Gates' road ahead is a bit two-dimensional...

Bill Gates has seen the future - and surprisingly enough, it's a PC.

On the weekend the humble personal computer celebrated its 20th anniversary, the man who some would say has done more than any other to bring computing to the masses has been fulminating on the PC's next 20 years.

But perhaps disappointingly, he missed an opportunity to give any details of what's in store.

In a Sunday Times article (probably) penned by the great man himself, Gates said: "PCs have revolutionised the way we live, work, learn and play, and transformed how we communicate with each other. They have empowered people to be more creative and businesses more efficient, opened up amazing opportunities for education, and helped stimulate productivity worldwide."

Gates - who described himself as "amazed and inspired" by his early PC experiences - reckons we are a long way from exhausting the PC's potential.

"Today, I am as excited as I have ever been about the PC," he said. "We are at the start of a wave of digital innovation that will create plenty of new, exciting ways for computers to enrich our lives.

"The PC is fast becoming something that is always on and always connected to the internet, making it easier for people to rely on it for more of the things they do every day, from reading the news to listening to music."

That's the here and now taken care of, but the article didn't go on to say too much about the specifics of our digital future.

However, Gates did suggest that families will be able to make holiday plans on their home PC, then update them on the road. Students will also benefit as they'll be able to do their homework in the living room, then take it into class on a tablet-sized PC that is "as easy to use as a paper notebook".

One thing's for sure though: the computer has come a long way in its short life. As Microsoft's chief software architect pointed out, 20 years ago the "typical PC had a monochrome screen, modest floppy disk drive and only 64,000 bytes of memory".

Mind you, that's all some of us thought we'd ever need... With that famously inaccurate prediction behind him, maybe Gates' coyness in making any firm promises this time round is only to be expected.