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Human laps aren’t getting any smaller. Human eyes can only comfortably read text that’s so big. But most importantly, human fingers have trouble with keyboards that are too tiny. Because of these limitations, the laptop of the future will probably remain the about same size as a laptop of today. (Even though scientists could make the keyboard and screen smaller, the human form wouldn’t appreciate it.)
Technology will continue to make laptop hardware smaller, more energy efficient, and better able to handle the portable environment. But one area that needs vast improvement is battery technology. The battery of the future will be the fuel cell, which is like a miniature power plant directly connected to your laptop PC. Fuel cell technology promises power that lasts for weeks instead of hours, which will prove a boon to portable gizmos of every kind — but only when it’s perfected. Presently, scientists are predicting that the first usable fuel cells will be available by the end of the decade, or around 2009. Until then, we’ll have to slug it out with rechargeable batteries and power packs.