Six Inevitable Technologies and the Milestones They Unlock - InformationWeek

If we were to go back 50 years in time and demonstrate modern technology to someone, it might appear indistinguishable from magic. To have within the palm of your hand one device that you can use to send instant messages, read books, pay bills, make movies, and even find love would seem unimaginable. Yet this reality has all been made possible by key breakthrough technologies that were revolutionary -- and, some might argue, inevitable. Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, once observed that grand-scale technologies are predictable because they have an inherent direction. He uses the analogy of gravity.