by Alan Forray

Created on: January 23, 2008   Last Updated: September 09, 2009

The Future is Now

"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand."
Frank Herbert

Thirteen hundred years ago, the Greek writer and philosopher Plato gave us the expression, "Necessity is the mother of invention." Today, that is rarely the case.

To the contrary, in our fast-paced, modern world of rapidly advancing technology and innovation, more often than not it is invention that is the mother of necessity.

No one would have ever invented microwavable meals were it not for the necessity of giving consumers something to put in their microwave ovens. Likewise, the development of the Ipod was the logical and necessary response to the advent of Internet music down loads.

Thirty years ago, researchers at Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center developed the first Graphical User Interface system for computers (GUI). Until that time, computers where dependent on cryptic languages such as BASIC and DOS to perform the most elementary tasks. The GUI developed at Xerox was built on a user friendly model that would allow its operator to approach the computer as though it were his/her own personal office or study, with a desktop and files for generation and storage of information. Unfortunately, Management at Xerox had no notion of what they were sitting on, and even less of an idea of what to do with it. Xerox had the knowledge but lacked the vision to realize the potential of their invention.

A short time later, two computer geeks named Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, working independently and in fierce competition with one another, had the vision to recognize what Xerox had failed to see, and gave the world the operating systems used today on virtually all home computers.

"A visionary is one who has the capacity to see into Tomorrow and make it work."
Nelson A. Rockefeller

Around that same time, Phillips Electronics developed something they were calling a videocassette recorder (VCR) which would allow consumers to watch movies and other programs on a new videotape format (VHS) in the comfort of their living rooms. (If only there was such a thing as movies and other programs available on videocassettes.) There was not, and Phillips sold a few of the devices in England, and few more elsewhere via mail order.
Phillips had the knowledge and the vision, but lacked the imagination to make the VCR a common household appliance at that time.

However, a short time later, the Sony corporation, recognizing what Phillips was sitting on, debuted their

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