While still get a kick out of the various markets that are entirely foreign to Westerners like myself (e.g., Replacement drivers), I am equally amused that individuals can make a living by writing about what they believe the future holds.
Inventor and award-winning author Ray Kurzweil is among many commentators of futurism and I accidentally bumped into another prediction of his that seems to be accurate.
While he would hardly claim to own a crystal ball, it seems as if a prediction he made 7.5 years ago is unfolding on time.
In “The Age of Spiritual Machines” he suggested that at some point in the early 2000s (and before 2010), “[s]peech-to-text machines translate speech into a visual display for the deaf.”
And according to a recent patent application, it looks like the gadget wizards of Cupterino California (Apple Computers) have been working on commercializing a product that does just that.
So while it is hardly an earth-shattering Apocalypse-causing innovation, it does give ol’ Ray a little more room to flex at cocktail parties. See more on his track record here.
And I predict that in 7.5 years Apple will release Duke Nukem Forever packaged with a Bitchin’fast!3D 2000.