Vision - September/October 2008 - (Page 2)

ShapirO’S Spectrum on the consumer electronics horizon “Wireless, sensing devices, biometrics, Paul & Lindamarie Ambrose/Getty Images nanotechnology, OLED, IPv6 and location-based services are all a part of the future.” I Catching IPv6 and Other Opportunities n many sports, you have to pass or kick the ball or puck to your teammate—not to where they are but to where they will be. Business is the same way—figure out where the action will be in a few years time and plan to be there filling a need. IPv6 will be the only option sometime in 2010 when all the possible Internet destination numbers are gone. Everyone then must switch to IPv6, and we all will benefit as virtually every item that has digital content flowing through it will have its own unique address. Imagine the benefits of connectivity as every CE product is addressable and responsive. Energy saving will be easier. Security will increase. New features and services will be created. We will enter a world which will shrink further as distances become less relevant. Big countries and companies have been making the switch. The U.S. government is already requiring IPv6 as the standard in its procurement bids. Corporate leader Bechtel has more than 95 percent of its user computers running IPv6 today. Bechtel offices and many projects are using IPv6 September/October 2008 on production LAN and WAN networks from New Delhi, to London, to Warsaw and across the U.S. The upcoming and inevitable switch to IPv6 will be aided by ubiquitous wireless broadband. As broadband extends from the office and many homes, to every home and every car and everywhere in-between, it creates new possibilities for a range of services and products. All products will be accessible and connected. New services and business will be created. As some CE companies complain of stagnant sales due to the recession, gas prices, OEM integration, mature products, lack of consumer awareness, Asian competition, inflation or any other handy excuse, others are focusing on the opportunity of the future. Wire- less, sensing devices, biometrics, nanotechnology, OLED, IPv6 and location-based services are all a part of the future. Consumer electronics is a tough business. You have to be quick. You have to be innovative. Or you have to be either brand or cost savvy. But what you can’t be is resistant to change. No matter how hard we try as humans to maintain the status quo—things change. Men plan and God laughs—goes the old Yiddish expression. In our personal lives, in our business lives and definitely in the technology world, things change. Indeed, our industry is the instrument of change. So let’s stop talking about the good old days of big margins and hot products. Let’s plan for the next-generation of landmark innovations which will make the world a better place. • www.ce.org 2 http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - September/October 2008

Vision - September/October 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist Visionary C4 Trends Coming to a Neighborhood Near You IPv6: Connecting People and Things Israelis Spend Big on the Latest CE Devices Tech Speak Tech Policy CEA Newsline Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - September/October 2008

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