The PC: 20 Years Young
By Bill Gates
August 12, 2001

The following essay appeared in various publications, including The Sunday Times (United Kingdom, August 12, 2001) and Stern (Germany, August 13, 2001).

Its hard to believe that its been two decades since the launch of the first PC, and even harder to believe how much things have advanced since then. Twenty years ago, the typical PC had a monochrome screen, modest floppy-disk drive and only 64,000 bytes of memory; today, the average PC is a desktop supercomputer. Back in the early 1980s, even the idea of a "personal computer" was a novelty. For many people, computers were just too intimidating they were difficult to set up and maintain, and most of the programs they ran were slow and hard to use. Few people saw a computer as an essential part of their everyday life.

Today, the PC has gone mainstream. More than 500 million PCs are in use around the world, and another 140 million will be sold in 2001 far more than the number of TVs that will be purchased this year. Todays PCs are inexpensive, powerful, reliable and simple enough for almost anyone to use. Great productivity software has made the PC an indispensable tool for business, and its easier than ever to use a PC to manage finances, do the family shopping or keep track of the household schedule.

PCs have revolutionized the way we live, work, learn and play, and transformed how we communicate with each other. They have empowered people to be more creative and businesses more efficient, opened up amazing opportunities for education, and helped stimulate productivity worldwide. Combined with inexpensive, widespread Internet access, theyve helped news and information travel faster and more freely than ever before, and broken down borders between nations, people and economies. So its no surprise that more than half of PC users now consider it the most important device in their home.

When I first started using personal computers, I was amazed and inspired by what they could do and by what they might be able to do in the future. But whats even more amazing is that, even now, we are a long way from exhausting the PCs potential. Today, Im as excited as Ive ever been about the PC were at the start of a wave of digital innovation that will create plenty of new, exciting ways for computers to enrich our lives.

The PC is fast becoming something thats always on and always connected to the Internet, making it easier for people to rely on them for more of the things they do every day, from reading the news to listening to their favorite music. Powerful Web services are making it easier for people to manage their lives and get access to the information they need, from their home PC or any other smart device.

At the same time, cheap, high-capacity disk drives and easy-to-use digital cameras are making it possible for people to easily store and share a lifetimes worth of digital photos and video on their PC, while powerful audio and video capabilities are transforming the PC into an entertainment center for the home. Not only is todays software more powerful and easier to use than ever before, it can also maintain itself by finding and fixing problems without the user even knowing about it.

The result is that the PC is moving to the center of an ever-expanding network of smart, connected devices, from mobile phones to televisions and handheld devices even household appliances. Using a PC will still be the easiest way to write a letter, balance an investment portfolio or browse complex Web sites, but the information people need will be available wherever and whenever they need it.

If youre shopping for a new car, youll be able to find the best price and even check your budget to make sure you can afford it right at the dealership, on your handheld device. Families will be able to make vacation plans on their home PC, then update them on the road. And students will be able to do their homework in the living room, then take it into class on a tablet-sized PC thats as flexible and easy to use as a paper notebook.

Some of these great innovations are available right now, and some are just a few years away. In the coming decade, the PC will continue to become more powerful, less expensive and even more essential probably the most important tool people use to work, play and stay in touch. And Im confident that we wont run out of new things to do with the PC any time soon. If the past 20 years have been impressive, the next 20 will be astounding.