Neural Impulse Actuator - OCZ

The venerable keyboard will one day die – likely at the murderous hands of voice recognition. But what if we could eliminate physical control altogether, and simply think our intentions? Computer memory giant OCZ started down this road in 2008 with its deceptively-named Neural Impulse Actuator. Rather than reading your mind, the NIA merely measured surface nerve activity. Though discontinued, the NIA is notable for raising awareness of thought-based control.

CS55/HL10 Wireless Headset - Plantronics

In all honesty, this could be any high-grade, noise-canceling, wireless headset that doesn't mess up our hair. Our point is that voice recognition – finally – appears poised for prime time. Both Microsoft and Apple have big plans for it, purportedly including it in their respective forthcoming OSes. And most futurists we've spoken with feel VR is the next step past the mouse and keyboard. Naturally, we see headsets in our future.

Mouseless - Fluid Interfaces Group, MIT Media Lab

As much as certain forward-thinking folk want to eradicate the mouse – the computer mouse that is, not Mickey – it remains an exceptional control device. So what do we make of an invisible mouse? Mouseless, as it's called, is a super-slick invention of MIT's Fluid Interface Group that replaces a physical mouse with a series of infrared cameras that track hand and finger movement. Awesome technology, but do we truly want an invisible mouse?

SixthSense - MIT Media Lab

Pranav Mistry may have one of the coolest names around, but he's also a total genius. Mistry, a PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, spurs the invention of way cool PC-killing stuff. His most acclaimed innovation to date? "Sixth Sense," a "wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information."

Google Voice Search

Take a high-end, noise-canceling headset and Google's Voice Search (now available) and what do you have? We like to think the beginning of the end of traditional control devices. Google Voice Search is only that, a voice search, but given the power and the big bucks of Google, not to mention its aggressive R&D and obvious quest for global domination, is there any doubt it ultimately wants to bring workable voice recognition to every facet of your connected world?

NeuroSky Mindwave Headset - NeuroSky

Doing OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator one better, by actually monitoring brainwaves rather than facial ticks, the MindWave headset distinguishes between relaxed waves and those that are "attentive." At present, it's only sophisticated enough for simplistic games, but that could change. The developer sees a day when products such as the MindWave will do far more than gaming, thus relegating today's physically-triggered electronics to our memory banks.

Razer Hydra - Sixense

Erroneously billed by some as the world's first motion-sensing PC gaming controller (that "honor" goes to any of several earlier products that died a quick death) the Razer Hydra is nonetheless pretty cool with its nunchuk-like styling and six degrees of freedom. Early reviews are lukewarm, though inclusion of a planned wireless model might alter its fortunes. Will the Hydra ultimately be viewed as an early salvo in a virtual reality future?

Perceptive Pixel 27" LCD Multi-touch Display - Perceptive Pixel

Jeff Han is the godfather of multi-touch technology. It is his screens you see on CNN, manipulated by its newscasters, and it is his company, Perceptive Pixel, that has just debuted what it says is the world's first professional multi-touch desktop display. Multi-touch displays recognize multiple points of contact, thus allowing users to do stuff that's impossible on old school single-touch screens.

Amenbo Five-Finger Mouse - Double Research and Development Co.

The weird looking Amenbo is a mouse with a difference. Its unique five-finger design – wherein each finger "pad" not only senses pressure but offers click-like input – certainly seems useful for complex, futuristic apps such as 3D CAD modeling. And with five virtual digits, the Amenbo goes one better than the four-toed front paws of a real mouse.

Flat Keyless Keyboard - Apple

Who can forget The Onion's classic parody of user interface oversimplification gone horribly wrong, where Apple had replaced its Mac keyboard with a single iPod-like click wheel? Total hilarity ensued. But now, the real Apple has taken a step in that direction by patenting a flat, keyless keyboard. Made of glass and featuring haptic (touch sensing) technology, the keyless concept is just one more step in Apple's seeming mandate to rid the world of keyboards.

Autostereoscopic Display - Conceptual

Have you noticed how the hubbub around 3D has suddenly dissipated? That's because today's 3D forces you to wear nerdo glasses. Autostereoscopic 3D, conversely, kicks those glasses permanently to the curb. In autostereoscopic displays, two images are projected simultaneously and both are delivered to the viewer's eye via a triangulating camera. 3D may die a death of disinterest anyway, yet autostereoscopy may, repeat may, be its savior.

3D Printer - Not yet available to consumers

Okay, so there's this guy who needs a doohickey for his fancy new baby stroller. But the manufacturer wants to nail him a couple hundred bucks. So the dude tells them to take a hike and instead goes to a 3D print shop, where they "print" him a new stainless steel replacement part for a mere $25. True story. Sure, your slick new inkjet turns out some pretty rad stuff, but will it print you a dinner plate? Or a car key? These things will.

Flat Flexible Loudspeaker (FFL) - Warwick Audio

One thing is certain – we're apparently obsessed with making computing smaller and less obtrusive. But you gotta have sound, right? You gotta have speaker boxes, right? According to the UK's Warwick Audio, yes and no. Less than a millimeter thick and looking a lot like aluminum foil, the Flat Flexible Loudspeaker (FFL) is a notable breakthrough even if it can't possibly deliver a full spectrum of thick, rich audio. Or can it?

Holographic Display - Conceptual

What'll replace today's display technologies? If you said holographic imaging, well, you may be right. Fully realized three-dimensional subjects essentially "floating" in the center of your room? Cool buzzwords such as volumetric, stereogram, and parallax? Potential interactivity? With mega-corps like Apple already researching the possibilities, don't bet against it.

Could the PC of today become the void of tomorrow? Is it possible that after a few evolutionary jumps, the entire concept – and all its peripherals – simply disappear? Noted futurists Ian Pearson, James Canton, and Dan Burrus say it's entirely feasible, pointing to a tomorrow that's completely device-free, a future where we rely on Cloud access points and self-replicating nodes that exist ubiquitously within our ecosystem and perhaps within our own bodies. Ah PC, we hardly knew ye.