I look for hams to use PC sound cards to break the 9600 baud barrier for packet radio and make it an affordable hobby for more hams. Ham Radio is there to provide communications in times of emergency. In the future hams will, I'm sure, help to restore crucial digital data communications in emergencies. Land-based communications are always susceptible to natural disasters, accidents, and equipment failures. No matter what your interests, occupation, or hobby, most likely it involves using a computer.
Ham radio is no stranger to computer technology.
I enjoy just about anything that creates RF analog or digital. Just getting circuits through the phone carriers would take at least 30-days. We decided to use wireless broadband to supply the connections via the Internet.