Ancillary-network mania is about to begin. I'm referring to home and small-office networks, which should become ubiquitous once the big boys start to market them properly. I'm amazed at how many small offices don't have simple networks installed. The home network will allow people to share an Internet connection, which should be reason enough for installation. Most interesting in this regard is the Qualcomm pdQ Smartphone, which has a Palm organizer built in.
Software is dead.
People are wondering why there is a slowdown in the industry without noticing that there's a paucity of interesting new software products. This is less a function of lost creativity than of filled categories. Developers have filled all the general-purpose niches, and their products have matured. I'm writing this column using a text editor that's at least ten years old. Yes, things are always subtly changing in this industry, and predictions like these are common.