The Next Fifty Years: Some Likely Impacts Of Solid-state Technology

What does technology hold in store for us in the second half-century of the transistor's existence? In an attempt to provide at least a partial answer to this question, this paper projects twelve present day trends into the coming decades. Fueled by exponential growth in the capabilities of electronic circuitry and the communications fabrics that interconnect them, the future promises a world of pervasive interconnection, customized products and services, much help with complexity, and exciting new appliances. Although this projection holds few individual surprises, the totality of what looms likely just one human generation from today amounts to little less than a fantasy world.