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Smoke signals wouldn’t be much help in writing a book today, but they remind us where we started. Humanity has always had a desperate need to connect, moving from the flicker of a hillside fire to the glow of a silicon screen.
My own journey through this evolution began in the late 1940s. I’ve spent over 60 years in the trenches of consumer electronics, communications, and photography—witnessing firsthand how we moved from analog hardware to an invisible, digital world.
But I’m not just looking back. My research into 'What’s Next' has uncovered a landscape that is both brilliant and, frankly, terrifying. In the chapters ahead, I’ll be sharing insights from the experts I’ve interviewed—the people currently building the tools that will shape our future. We are standing at a crossroads where innovation meets alarm.
The leap from smoke signals to the smartphone in your pocket is a testament to our genius, but it comes with a price. It’s faster, more efficient, and more convenient than ever before—but is it safer? I encourage you to take this journey with me to find out.
The Pocket Revolution
The Pocket Revolution
Before the iPhone was a household name, there was Simon. Created by IBM in 1994, it was a primitive.'phone calls, Simon was also able to send and receive and also give faxes, e-mails and cellular pages. Simon featured many applications, including an address book, calendar, appointment scheduler, calculator, world time clock, electronic notepad, handwritten annotations, and standard and predictive stylus input screen keyboards.
Next Shock'
A brick-sized device with a touchscreen and a sketch pad that hinted at a digital future. But the real 'dent in the universe' arrived in 2007.
In addition to its ability to make and receive cellular I was the NW Regional Sales Manager for Sony at the time this photo was taken with the Brick. During my travels one month I racked up an $800 phone bill. The Branch Manager understood, because he was on the other end of the line most of the time.
We both learned to keep our calls short at that time when the cost was by second, not minute. We both learned to keep our calls short at that time when the cost was by second, not minute.
The Original iPhone
Keep reading and you will learn What's Next.When Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, he didn't just sell a phone; he sold a revolution.
Within six months, 3.4 million people were carrying a computer in their pockets. It was a 'Camera iPhone,' as I call it, and it did something no one expected: it decimated the global pocket camera market overnight. As someone who spent 50 years in consumer electronics and photography, I saw the giants of the industry forced to live by a brutal marketing creed: Innovate or Die.
Introduction to the Journey on the yellow bick road.
Introduction to the Journey on the yellow bick road.
My goal isn't to bury you in "techie" jargon. I want to humanize the genius that took us from sharing 3-party telephone lines to landing rovers on Mars. We are driven by an uncontrollable curiosity to solve the unknown, using invisible tools like the internet to communicate, educate, and entertain.
Technology is a constant work in progress. In the business world, the rule is simple: companies can’t stop innovating, or they will lose their business to the competition. They must relentlessly solve technical mysteries to provide the products and services society needs. That drive is what pushes us to do the impossible—whether it's putting a man on the moon or aiming a spacecraft at the Martian surface. It forces us to constantly ask: What's Next?
I’ve spent the past 50 years inside the companies that built these tools and toys. Now, I’m using my MacBook Air to share that journey with you. I want to clarify exactly what had to happen—what had to be invented—for us to enjoy the digital frontier we live in today.
You won't be bored with dense engineering specs. I’ll give you just enough detail to get the important information across, and I'll use hyperlinks so you can dig deeper if your curiosity takes over. Hopefully, my personal experiences will help you understand how this technology shaped my life, and most likely, yours too.
It’s been a wild ride from 1943 to today. Grab your gear and let’s go.
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