You may have imagined tabletops and bathroom mirrors as computer input devices; computers controlled by voice; common computing tasks handled by distant servers instead of individual computers (cloud computing). But if you have, did you think that widespread availability of these technologies was just around the corner and in fact they are being actively worked on by engineers at Microsoft? Read about these and other advances that Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates believes represent the (very) near future of computing in CNET News.com.

To read more about cloud computing and its current applications, see this article in the Christian Science Monitor.