I recall that in the 1980s, Telcos used

October 15, 2009 by Dave Haynes

I recall that in the 1980s, Telcos used to sell “ISDN” with this very same vision. “Go to the hairdresser and they will show you YOU with different hair.” All sent to and received back from a mainframe with ISDN technology, of course.

They did not get it. They are there to transport bits, not to interpret them.

Cisco is of course in the same mindset – their interest is to transport more bits so we all have to buy more routers. I understand that. But until bandwidth becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous – no way.

However.. perhaps this time they are onto something. “Augmented reality” will, I think, be big.

I am thinking iPhone though. Not so much “Aim camera at girlfriend and see her slim before your eyes. Or see her in Venice. Or see her with bigger.. well, you get the idea”. More a linking of Facebook, Apple, and geographic awareness, I think.