As you might already be aware, Bill Gates is pretty good at predicting things. He successfully pointed out that a pandemic could bring the world to a standstill all the way back in 2015, but it turns out he was at it way before that.
In 1999 he released a book called Business @ the Speed of Thought in which he made a number of predictions that must have seemed bold at the time, but - well - just have a see for yourself .
All the way back in the last millennium, Gates foresaw the arrival of everything from price comparison sites to smart devices, right through to things like Ring doorbell cameras and online payments.
Admittedly, he was at the forefront of the tech world, so he could have seen some of those things coming, but it's remarkably impressive, nonetheless.
Take this for example: "Automated price comparison services will be developed, allowing people to see prices across multiple websites, making it effortless to find the cheapest product for all industries."
He stopped short of mentioning the infuriating meerkats, but fair play to him for that one.
Then there's this: "People will carry around small devices that allow them to constantly stay in touch and do electronic business from wherever they are.
"They will be able to check the news, see flights they have booked, get information from financial markets, and do just about anything else on these devices."
OK, so there were devices like this that were in their infancy back in 1999, but still - good effort.
He also presciently said: "People will pay their bills, take care of their finances, and communicate with their doctors over the internet."
Yup, that's a thing that we do. Especially now there's a pandemic on.
How about Alexa? Could he have foreseen stuff like that? For sure he could.
"Personal companions' will be developed. They will connect and sync all your devices in a smart way, whether they are at home or in the office, and allow them to exchange data", Gates wrote.
"The device will check your email or notifications, and present the information that you need.
"When you go to the store, you can tell it what recipes you want to prepare, and it will generate a list of ingredients that you need to pick up. It will inform all the devices that you use of your purchases and schedule, allowing them to automatically adjust to what you're doing."
