"In 1977, Elvis died, Gerald Ford left the White House, and Bill Gates still banged out business correspondence on a typewriter. Most Americans had never seen a personal computer, much less a laptop. Meanwhile, James Martin looked into the future and saw the Internet, as well as computers in everyone's pockets. In his book The Wired Society, he proclaimed that by the year 2000, computers and other devices linked by fiber optics, telephone lines, and radio waves would allow millions of people to exchange electronic mail, shop for merchandise, trade stocks, work at home, take classes, pay taxes, plan vacations, and entertain themselves. He added that entrepreneurs who jumped in early would reap vast fortunes."

The full text of this article may be found in the June 2001 issue of Discover magazine.

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Last revised October 29, 2004.