They gazed into the future...

And saw squat.

Back in 1987, Omni readers got it all wrong. Well, most of it wrong:

"1. Timothy Leary believes that by 2007, every schoolchild will have his/her own computer, and that it will be as disposable as a pair of sneakers. What role might computers have in the public education system 20 years from now?"

So okay, they were somewhat correct in stating that pc's would play a larger role in bringing information to school children, but then, and right up to this day, people still make the mistake of believing that computers and education are one and the same thing.

For my money, the predictions were as stupid as when I was a kid and the deal was what would the year 2000 be like. Arthur Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey was so far off it was laughable, and while the 1987'ers weren't nearly as bad in their predictions, they weren't anywhere near spot-on, either. No one, repeat, no one is EVER going to make disposable computers because there is NO frickin money in doing so. I'm still awaiting the disposable car, and airplane, and even house. Real life just doesn't work this way. Today things are disposable because they've become shoddy pieces of junk, and manufacturers claim making something affordable and long lasting is impossible in today's economy.

Then again, over at The Corner at National Review Online they believe otherwise. Impressionable bunch of kids, but what are ya gonna do...