you're not making fun of a movie (back to the future) that my brother edited, are you?

I did seem to me that something was missing but I couldn't put my finger on it. Now I realize that you are correct, it was a phone. There was that folding thing at the end with a keypad on it but it could have been a remote.

My take on it was that it was that the newspaper and morphing hand-held device on steroids took the concept of being mobile and on the Internet to the next level. The clip of the "airport workspaces" looked like a potentially great implementation of social networking in a corporate environment while on the move.

Your questioning the absence of "web browsers or net clients" sounds tantamount to a mainframe programmer 30 years ago looking at what we have today, "how could that future even exist, where are the punch cards? the rabbit ears for the televisions?! Preposterous!"

This video should be meant to inspire, not be used as a tool to slag Microsoft. Be happy! These times are amazing!

There was a phone (the folding thing)... the Asian businessman meeting his western colleague @ the airport (I assume that's what was happening) talks to her on the 'phone' and then seems to make some kind of app't to meet while he is talking...

"But the vision doesn't include mobile or the Internet."

Sure it does! There were no traditional cell phone handsets, no browsers, and no URLs... few hallmarks of today's internet, perhaps. But it was all about connectedness and mobility.

Consider the opening shots of the connected classrooms. Surely that's net-based. And it almost qualifies as social networking.

I agree, there may be more device consolidation than this would suggest. But I guess it's also possible that we'll see more proliferation as the tech gets cheaper.

But in any case, I think the video--like Back to the Future II--is more about imagining the possibilities than an exercise in realistic futurism.

(See also the extended version @ http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090228/microsoft-office-labs-vision-2019-video/)

What's John Sculley doing these days?

nice video lol

Lawrence D'Oliveiro said :
What's John Sculley doing these days?

In a way he's right. Joe, you should roll out Sculley's Navigator video from his time at Apple as an "excersise in realistic futurism".

Nice videowork, but the little girl with the little Chinese ( or was it Japanese ? ) boy with the automatic translation is way over top. I've never seen text-balloons above peoples heads when they spoke to me in real live.

But maybe everybody will have some small thin screen above their heads for such situations in the long distant future ...
and in front of them so they can read what to say, and let the cloud compute the most sensible and political correct answers when someone asked you a question.

I have very little faith in any Microsoft future predictions since they couldnt even get it right about the HDdvd format and lost out to BluRay.
-
Are these type of ideas where shareholders money goes? It would certainly explain alot.
-
I really hope this Microsoft vision of a touch sensitive world (presumably run by them) does not come to pass, just imagine if we had another new years eve Zune surprise? I think Scotty's comment from StarTrek is appropriate here:
-
"the more they overtech the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain"
-
Gene Roddenbury was a true visionary.

They are dreaming about what Apple is building now; there is no phone in the add because they are about 5 years behind the iPhone and could not imagine something more advanced. Don't worry, m$, your imagination will be refreshed soon with the new version of iPhone and probably an Apple tablet ... have a good laugh Mr. Softy, before it is not too late :D

It is clear that they think the future is all based on Surface, you can see all the classic features being used. What you do not see in the video is all the cameras and projectors behind the walls and in the ceiling. That's how they have flexible devices with computer graphics on them, they are projecting onto the surface of random objects.

What ever happened to voice control and handwriting recognition, not to mention the end of spam?

Bill Gates is clearly not in control any more.

Apple + Google will make the first universal translator, we all know it.

That was a cell phone at the end. It had a numeric touch keyboard, and an interface very close to the current Windows Mobile 6.1.

They seem too focused on touch screens. Almost to the point of being myopic. Waving your arm three feet to move an object from one pile to another seems to be awfully ineffecient.

I would expect that something analagous to heads up displays that track eye movement would be the norm in the future. Something like contact lenses that are actual computer screens that monitor the pupil for input.

There are a somethings missing alright:

- poor people, maybe because you'll have to be extremely rich to buy Windows in the future. Or maybe Gates will give away all his wealth, but I wouldn't hold my breath on it.

