This only escalates all these issues, only escalates as the network world marches on.We have already talked about the first milestone that is the Net connecting, say a billion people to perhaps a million E-businesses. The next milestone is what we and IBM call pervasive computing. Fifty years ago where did you find electric motors? Big factories, power plants, and they were big and expensive. Today you might find a hundred electric motors in the typical home - they are in the appliances, heating, ventilation systems, CD player, the VCR, and, if you are so fortunate, the electric tooth-brush. We do not buy electric motors any more. They come inside of all the things we use and do every day. The same thing is going to happen with computing devices. Chips are getting so small and so inexpensive, (that) they are being embedded in every thing - cars, appliances, tools, doorknobs, clothes. Most significantly all of these tiny intelligent devices will be interwoven in the fabric of the computing and communications network. And what will this mean for consumers and enterprises?
这只会在网络世界前进的道路上加剧这些问题。我们谈到第一个里程碑是 Internet 的连接,比方说将 10 亿人连接到 100 万个电子商务企业上。下一个里程碑是我们 IBM 所说的普遍计算 (pervasive computing)。五十年前,你在哪儿能见到电机?只能在工厂、电厂,它们非常庞大而且很贵。现在你在家里便可以看到上百个电机,各种电器设备,加热装置、通风系统、CD 播放机、录像机,如果你足够幸运的话,你还可能用到电动牙刷。今天我们不再直接购买电机了。它们跟随日常用品来到我们的生活中。类似的事情也将要在计算设备中发生。芯片越来越小,越来越便宜,能够被嵌入到各种产品中 -- 汽车、器械、工具、门把手、衣服。其中最为引人注目的是将小型智能设备交织进计算和通信网络的结构中。那么这对消费者和企业来说将意味着什么呢?