The Internet Enters a Bold Second Act

Led by the Internet, the high-tech industry appears to be entering a vibrant new phase of both growth and upheaval. It is the Web's sober second act, characterized not by soaring stock prices but by forces that are challenging traditional industries - from publishing to telecommunications - to adopt new business plans. Consumers seem to be the only sure winners. The maturing of the Internet as an engine of the global economy is being driven by a handful of important forces: 1) shrinking sizes and prices, 2) "digital convergence" -- the fusion of computing with other traditional industries foreseen in the 1990s -- is happening in earnest, challenging traditional communications industries, and 3) wireless services are making the Web portable, not just a desk-bound tool. As all these trends shower consumers with new products and services, corporations face both risks and opportunities. The good news, experts say, is that the online realm has reached critical mass.
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Mark Trumbull]
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1011/p01s03-ussc.html