Resumen
This article attempts to describe the past, present and future of the Computing Revolution from a technological as well as a societal perspective. The third wave of the Computing Revolution is about networking and communications. It began with machines talking to machines. It moved to software talking to software. It is maturing to people talking with and working with people, anytime, anywhere, on any device. The Internet was never about creating a whole new class of middlemen to transact business online. Instead it stands to be the greatest productivity tool ever invented, creating whole new classes of winners and losers. While some winners in the third wave have been identified, others are waiting in the wings. The communications landscape is shifting quickly. Traditional voice-switched networks are being replaced by packet data networks. Long-distance costs are approaching free. The third wave is also writing new rules for the winners in the silicon and software waves. There was a marked slowdown in PC sales. Portable wireless devices are growing at a faster rate than that of PC. Wireless phones have overtaken personal computers in terms of population penetration.