Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Clarke’s Third Law

i foresee an immediate future in which our experience of technological interaction is fundamentally different from today– the input [keyboard and mouse] and monitor [visual and audio] methods specifically. let’s look at some currently available technologies, and apply the basic trend that starts with as exorbitantly expensive  lab demos, makes them into commercially viable products, and ends with them becoming culturally ubiquitous. there are few such technologies which are in various stages of that trend, and which when combined, create a completely different paradigm for the flow of information between the human mind and the electronic world.

Monitor
VRD - virtual retinal display - developed over the last 25 years, the virtual retinal display is a small projector which puts laser or led light directly onto the retina, creating the possibility of a ‘floating screen’ image when projected in visual stereo to both eyes, or an ‘overlay’ effect when projected onto one eye only. these technologies are currently being used in high end hospitals where surgeons can wear a pair of vrd glasses to create a ‘heads up display’ [HUD] showing them the graphical information of the heart monitor, blood pressure etc. in addition to any imagery which may be of benefit during operations [such as textbook examples or charts] without requiring the doctor to look away from the patient even for a moment.
virtual retinal display is going to serve as the basic monitor function, replacing all other forms of electronic visual input. why stare at a fixed screen on the wall when you can instead rest in any position you feel like? who cares what the screen on your phone looks like when you can have all the same information available in an HUD? kindles, laptops, tvs in bars… everything can instead be sent directly to your eye and bypass physicality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_retinal_display

Mouse
EEG Scanner Interface - the human brain produces electromagnetic impulses; that’s how it communicates with your musculature. the EEG scanner is a multinode scanner which ‘listens’ to those impulses, can differentiate between the impulses to move your arm, leg, bicep tricep, lower lip, etc. and interpret that data.
the newest versions of this device are capable of interprating your eye movements and many of the different impulses for facial movement; it can tell within the visual field exactly what you’re looking at, and how focused you are on it. so imagine looking a hyperlink, focusing on going to it, your EEG scanner sending that information to your computer, and your browser ‘clicking’ that link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotiv
this future is here, as the Emotiv EPOCH is currently available for a mere $300. also, as a note, these scanners use only 14 electrodes, whereas the newest hospital based brain scanners have as many as 256; imagine the difference in input sensitivity?

Speakers
digital hearing aids - the hearing aid has been around since the 70s, but instead of the bulky, scratchy sounding encumbrance of yesteryear, the new digital hearing aids are 32 channel noise reducing and EQ’d to whatever your exact needs are. the highest quality products available used to be $3k or $4k a piece, but are now available for under $1k.
http://www.myhearpod.com/invisipod.php

keyboard
voice transcription - if anyone has used google voice over the last 6 months, you’ve seen the incredible development of voice transcription as a viable technology. remember the original Dragon Naturally Speaking? it took hours to program to your individual voice, then you had to speak clearly and slowly, and even then you had a ton of mistakes and mistranscriptions. contrast that with google voice, where literally anyone can call and leave you a message, and despite accent, volume, vocabulary etc. it can produce a reasonably accurate transcript of the message. this kind of technology will be far enough advanced that when you want to ‘type’ something, you’ll be able to vocalize so quietly that people around won’t be able to hear, but the mini-microphone in your glasses, emotive headset, or hearing aid will be able to transcribe your ’subvocalizations’. http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

when you connect all of these devices with even our current technologies [RF, bluetooth, etc] you can readily imagine a suite of products which create a computing experience  which will seamlessly connect you with the electronic world in the most convenient way ever available.
we are only a few small steps away from making each and every one of these things an actual reality. be prepared.

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