The new electronic signature

I went to hear Bill Gates speak at Matt's school yesterday. He spoke about his transitioning role at Microsoft and about the future of personal computers. One thing that stuck out from his lecture was his prediction that in the next few years most PC's will come with stylus pens that can write on emails and word documents. The technology has existed for a decade (remember Palm Pilots?), so seems like a no-brainer. It would be so convenient to circle something or write a quick note on a document as an editor and send it back. But I think it would be especially helpful to be able to sign a contract (or peace treaty?) without having to scan your signature and then format a document accordingly. With a future barrage of stylus pens to the consumer world I wonder if they will become more, well, stylized from their current state. You have two years Mont Blanc, get on it. In the mean time there is something really satisfying about signing your name in ink, especially with a delicious writing instrument like the below Sycamore pens by Elie Bleu. I hope ink never disappears in my life time, but it seems inevitable—especially as Gates told the crowd that his daughter's school doesn't use books anymore.