Twenty years from now a new generation of computer users will look back on the operating systems of today with the same bemused smile we look back at the cars of the late 1950s and early 60s. They had huge fins, were the size of a small yacht and burned up just about as much gas. That"s right, I"m comparing Apple OS X 10.5, or Leopard, and Microsoft"s Windows Vista to those old behemoths -- big and flashy and totally unnecessary.
Instead our grandchildren will be using discreet, unobtrusive operating systems that will be invisible to the naked eye. They will, if you want to think about it like this, almost be a return to the concept of a command line, only in this case they will respond to either a typed command or a voice command or perhaps a gesture to open, join, find, save or close a file. Most likely they will be embedded in the system that you buy or in the network.