- entertainment, the most you get is some woman seeing some exercise on some remote/mobile device. Everyone else except the kids is either working or sick.

- creativity, see above. Not much visible in regards to video, music or photo creation/editing. Those big video walls would be great for a personal video or photo gallery, but instead we get work. Will Microsoft ever break away from its corporate America symbiosis?

Phil, I agree. Additionally, there is already some very good work on being able to process thoughts, so you could just think, "Play this video" and it starts playing.

I don't think big heads up displays will ever catch on. It's just much simpler to send a signal out to mobile devices that everyone picks up with their phone/device.

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-gb&tab=soapbox&vid=c6636690-c674-4550-bda1-c42f064df538

This was their vision of the future 2 years ago, before the iPhone. The tablet that looks like a Kindle is the only futuristic thing there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AikmxQ6SL8k

This was the scary future they had to explain to 3 year olds 12 months ago. Totally missing cloud storage even though everyone else was already doing it.

Whenever Bill Gates or Microsoft predict anything, you can be sure it is NOT going to happen.

@Goblin,
PLEASE... in the future, please add a warning to your posts. I followed your link and laughed so hard that I almost ejected a lo mein noodle from my nose!

Now that my mouth is empty..... Hahahahahahahahaaha! Thanks so much for the link! I would have never have thought to look for it myself. Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised after Microsoft paid Jerry Seinfeld 10 million dollars to tell us how great it is to take a shower with your clothes on. How can people have so much money and still be that stupid????? And why would I be surprised at the other stupid things they do and say?????

"The office is a boring place where big people go and do boring things". Well, billy and stevie, not if they run Mac or Linux! It's only boring if those big people have to keep rebooting and disinfecting Windows! 'Our potential. Your passion'? Since you define "passion" as "boring", I don't want any of your stinkin' passion.

"Offices are why big people get grumpy and say bad words". No, little billy and stevie. Plumbing, wallpaper hanging, and home network troubleshooting are much, much higher on the list of things that make big people grumpy and say bad words. And tell me, did stevie the monkey boy get mad and say bad words and throw his chair because he works in an office? Or was it because one of his employees decided to leave his boring office and go to Google's much happier offices?

"When a Mommy and Daddy love each other very much, Daddy wants to give Mommy a special gift."
And I NEVER would have guessed in a million years that the "Special Gift" would be a home server! (This was the part on which I almost choked with laughter and a full mouth.) Let me explain it to you, Daddy. With romantic gifts like that, you should NOT be surprised that your children all look like the next door neighbor.

We can share files at home across two Macs, one Linux client, and one Windows XP client, and we don't need a home server from billy and stevie. Even the color laser printer and the scanner are on the network, neither beholden to a home server.

billybob, sorry, I was still laughing so hard I was still seeing Goblin's name. You're both insightful, so the mistake was easy when blinded by tears of laughter.

I think we have another case of impersonation. I dont believe Philosopher is posting. We've seen this before, and Joe had to start deleting posts because of it.
-
Philosopher, if it is actually you, I appologize but I dont know what you mean when you refer to my link. Maybe you made a mistake, or maybe its another attempt by someone else to confuse by immitating other handles.
-
Im sure it will be sorted soon.

@Goblin, as I corrected in my 2nd append, I meant to respond to billybob and not you.

You can verify via direct email to Joe that these most recent 3 posts are mine.

Again, I apologize for the mistake.

To paraphrase the great Weird Al Yankovic, "Weird Al's videos are just like Microsoft's videos, except that Weird Al's are intentionally funny."

But I still don't think I've seen a funnier video that that lunatic Microsoft Home Server. Check out billybob's most recent post for the URL if you haven't already. It's a hoot, for sure!

You'd have to have just returned from space to deny the concept of mobile as the future. That said, there are a lot of old guys like me whose eyesight prevents them from comfortably using that small screen (not to mention the "keyboard"). I can't tell you how many times I'll see someone get an e-mail or text on the phone, then open up their laptop or netbook to respond.

