[UgaBYTES] Bill Gates hails age of digital senses

[Peter Burgess]

Dear Colleagues

About 20 years ago people talked about the PC Paradox ... clearly the
PC was a big technology step compared to older typewriters and
mainframe computers ... but it was not translating into improved
productivity.

As an analyst with the mindest of a cost accountant, it was pretty
clear why this was happening and what was going on ... it had become
fashionable to invest in technology without paying good attention to
how technology would translate into productivity. It was almost
another 10 years before this changed and PC applications started doing
work that resulted in increased productivity.

The BBC interview with Bill Gates reminds me of the 1980s ... another
generation of "wow" technology ... but doing what? For a big part of
the world technology is not playing very much of a part in helping
reduce poverty ... firstly because the technology is not deployed ...
and when it is deployed it does not get used for things that are of
much value.

My special interest is in the data that are needed to help improve
socio-economic performance. Technology should be a big help in making
these data accessible, but broadly speaking, this is of little
interest to the people and organizations that are presently making
decisions about the allocation of scarce development resourses. This
is a pity, because without performance metrics about relief and
development, the funds are lost or wasted and nobody is any the wiser.

I am something of a broken record on this subject ... but my
experience suggests that if there are no data about performance, then
performance will be poor.

During 2008, I hope there will be substantial progress in deploying
not only technology, but improved systems for  collecting and
analyzing socio-economic data.

Sincerely

Peter Burgess
____________
Peter Burgess
The Transparency and Accountability Network: Tr-Ac-Net in New York
www.tr-ac-net.org
IMMC - The Integrated Malaria Management Consortium Inc.
www.IMMConsortium.org
The Tr-Ac-Net blogs ... start at http://tracnetagenda.blogspot.com
917 432 1191 or 212 772 6918  peterbnyc at gmail.com
//////////////////////////////
On Jan 16, 2008 4:31 AM, Nasikye Esther <nasikye at ugabytes.org> wrote:
> Hi friends,
>
> I came across this interesting piece on the BBC website
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7174333.stm.
>  It is interesting to know what the Microsoft head thinks about computers a
> few years from now.
>
> Nice reading
>
> Esther
> ******************************************************************************
>
> The way people interact with computers is going to dramatically change in
> the next five years, Microsoft chief Bill Gates has told BBC News.
> He predicted that the keyboard and mouse would gradually give way to more
> intuitive and natural technologies.
>
> In particular, he said, touch, vision and speech interfaces would become
> increasingly important.
>
> Mr Gates made his comments whilst answering questions from BBC News website
> readers.
>
> "This whole idea of what I call natural user interface is really redefining
> the experience," he said.
> "We're adding the ability to touch and directly manipulate, we're adding
> vision so the computer can see what you're doing, we're adding the pen,
> we're adding speech," he told BBC News.
>
> During the interview Mr Gates showed off the Microsoft Surface computer, a
> large table like machine with a multi-touch interface.
>
> "I'll be brave, in five years we'll have many tens of million of people
> sitting browsing their photos, browsing their music, organising their lives
> using this type of touch interface," he said.
>
> Mr Gates expanded on this theme of natural interfaces during the CES keynote
> speech he made on the first day of the hi-tech fair.
>
> Citing the success of the iPhone and the controller for the Nintendo Wii
> game console, Mr Gates said such interfaces were a big hit with consumers.
>
> Vista versions
>
> Although Microsoft Windows has become the most widely used operating system
> in the world, Mr Gates admitted, in answer to readers questions, that he had
> not always got things right.
>
> "People thought we were late with the [web] browser," he admitted.
>
> In addition, he said, search was an area where people thought that Microsoft
> had not fulfilled expectations.
>
> "Google has done a good job," he said. "We expect to surprise people that we
> can match and even do better there - people should wait and see."
>
> Mr Gates also answered questions about Windows Vista, the firm's
> often-criticised operating system, launched last year.
>
> "I'm very proud of Vista," he said. "Like all of the products we ship, we
> hear how we could do this differently or that differently."
>
> He said the firm had received "lots of feedback" on the software.
>
> "We do downloads and improvements all of the time and of course there'll be
> a major new version coming along," he said.
>
> Microsoft has just announced that it has sold 100 million licences for the
> operating system.
>
> During the questions and answer session he also revealed his own computer
> habits.
>
> "There are a lot of PCs in my house - over 10," he said.
>
> In particular, he said, he used a tablet PC, a notebook computer that is
> operated with a digital stylus.
>
> However, he said, he does not use his competitor's products.
>
> "There are no Macs in my house," he admitted.
>
> --
> Esther Nasikye
> Community Content Facilitator
> UgaBYTES Initiative
> Plot 2218 Ggaba Road
> Kampala, Uganda
> Tel: 25641370163
> skype:esther.nasikye
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