Here is one safe prediction you can make about technology: It will eventually be democratized.
Computers were once tools used by almost exclusively by PhDs. Videocassette recorders were developed initially for television broadcasters. Cellphones? GPS? The Internet? Photo-editing software? Developed first for professionals and academics - and used today by just about everybody.
"If you want a lot of people to use a product, you can't price it at $5,000 or $10,000, and you have to make it easy to learn and use," Payne said.
By Scott Kirsner