During a London speech at the Internet Advertising Bureau's Engage conference, Bill Gates predicted the eventual demise of paper at the hands of silicon, writes The Guardian (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Celebrating his 50th birthday, he said that by the time he's 60 we'll all be connected to the internet all the time, carrying paper-thin devices that will allow us to access entertainment, education and information - and they will render newspapers and magazines obsolete.

Microsoft is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create a detailed, photo-realistic 3D map of the world, allowing users to experience being anywhere on earth, he said. It is also investing billions in software for TV and mobile devices.

"You'll be able to use the camera to take a picture of a sign in a foreign country and software will send it up to a server and bring it back to your phone fully translated," he is quoted as saying.