{{B}}Maguel de Icaza:{{/B}} Free software benefits people,
countries and companies by giving them complete control of the software on which
they depend. This is helping close the digital divide between developed and
underdeveloped countries. People who previously might never have had access to
this sort of technology are already leading the efforts to bring it to the
developing world. Free software is the foundation on which a fairer future and a
more efficient economy is being built.{{B}}Austin Hill:{{/B}} Welcome
to the future. Your mobile phone tracks your location, your interactive TV
records your viewing habits. Privacy is to the information age what
environmentalism was to the industrial age. Businesses will protect themselves,
and their customers, by introducing privacy-promoting technologies and building
better data controls into every aspect of their operation. A leading class of
privacy protectors will emerge in every industry, and both they and their
customers will reap the rewards of the ethical privacy brand. {{B}}Ng Ede
Phang:{{/B}} This will be the year that plain old text e-mail sits up
and starts talking—and talking a lot. The human voice is powerful weapon. An
e-mail doesn't tell me whether you're happy, sad or excited, whereas Internet
voice services provide all these key emotional characteristics. The human voice
adds a very powerful element to business relationships that e-mail just cannot
match. {{B}}Murray Goldman:{{/B}} For those of us who live on
airplanes, a key decision is which electronic devices to carry on a trip. The
future is in the appropriate combination of communications and computing
de-vices. Many business travelers will require the full computing power of a
personal computer, with a screen large enough to do intensive work. As a result,
lightweight notebooks have been introduced to the market with innovative options
such as built-in DVDs, cameras and wireless capabilities. {{B}}Christine
Karman:{{/B}} We'll see agents on portals and community websites
helping people trade goods and in-formation. Venture capitalists are shifting
from dotcoms to software and hardware companies. In Europe, that shift is hard
to make because we don't have a Silicon Valley from which lots of companies are
conquering the world. As a consequence, the slowly emerging Internet and
software industry in Europe may not survive. If I were starting a new software
company now, I'd go to California or Boston. {{I}}Now match the name
of each person (61 to 65) to the appropriate statement. Note: there
are two extra statements.{{/I}}{{B}}Statements{{/B}}
A. Business travelers will set the trend of future computer market.
B. Europe will catch up with America in the hi-tech industry.
C. Privacy needs special protection in the information age.
D. Voice e-mail adds a human touch to online communication.
| E. Compactness and multi-function will be a trend in the future market.
F. Free software helps bring about digital equality.
G. The digital divide between Europe and the U. S. may
widen. |