@Philosopher,
With the exploits of our dubious Microsoft posters, its a terrible thing to be suspicious of people who you build up a posting relationship with.
-
Im pleased it is actually you and not another imposter.
-
What a world we live in!

@DaveN:

Re: "...there are a lot of old guys like me whose eyesight prevents them from comfortably using that small screen (not to mention the "keyboard")."

I will add, though, that the Blackberry Curve's screen and keyboard are serviceable for quick email or SMS. And the screen is very readable even in brilliant sunlight. It is NOT a laptop, but it is MUCH BETTER than an ordinary phone. And its small size is much mitigated by its ability to easily switch between running applications and to easily cut/copy/paste between running applications (something that the sexy demo doll iPhone cannot do).

Re: "I can't tell you how many times I'll see someone get an e-mail or text on the phone, then open up their laptop or netbook to respond."

Why can't you tell me? Because then you'd have to kill me?? ;-)

Seriously... I'll often get an email on my Blackberry that I cannot fully see (attached documents or clumps of large images), or want to respond with a dissertation but the tiny keyboard is just not up to my old fart eyes and fingers. So I'll pop over to a "real computer" to complete the job. BUT.... it was the Blackberry that let me know I needed to pop over to a real computer. So it prevents me from missing emails, but it also frees me from having to poll real computers like an addict.

But I really don't understand why the Blackberry Curve is such a popular smart phone. I'm such a technologically conservative old fart and the things I like are usually liked by only 0.00002% of the market.

It's also the reason I prefer Linux (Ubuntu in particular) to Microsoft's operating systems. I used Unix long before Microsoft ever released DOS, and long since ran out of patience waiting for the little boy and girl toy DOS to grow up when Unix was already grown and mature. I am not going to switch to Vista or Windows 7 at this point in time just because all the little kids love it because it's all they've ever known.

At least it keeps the virus writers away from my computer! There IS an advantage to being an old fart that doesn't go along with the spiffy new toys that all the little kiddies like.

And it's also the reason that I much prefer inventing software to solve real problems, and don't much like playing games to save fictional princesses from animated monsters. Delivering real value isn't fun for lots of little boys and girls, but it's what this old fart prefers to do.

"Old age and trickery beats youth and enthusiasm." At least that's what I try to convince my old-fart self!

@Why Do I Bother:

First off, the video wasn't really all that bad at all. Might put off a lot of non-technical people. But overall it was smooth and even entertaining.

What more does ANYONE expect? After all, it was Tom Watson Jr. who built the IBM empire after saying that there would be no demand for more than five computers in the entire world (guess he wouldn't have though IPv6 was necessary?!). And it was Bill Gates would predicted that nobody would ever need 64KB of RAM in a personal computer (how does Vista run on that puppy, Bill?!), and that software patents were anti-innovation instead of pro-innovation (Can you say FAT32, Steve?!).

Expecting accurate future technology predictions from Microsoft is like expecting diamonds from the goose that lays golden eggs: Accept what they can do, and ignore what they can't. Jeepers, is that so difficult???? The sun doesn't shine out of Bill Gates' rear end, boys and girls. Just money. Not sunshine, and not accurate predictions.

But mobile phones or not, the only statement in this blog that makes sense is "Predicting the future is tricky". Leonardo da Vinci, Jules Verne, and Isaac Asimov are among the only people in human history that have predicted future technology far in advance of reality, and even they got just enough wrong to prevent their predictions to be valuable to them at the time (aside from the story telling aspects, of course).

And as Alan Kay once said, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

I'm probably the most rabid anti-Microsoft hating free software zealot you are likely to see this side of RMS. And, let me say first that absolutely none of the technological concepts in that video are original to Microsoft. However, there are a few ideas in that video that I am rather excited about. In particular, the allusions to augmented reality (an old sci-fi device) especially where the guy is installing the part and his A.R. screen shows him the proper orientation and where it goes. That, ladies and gentlemen is where the real action in the future is going to be.