IF YOU LOOK AT the history of tech- “But I guess I see it as a gradual, Chicago station WGN broadcast from the In the early 1950s, color television times faster in performing calculations In the 1980s, other products such as the
Apple Macintosh, CD-ROM, the laptop
computer and Windows software helped to
revolutionize the industry, making com-
puters easier to operate and more conve-
nient for personal use.
By 1998, about 43% of U.S. homes had
computers — and access to the Internet
suddenly seemed to be the thing every-
body had to have. Household penetration
of the Internet stood at 24%, well below
the level many people believe it eventual-
ly will reach.
Other hot products in 1998 were the
pager, with penetration of 31%, up from
1% in 1993, and the cellular phone, which
rose to 48% from 1% in 1987.
Apple Macintosh, CD-ROM, the laptop
computer and Windows software helped to
revolutionize the industry, making com-
puters easier to operate and more conve-
nient for personal use.
By 1998, about 43% of U.S. homes had
computers — and access to the Internet
suddenly seemed to be the thing every-
body had to have. Household penetration
of the Internet stood at 24%, well below
the level many people believe it eventual-
ly will reach.
Other hot products in 1998 were the
pager, with penetration of 31%, up from
1% in 1993, and the cellular phone, which
rose to 48% from 1% in 1987.
nology, said high-tech guru George
Forrester Colony in 1995, “there is a
threshold where one day, you had to have
something. You had to have a fax
machine. Remember that day? It was 1981
or something. You had to have a fax
machine on that day. The day before, you
didn’t need it.
“And there came a day, I think it was
last year, when you had to have an e-mail
address,” he continued. “It’s possible that
in the home, there will come a day when
you will need [two-way] video, because
there are enough people out there you
want to talk to who also have video and
it’s cheap enough.
Forrester Colony in 1995, “there is a
threshold where one day, you had to have
something. You had to have a fax
machine. Remember that day? It was 1981
or something. You had to have a fax
machine on that day. The day before, you
didn’t need it.
“And there came a day, I think it was
last year, when you had to have an e-mail
address,” he continued. “It’s possible that
in the home, there will come a day when
you will need [two-way] video, because
there are enough people out there you
want to talk to who also have video and
it’s cheap enough.