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ability to zoom in from space level； in some cases； it can zoom in all the way to
a street…level view。 The company does not have high…resolution imagery for the entire
globe； but its Website offers a list of cities that are available for more detailed
viewing。 The company has focused most on covering large metropolitan areas in the
United States and is working to expand its coverage。〃
Flattener #10
The Steroids
Digital； Mobile； Personal； and Virtual
But this iPaq's real distinction is its wirelessness。 It's the first palmtop that
can connect to the Internet and other gadgets in four wireless ways。 For distances
up to 30 inches； the iPaq can beam
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information； like your electronic business card； to another palmtop using an infrared
transmitter。 For distances up to 30 feet； it has built…in Bluetooth circuitry 。 。 。
For distances up to 150 feet； it has a Wi…Fi antenna。 And for transmissions around
the entire planet； the iPaq has one other trick up its sleeve： it's also a cell phone。
If your office can't reach you on this； then you must be on the International Space
Station。
…From a New York Times article about HP's new PocketPC；
July 29； 2004
I am on the bullet train speeding southwest from Tokyo to Mishima。 The view is
spectacular： fishing villages on my left and a snow…dusted Mt。 Fuji on my right。 My
colleague Jim Brooke； the Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times； is sitting across
the aisle and paying no attention to the view。 He is engrossed in his computer。 So
am I； actually； but he's online through a wireless connection； and I'm just typing
away on a column on my unconnected laptop。 Ever since we took a cab together the other
day in downtown Tokyo and Jim whipped out his wireless…enabled laptop in the backseat
and e…mailed me something through Yahoo！； I have been exclaiming at the amazing degree
of wireless penetration and connectivity in Japan。 Save for a few remote islands and
mountain villages； if you have a wireless card in your computer； or any Japanese cell
phone； you can get online anywhere…from deep inside the subway stations to the bullet
trains speeding through the countryside。 Jim knows I am slightly obsessed with the
fact that Japan； not to mention most of the rest of the world； has so much better
wireless connectivity than America。 Anyway； Jim likes to rub it in。
〃See； Tom； I am online right now；〃 he says； as the Japanese countryside whizzes by。
〃A friend of mine who's the Times's stringer in Alma Ata just had a baby and I am
congratulating him。 He had a baby girl last night。〃 Jim keeps giving me updates。 〃Now
I'm reading the frontings！〃 …a summary ofthe day's New York Times headlines。 Finally；
I ask Jim； who is fluent in Japanese； to ask the train conductor to come over。 He
ambles by。 I ask Jim to ask the conductor how fast we are going。 They rattle back
and forth in Japanese for a few seconds before Jim translates： 〃240 kilo
meters per hour。〃 I shake my head。 We are on a bullet train going 240 km per hour…that's
150 mph…and my colleague is answering e…mail from Kazakhstan； and I can't drive from
my home in suburban Washington to downtown DC without my cell phone service being
interrupted at least twice。 The day before； I was in Tokyo waiting for an appointment
with Jim's colleague Todd Zaun； and he was preoccupied with his Japanese cell phone；
which easily connects to the Internet from anywhere。 〃I am a surfer；〃 Todd explained；
as he used his thumb to manipulate the keypad。 〃For 3 a month I subscribe to this
＇Japanese＇ site that tells me each morning how high the waves are at the beaches near
my house。 I check it out； and I decide where the best place to surf is that day。〃
（The more I thought about this； the more I wanted to run for president on a one…issue
ticket： 〃I promise； if elected； that within four years America will have as good a
cell phone coverage as Ghana； and in eight years as good as Japan…provided that the
Japanese sign a standstill agreement and won't innovate for eight years so we can
catch up。〃 My campaign bumper sticker will be very simple： 〃Can You Hear Me Now？〃）
I know that America will catch up sooner or later with the rest of the world in wireless
technology。 It's already happening。 But this section about the tenth flattener is
not just about wireless。 It is about what I call 〃the steroids。〃 I call certain new
technologies the steroids because they are amplifying and turbocharging all the other
flatteners。 They are taking all the forms of collaboration highlighted in this
