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you can now store to input and output 〃is off the charts； thanks to the steady advances
in storage devices；〃 said Craig Mundie； Microsoft's chief technology officer。
〃Storage is growing exponentially； and this is really as much a factor in the
revolution as anything else。〃 It's what is allowing all forms of content to become
digital and to some extent portable。 It is also becoming cheap enough that you can
put massive amounts on even the personal devices people carry around with them。 Five
years ago； no one would have believed that you would be able to sell iPods with 40
gigabytes ofstorage； capable of holding thousands of songs； for prices that teenagers
could afford。 Now it's seen as ho…hum。 And when it comes to moving all these bits
around； the computing world has been turbocharged。 Advances in fiber optics will soon
allow a single fiber to carry 1 terabit per second。 With 48 fibers in a cable； that's
48 terabits per second。 Henry Schacht； the former CEO of Lucent； which specialized
in this technology； pointed out that with that much capacity； you could 〃transmit
all the
printed material in the world in minutes in a single cable。 This means unlimited
transmitting capacity at zero incremental cost。〃 Even though the speeds that Schacht
was talking about apply only to the backbone of the fiber network； and not that last
mile into your house and into your computer； we are still talking about a quantum
leap forward。
In The Lexus and the Olive Tree； I wrote about a 1999 Qwest commercial showing a
businessman； tired and dusty； checking in to a roadside motel inthe middle of nowhere。
He asks the bored…looking desk clerk whether they have room service and other
amenities。 She says yes。 Then he asks her whether entertainment is available on his
room television； and the clerk answers in a what…do…you…think…you…idiot monotone；
〃All rooms have every movie ever made in every language； anytime； day or night。〃 I
wrote about that back then as an example of what happens when you get connected to
the Internet。 Today it is an example of how much you can now get disconnected from
the Internet； because in the next few years； as storage continues to advance and become
more and more miniaturized； you will be able to buy enough storage to carry many of
those movies around in your pocket。
Then add another hardware steroid to the mix： file sharing。 It started with Napster
paving the way for two of us to share songs stored on each other's computers。 〃At
its peak；〃 according to Howstuffworks。com； 〃Napster was perhaps the most popular
Website ever created。 In less than a year； it went from zero to 60 million visitors
per month。 Then it was shut down by a court order because of copyright violations；
and wouldn't re…launch until 2003 as a legal music…download site。 The original Napster
became so popular so quickly because it offered a unique product…free music that you
could obtain nearly effortlessly from a gigantic database。〃 That database was
actually a file…sharing architecture by which Napster facilitated a connection
between my computer and yours so that we could swap music files。 The original Napster
is dead； but file…sharing technologyis still around and is getting more sophisticated
every day； greatly enhancing collaboration。
Finally； add one last hardware steroid that brings these technology breakthroughs
together for consumers： the steady breakthrough in multipurpose devices…ever smaller
and more powerful laptops； cell phones；
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you could practically feel the breath of the other parties to the videocon…ference；
when in fact half of us were in Santa Barbara and half were five hundred miles away。
Because DreamWorks is doing film and animation work all over the world； it felt that
it had to have a videoconferencing solution where its creative people could really
communicate all their thoughts； facial expressions； feelings； ire； enthusiasm； and
raised eyebrows。 HP's chief strategy and technology officer； Shane Robison； told me
that HP plans to have these videoconferencing suites for sale by 2005 at a cost of
roughly 250；000 each。 That is nothing compared to the airline tickets and wear and
tear on executives having to travel regularly to London or Tokyo for face…to…face
meetings。 Companies could easily make one of these suites pay for itself in a year。
This level of videoconferencing； once it proliferates； will make remote development；
outsourcing； and off…shoring that much easier and more efficient。
And now the icing on the cake； the iibersteroid that makes it all mobile： wireless。
Wireless is what will allow you take everything that has been digitized； made virtual
and personal； and do it from anywhere。
〃The natural state of communications is wireless；〃 argued Alan Cohen； the senior vice
president at Airespace。 It started with voice； because people wanted to be able to
make a phone call anytime； from anyplace； to anywhere。 That is why for many people
the cell phone is the most importantphone they own。 By the early twenty…first century；
people began to develop that same expectation and with it the desire for data
communication…the ability to access the Internet； e…mail； or any business files
anytime； anywhere； using a cell phone； PalmPilot； or some other personal device。 （And
now a third element is entering the picture； creating more demand for wireless
technology and enhancing the flattening of the earth： machines talking to machines
wirelessly； such as Wal…Mart's RFIDchips； little wireless devices that automatically
transmit information to suppliers' computers； allowing them to track inventory。）
In the early days of computing （Globalization 2。0）； you worked in the office。 There
was a big mainframe computer； and you literally had to walk over and get the people
running the mainframe to extract or input
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information for you。 It was like an oracle。 Then； thanks to the PC and the Internet；
e…mail； the laptop； the browser； and the client server； I could access from my own
screen all sorts of data and information being stored on the network。 In this era
you were delinked from the office and could work at home； at the beach house； or in
a hotel。 Now we are in Globalization 3。0； where； thanks to digitization；
miniaturization； virtualization； personalization； and wireless； I can be processing；
collecting； or transmitting voice or data from anywhere to anywhere…as an individual
or as a machine。
〃Your desk goes with you everywhere you are now；〃 said Cohen。 And the more people
have the ability to push and pull information from anywhere to anywhere faster； the
more barriers to competition and communication disappear。 All of a sudden； my business
has phenomenal distribution。 I don't care whether you are in Bangalore or Bangor；
I can get to you and you can get to me。 More and more； people now want and expect
wireless mobility to be there； just like electricity。 We are rapidly moving into the
age of the 〃mobile me；〃 said Padmasree Warrior； the chief technology officer of
Motorola。 If consumers are paying for any form of content； whether it is information；
entertainment； data； games； or stock quotes； they increasingly want to be able to
access it anytime； anywhere。
Right now consumers are caught in a maze of wireless technology offerings and
standards that are still not totally interoperable。 As we all know； some wireless
technology works in one neighborhood； state； or country and not in another。
The 〃mobile me〃 revolution will be complete when you can move seamlessly around the
town； the country； or the world with whatever device you want。 The technology is
getting there。 When this is fully diffused； the 〃mobile me〃 will have its full
flattening effect； by freeing people to truly be able to work and communicate from
anywhere to anywhere with anything。
I got a taste of what is coming by spending a morning at the Tokyo headquarters of
NTT DoCoMo； the Japanese cellular giant that is at the cutting edge of this process
and far ahead of America in offering total interoperability inside Japan。 DoCoMo is
an abbreviation for Do
Communications Over the Mobile Network； it also means 〃anywhere〃 in Japanese。 My day
at DoCoMo's headquarters started with a tour conducted by a robot； which bowed in
perfect Japanese fashion and then gave me a spin around DoCoMo's showroom； which now
features handheld video cell phones so you can see the person you are speaking with。
〃Young people are using our mobile phones today as two…way videophones；〃 explained
Tamon Mitsuishi； senior VP of the Ubiquitous Business Department at DoCoMo。 〃Everyone
takes out their phones； they start dialing each other and have visual conversations。
Of course there are some people who prefer not to see each other's faces。〃 Thanks
to DoCoMo technology； if you don't want to show your face you can substitute a cartoon
character for yourself and manipulate the keyboard so that it not only will speak
for you but also will get angry for you and get happy for you。 〃So this is a mobile
phone； and video camera； but it has also evolved to the extent that it has functions
similar to