He may be preparing to relinquish his role as virtual ruler of the high-tech world, but Bill Gates's vision on the future of the industry still carries weight.

So when the soon-to-be-former chairman of Microsoft predicted voice-activated programs in cars, smart phones that buy cinema tickets and computerised furniture as he opened the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Sunday night, it was worth taking notes.

Delivering the keynote address for the technology world's top trade show for the 11th and final time, Gates said the "first digital decade", centred on the keyboard and mouse, was over.

"The second digital decade will be more focused on connecting people," he said, predicting it would also feature progress in training machines to react as people do, with "natural user interfaces" responsive to speech and touch.

To demonstrate, he once again showed Surface, a touchscreen coffee table that interacts with devices placed on it - including mobile phones and household objects. He also described a phone that could be asked about a film, find the closest showing and book tickets. Gates said such technologies could become ubiquitous within a few years.

Some may be sceptical as to whether this technology will take off commercially, just as there were sceptics when Gates talked about a world in which entertainment would be delivered via the computer - at his first speech at the CES in 1994.

Few homes had computers then, but the success of the home PC and the internet has since silenced his critics.

Typically, Gates used his speech to promote Microsoft and announce a series of deals: to provide the technology to NBC to deliver live internet streams from the 2008 Olympics; film deals with MGM and Walt Disney; and Ford's decision to install voice-activated software in Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles.