About Immersion
PEW Report
Report: The Future of the Internet III
A survey of experts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, and the structure of the Internet itself improves.
Technology stakeholders and critics were asked in an online survey to assess scenarios about the future social, political, and economic impact of the Internet and they said the following:
- Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
The survey found that there were mixed reactions to how technology, such as those that have haptic technology, will be or won’t be adopted in the future.
“Tactile interaction requires feedback,” noted Richard Osborne, a Web manager at the University of Exeter. “That’s why our hands are designed the way they are.”
But Internet sociologist and author Howard Rheingold responded, “The point-and-click user interface is 40 years ago. It's time for more human-machine bandwidth. You are a typist, try ‘air-typing’ and see if it doesn't feel natural very quickly.”