Yeah maybe Bill was lying or just blissfully unaware
Gates' book, 'The Road Ahead' was revised for later re-prints to include more Internet-centered 'visions', when the internet really started to take off.
Early on, Microsoft didn't recognize the potential and importance of the internet, as many of their products and strategies of the early nineties clearly show. And even when it did start take off quickly, they were initially convinced that they could beat the Internet, with the 'Microsoft Network'. (MSN)
As we all know, now MSN is nothing more than an ISP with a website on the Internet, rather than 'the next big thing'.