Which way will the future of the Internet technology lie? Through television cable, electric lines, wireless devices, or all methods? Where will the computer lie in all this tangle? Many people like to speculate for the fun of it, others plunk their money down and gamble on those dreams. Most are just interested in how technology will affect their working and personal lives.

For example, my wife's uncle, who is a pretty savvy businessman, has declared he won't buy a computer so he can get on the Internet because he believes the future will come to him through a television set, or something that looks like and operates like a television set.

Although I don't agree with holding out from learning about and using a powerful tool simply because one is waiting for a better wheel to be invented, he may be correct in the sense that companies are spending billions in catering to people like him.

And why not? As a provider of content, the television has been the consumer phenomena of the last half of the last century, invading practically every home in the developed world. Since the television is already in most homes, and cable companies already have a much bigger connection than the lowly telephone line running past most of them, people are placing bets that the future of the Internet lies in that direction.

The prediction, the convergence of television and the Internet, has been around for the past decade now. America Online's merger with Time-Warner, estimated at around $350 million, was in part driven by the opportunity to access Time-Warner's 13 million cable customers. The combined AOL and Time Warner Internet sites had a total combined audience of 47 million unique visitors in December.

I think that there's good reason the Internet, and perhaps computing, may migrate to the television for most people but for that to occur television will have to become more like a computer. What will really occur is the computer, that is the box top set need to transform the television into a surfing tool, will co-exist in a symbiotic relationship with television, using its screen and cable connection to access interactive content.

Whether that will mean homes will have a television and a computer or just a bunch of televisions that are also computers will be a matter of social and personal choice. After all, who wants to be in a living room trying to talk or read while some fool is attempting to trace his genealogy? Or who wants to write e-mail while mom's knitting and taking a peek? Unfortunately computers, and the software that runs them, are unnecessarily difficult and frustrating to use. For those who just want to access the Internet and e-mail, the marriage could be a boon in terms of alleviating the frustration of dealing with a computer to get through to what will truly be the "Superhighway''.

However, I don't think the use of the television, or rather the marriage of the television screen, the cable network, and a box top device, is going to change all that for people who need a computer for more than surfing the Internet.

Perhaps one day the computer might eventually give way to the Internet and even the television cable network when we can access all the software we need, including writing and storage, through these other devices. I would not go so far as to write off computers yet. We'll need the ease and portability for some time of laptop or hand-held wireless device. So the technology could go both ways. The future will then depend on the ability of our machines to connect through to the same pipe or digital feed.

Remember however, that with technology, gazing into a crystal ball can be meaningless. "There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home,'' Digital Equipment founder Kenneth Olsen said in 1977. Digital Equipment is now owned by Compaq.

The UK is spending 100 million to build a super-fast Internet known as The Grid. Development of The Grid will be carried out in collaboration with Cern, the European particle centre near Geneva. Cern developed the foundation of the Internet about 10 years ago. The UK's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council holds up this vision of the future: "Imagine being able to sit at your desk and access all the information in the whole world to answer your question, in the format you need. Not just a list of links to relevant web sites or even selected online articles, but every piece of data ever collected on the subject, in a relevant, user-friendly way.'' This high-network will link the world's supercomputers, databases, specialised processors and personal machines through what's called "middleware'' -- programmes that will extract information from anywhere in the world without you having to search for or know where the data resides.

The strangest technology story of the week has to be the one about the South Korean computer-game addict who died after a 17-hour bout with One Thousand Years. Kim Kwang-su, 37, died of a heart attack believed to have been brought about by stress caused by his addiction to the game. Kim owned a computer games room and often played the game from 4 p.m. when his shift ended to 9 a.m the next day when he would go back to work.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Contact Ahmed at ahmedelamin yhotmail.com or (01133) 467012599.