What will the SW market will look like in 1998?

[Jean-claude MORAND]

I would like to invite you to spend 10 minutes to dream about what the
software market will be around the year 1998-2000.

How will we buy our software? Will it be included with the hardware?
(i.e. Hypercard) Will it be charged according to consumption like any
major resource (Electricity,Water, Human...)?

With the exception of the resident software loaded on the machine
(workstation or mainframe) will we use software on a `Network', paying the
Network usage and the Server (e.g. The French Minitel system)?

What about the Expert systems? How will they be charged? For the shell
price only? What would be the pricing criteria? How will the associated
knowledge be invoiced to the users? (Percentage of the obtained results
could result in very high prices....)

How do you think that the customers will react in 12 years from now?

Let your imagination go and send me a few notes. I will summarize the inputs
in a paper that I will mail back to the contributors or to the net if too many.

Thanks in advance to those who will take the time to answer and happy new year.

Jean-claude MORAND MOR...@SHIRE.DEC.COM