FX.co ★ Nine predictions of IT gurus that came true

Steve Jobs

Virtual assistants will appear in the future
In 1984, in an interview with Newsweek's Access Magazine Jobs described computers as “agents” that could keep information, learn their owners’ interests, interact with them, and anticipate what they want thus becoming “a little person inside that box”.

Twenty years later, Siri, Alexa, and similar virtual assistants became indispensable for millions of people.

Online car ordering

In 1996, in an interview with Wired, Jobs predicted the emergence of Tesla or at least Tesla’s business model. He explained that auto dealerships spent billions of dollars on inventory. However, clients could not find a car that would meet their preferences in color and configuration. Thus, managers faced a lot of problems trying to sell cars. “Wouldn't it be nice to get rid of all that inventory? Just have one white car to drive and maybe a laserdisc, so you can look at the other colors. Then you order your car and you get it in a week," Jobs said to Wired.

Today, there is practically no cars in Tesla stores. Buyers choose cars on the Internet.

Cloud storage of information

“[Storage management] That’s a very big thing in a desktop world. And that may go away. You may not have to manage your own storage. You may not store much before too long.” Steve Jobs emphasized the necessity to have a chance to distribute data store long before the cloud server appearance. "I don't store anything anymore, really. I use a lot of e-mail and the Web, and with both of those I don't have to ever manage storage. As a matter of fact, my favorite way of reminding myself to do something is to send myself e-mail. That's my storage," Jobs told Wired.

Bill Gates, a cofounder of Microsoft Corporation, predicted online home monitoring.

"Constant video feeds of your house will become common, which inform you when somebody visits while you are not home," Gates forecasted. His prediction came true! In 2014, Google bought Dropcam, a producer of home security cameras, for $555 million.

It was just the beginning. Doorbell security cameras are already widely used. People can even control their pets when those are left alone at home.

Smart advertising

"Devices will have smart advertising. They will know your purchasing trends, and will display advertisements that are tailored toward your preferences," Gates wrote.

Today, we can see targeted advertisements which factor in audience characteristics and preferences. Users receive advertisements based on their personal interest, browser and purchase history.

Online job hunting

In the previous century, Bill Gates was sure that people searching for a job would find vacancies on the Internet providing information about their interests, needs, and specialized skills.

Nowadays, applicants can post their CVs on special websites and search for suitable vacancies. It is not perceived as a miracle any more.

Jeff Bezos

Most goods will be purchased online

Bezos mentioned this opportunity in an interview with Wired in 1999. He even predicted that people could buy food and cleaning products on the Internet. Today, Amazon offers its clients various goods, including household goods such as washing powder and shampoo.

Amazon would not be a direct competitor of Barnes & Noble forever

In 1999, Jeff Bezos also said: “I bet you a year from now they will not consider us direct competitors. Clearly, they do today, but we're on different paths.” Today, Amazon is a developing business in the e-commerce sphere. The company is exploring various aspects and resembles a real empire.

Appliances connected to the internet

In 1999, Jeff Bezos said: “I'm a big believer in this notion of sort of appliances, that there'll be lots of little things that are connected to the internet."
Nowadays, we all have a lot of devices from headphones to security systems that are connected to the Internet.