Words Heard / Our Take   Title:   Breakfast with Steve Ballmer   Who:   Steve Ballmer, President & CEO Microsoft   What:   OCRI Technology Executive Breakfast/ITAC Presentation   Event Held:   December 6th, 2005 at Centrepointe Theatre   Quote To Note:   "Anything that can be made into a bit will be."   Words Heard:   Ballmer is convinced that ubiquitous computer communications will be a reality by 2015. He says people around the world are now prepared to lead what Bill Gates refers to as a digital lifestyle, or digital work-style. "People say 'Well, that's what we're doing now', but we all have to remember that we weren't doing those things even five or six years ago. How many people were e-mail dependent a decade ago?" To complement our receptiveness, Ballmer believes that we will have natural language interfaces, not just voice, and interoperability amongst devices. As computer communications move away from the 30-year old software technology underlying all of the changes we've seen in the past decade, "I believe we're going to see more change in technology over the course of the next five years than we have in the past decade." He has unbounded optimism about the opportunities ahead.   Our Take:   The notion of ubiquitous computing originated in the late 1950's with JCR Licklider*, who foresaw "…human brains and computing machines…very tightly coupled together…". Like Moore's Law, ubiquitous computer communications is a long-term force reshaping society. Building on Ballmer's comments about our recent addiction to e-mail, we suggest that the last ten years mark the end of the first phase of Licklider's dream of ubiquity, the equivalent of electricity and one telephone in every home (Ubiquity I). We are now at the hinge of Ubiquity I and Ubiquity II. Just as Ubiquity II for electricity and telephones saw us change our behaviour for making long-distance calls (now from anywhere by cell-phone instead of fearfully with operator assistance from our kitchens), Ubiquity II for computers will allow (and even require) us to re-organize how we live and work i.e., conduct our digital lives. As Steve Ballmer might have put it, Ubiquity II means we ain't seen nothin' yet. With Ubiquity II comes the prospect of real improvement of basic but critical business processes, such as invoicing (which Ballmer himself discussed) - one of the most common and frustrating business processes around. As we reach the close of Ubiquity I, we need to recognize that more automation of current practices will add little additional value, especially for those waiting to receive payments. The collaborative mind-set required by Ubiquity II demands that all participants of a process revise the internal rules of the game together for the benefit of all. * The material on Licklider is contained in The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop - a useful grounding to think about how to contribute in the next decade.   708-350 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8, t: (613) 563 4588, f: (613) 563 4689, ourtake@acornpartners.com, www.acornpartners.com If you wish to unsubscribe, reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject.