Over the last 30 years, we have seen the power of microprocessors double about every 18 months. An equally rapid increase applies to some other technological parameters such as storage capacity and communications bandwidth. This continuing trend means that computers will become considerably smaller, cheaper, and more abundant – they are becoming ubiquitous, and are even finding their way into everyday objects. This is resulting in the creation of “smart” things that can access the Internet and its varied resources, and maybe even cooperate with each other. Mobile phones are a forerunner in this technological field – they are now true computers equipped with a whole range of functionality and may well develop into control centers for a multitude of other personal auxiliary services. In the long term, ubiquitous computing will take on great economic significance. Industrial products will become “smart” due to their integrated information processing capacity, or take on an electronic identity that can be remotely queried, or be equipped with sensors for detecting their environment, enabling innovative products and totally new services to be developed. However, an “informatized” world full of objects that can detect aspects of their environment and communicate with each other also has serious societal implications. The social and political challenges of the ubiquitous computing era will be characterized by an increasing dependence on technology, control over the information to which everyday objects are linked, and the protection of privacy.
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