modems move into the mainstream. By using the same lines that deliver cable TV, cable can bring a startling increase in speed to the average computer.
"You're going from kilobits per second to megabits per second, so that's a factor of actually a thousand. But you won't see that much because you have other connections in between, so we're saying hundreds of times faster," said Lisa Martin of Hewlett-Packard.
Cyber infrastructure
The future of the Internet could also make this Web of webs as important as the national power grid or the interstate highway system.
"The investments that we and others are making are assuming that the Internet is going to be very persuasive, so ease of use is a big priority," said Gates.
The digital world is also, as usual, getting smaller.
Handheld palmtop computers now have their own compatible version of Windows '95 called Windows CE. That means full-size computers and pocket gadgets will speak the same language.
One medium of exchange of information is likely to be the N-hand storage disc. This tiny floppy holds 20 megabytes and is built to serve the new capabilities of the coming smart cameras and phones.
Home entertainment systems could also see a major upgrade with the final rollout of DVD. The Digital Video Disc has been held up by a format war and disagreements over copy protection, but 1997 will be the year DVD goes public. Not only will DVD offer picture and sound quality unattainable by video tape or disc, but a repertoire of other new functions.
And if the same technology can be linked to computers, the emergence of DVD-ROM will bring ever closer the convergence of television and computer.
Related stories:
- Internet World '96 forecasts a brave, new cyberworld - December 15, 1996
- Internet integration in Comdex spotlight - November 21, 1996
- New modem will speed up Internet access - October 4, 1996
- CNNfn - DVDs make their Tokyo debut - August 29, 1996
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