Many people believe that computers will take away the time we spend with our friends. Some think that we'll become too comfortable at home and we won't want to leave it. Some think that when we start talking to computers, we'll stop talking to people. I don't believe this.
　　In the 1950s, people said that movie theaters would die; television will kill them, they said. But movie theaters are still here. People aren't always right.
　　In fact, the Internet will bring many of our old friends back to us. It will be easier to keep friends who have moved because we will be able to write and talk to them more often and it won't cost as much.
　　The Internet will help us to make new friends, too. Many of your conversations will start on the computer, but soon you will want to meet.
　　The Internet will also give you a louder voice in your town or city. If something is making you angry, you'll be able to find other people who feel the same way. Then you will be able to do something together to change the problem, and make your town or city better.
　　Some parents are afraid of the Internet because it will be a place where their children can learn about anything they want, good or bad. This is a difficult problem.
　　What comes into the home will be different, but the home will also be different. We won't need many of the things we now have: paper dictionaries and encyclopedias1, CDs2, the boxes with old letters and old photographs. All this will disappear into the computer. We won't lose them. They will be safe inside our computers. But we will only look at them when we choose.
　　I'm thinking about all of this because I've recently built a new house. My house is a house for the future. It is pretty. But most of all, it is comfortable. It's where my family and I live.
　　My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
　　If you come to visit, you'll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN3 to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it's dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
　　Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console4, a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
　　The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
　　I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I've put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I've put in5 today.
　　I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How did I live without them?”
 

1. encyclopedia n．百科全书
2． CD＝compact disc  光盘
3． PIN＝personal identification number  个人身份号码
4． console  n．控制台（板）
5． put in 安装