From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!POURNE@mit-mc.arpa Newsgroups: net.micro Title: The Next Five years in Micros Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.476 Posted: Sat Feb 19 01:54:00 1983 Received: Mon Feb 21 03:09:04 1983 From: Jerry E. PournelleI am supposed to give a speec at NCC on "The Next Five Years in Micro Development." I haven't really the foggiest notion of what to say, although doubtless somethng will suggest itself and no doubt become an article as well. Still, help will be appreciated: any wild ideas greatefully accepted. All entries become property of the sponsors and none will be returned... I see a few trends. I expect 8" and 5 1/4" floppies will both die away, in not very long. Non-volatile memory will get cheap and plentiful. Shirt pocket disks will be used to transfer stuff fro publisher to user. Interesting trends in visuals and displays. T he "battle" between 68000 and 8086 family will be interesting, although the 16032 may decide t hat before the battle is really joined... Communications and information utilities will move ahead.. anyway, ideas and wild thoughts will be appreciated. JEP PS: does anyone know where the profits from NCC go? (I know it is a non-profit outfit that puts it on, but since it must make a LOT LOT LOT of money, where does the money go?) PPS: They say they cannot allow anyone to sell anything in the exhibits because of their non-profit status because the IRS will stop them; but in fact that's owl puckey. Science fiction conventions have for decades been non-profit (some incorporated some not) and they have always had a huckster room in which exhibitors sell stuff, and indeed also art auctions and what not. Query: why does NCC maintain this fiction of being unable to sell anything or allow anythin g to be sold? Qui bono?