section… outsourcing； offshoring； open…sourcing； supply…chaining； insourcing； and
in…forming…and making it possible to do each and every one of them in a way that is
〃digital； mobile； virtual； and personal；〃 as former HP CEO Carly Fiorina put it in
her speeches； thereby enhancing each one and making the world flatter by the day。
By 〃digital；〃 Fiorina means that thanks to the PC…Windows…Netscape…work flow
revolutions； all analog content and processes… everything from photography to
entertainment to communication to word processing to architectural design to the
management of my home lawn sprinkler system…are being digitized and therefore can
be shaped； manipulated； and transmitted over computers； the Internet； satellites；
or fiber…optic cable。 By 〃virtual；〃 she means that the process of shaping； ma162
nipulating； and transmitting this digitized content can be done at very high speeds；
with total ease； so that you never have to think about it…thanks to all the underlying
digital pipes； protocols； and standards that have now been installed。 By 〃mobile；〃
she means that thanks to wireless technology； all this can be done from anywhere；
with anyone； through any device； and can be taken anywhere。 And by 〃personal；〃 she
means that it can be done by you； just for you； on your own device。
What does the flat world look like when you take all these new forms of collaboration
and turbocharge them in this way？ Let me give just one example。 Bill Brody； the
president of Johns Hopkins； told me this story in the summer of 2004： 〃I am sitting
in a medical meeting in Vail and the ＇doctor＇ giving a lecture quotes a study from
Johns Hopkins University。 And the guy speaking is touting a new approach to treating
prostate cancer that went against the grain of the current surgical method。 It was
a minimally invasive approach to prostate cancer。 So he quotes a study by Dr。 Patrick
Walsh； who had developed the state…of…the…art standard of care for prostate surgery。
This guy who is speaking proposes an alternate method…which was controversial…but
he quotes from Walsh's Hopkins study in a way that supported his approach。 When he
said that； I said to myself； That doesn't sound like Dr。 Walsh's study。' So I had
a PDA ＇personal digital assistant＇； and I immediately went online ＇wirelessly＇ and
got into the Johns Hopkins portal and into Medline and did a search right while I
was sitting there。 Up come all the Walsh abstracts。 I toggled on one and read it；
and it was not at all what the guy was saying it was。 So I raised my hand during the
Q and A and read two lines from the abstract； and the guy just turned beet red。〃
The digitization and storage of all the Johns Hopkins faculty research in recent years
made it possible for Brody to search it instantly and virtually without giving it
a second thought。 The advances in wireless technology made it possible for him to
do that search from anywhere with any device。 And his handheld personal computer
enabled him to do that search personally…by himself； just for himself。
What are the steroids that made all this possible？
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One simple way to think about computing； at any scale； is that it is comprised of
three things： computational capability； storage capability； and input/output
capability…the speed by which information is drawn in and out of the computer/storage
complexes。 And all of these have been steadily increasing since the days of the first
bulky mainframes。 This mutually reinforcing progress constitutes a significant
steroid。 As a result of it； year after year we have been able to digitize； shape；
crunch； and transmit more words； music； data； and entertainment than ever before。
For instance； MIPS stands for 〃millions of instructions per second；〃 and it is one
measure of the computational capability of a computer's microchips。 In 1971； the Intel
4004 microprocessor produced 。06 MIPS； or 60；000 instructions per second。 Today's
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition has a theoretical maximum of 10。8 billion instructions
per second。 In 1971； the Intel 4004 microprocessor contained 2；300 transistors。
Today's Itanium 2 packs 410 million transistors。 Meanwhile； inputting and outputting
data have leaped ahead at a staggering rate。 At the speeds that disk drives operated
back in the early days of 286 and 386 chips； it would have taken about a minute to
download a single photo from my latest digital camera。 Today I can do that in less
than a second on a USB 2。0 disk drive and a Pentium processor。 The amount of stuff
you can now store to input and output 〃is off the charts； than