Fourth Wave Life
The Fourth Wave of Computing is, above all, a deeply human and intensely personal experience. Unlike the preceding waves, it reaches from the elegant chateau in the suburbs of Paris to the high-rise apartment in Shanghai to the row house in inner-city Baltimore to the bamboo hut in rural Bangladesh.
The first three waves of computing transformed the way companies did business and, ultimately, the way people managed their lives and communicated with each other.
The changes took decades, as they were driven by business viability and technical feasibility. First companies and then individuals made the transition from data processing to personal computing, from windowless computer rooms to wireless laptops in cafes, from manual calculations to instantaneous transactions, from typewriters to PDAs, and from office buildings to the virtual office.
The Fourth Wave is different. It is racing around the globe at internet speed as computing and communications technologies converge in mobile devices that are already in use worldwide. Last year, 47 million laptops were shipped. This year, one billion handsets will be sold.
The transition from wireless telephony to mobile computing is moving faster and changing more lives than the first three waves of computing combined. It is being driven not by business viability and technical feasibility so much as human desirability, as individuals become empowered to consume the mobile Internet on their own highly personal terms.
The Power of the Individual
Through the first three waves of computing, corporations found new and better ways to speed processes, enhance productivity and increase competitiveness in global markets. The message to the user was: Here it is; learn to use it.
While business benefits from the Fourth Wave, ordinary people from every country and continent are making it happen. Today, a Bluetooth earpiece is a common sight anywhere in the world, from the playground to the board room. Elementary school students communicate almost entirely in SMS. The message from the user is: This is what I want; build it.
Having learned to manage their lives on a personal computer and enjoyed the convenience of a wireless phone, consumers everywhere are eager — impatient even — to adopt the next generation of mobile technology. They want the speed and quality of the PC in a corner of their office or family room to be available on a street corner when they are running errands on a Saturday morning.
They want to check their email over morning coffee or while dining at a local eatery. They want to enjoy the intimacy of hearing their children's voices when they can't be next to them, or to reconnect with an old friend thousands of miles away. They want to challenge a stranger on a different continent to the latest video game.
The Fourth Wave flattens the barriers of time and space and provides a critical benchmark for future civilization — the ability to access and use all content through all networks from all devices, at PC speed and with PC quality.
One World, One Wave
The Fourth Wave of the developed world is the First Wave of the developing world. And as time passes in the 21st century, the first three waves will recede into history across the globe, as children everywhere — mobile consumers for life — become acquainted with the Internet on their wireless devices.
The convergence of computing and communications capabilities in a single affordable personal accessory, coupled with continuous improvements in wireless networks worldwide, is causing millions to bypass the desktop and laptop and jump directly to the handset. It's the New Mobility.
Network operators are enabling their subscribers to collectively voice their opinions, pay bills at the beach or in the mountains, play interactive games with opponents thousands of miles away, and watch movies from anywhere. They are also opening the eyes of farmers, fishermen, day laborers, and remote villagers to the possibilities of the modern world, thereby enhancing the quality of life in subsistence economies and providing an early catalyst for social progress and cultural unity.
