| Summary |
| This is a world on a slow boat. |
| At work, companies experiment with new video technologies but only where cost justified and for limited internal applications. This is a world of disappointment, caution and concern for the future. |
| The "killer" application which would have proved the benefits of a multimedia world failed to materialize. |
| As a result, phone service is cheap and ubiquitous and still the focal medium. The reality of the television channel explosion has come down to 124 channels, not 500 or 5000 as expected. On-line games are a big hit, as well as a number of shopping and entertainment experiences which are offered, but most are too expensive for the average person, who has suffered from a global downturn in average worker income. |
| This sums up the attitude now voiced about the much touted "data superhighway" which at one point promised to lift the world out of recession. The lack of a large, dominating force such a the U.S. Government to solidify standards and provide investment incentives doomed this massive undertaking. |
| "If the U.S. Government would have handled health care reform in a more responsible manner in the mid 90's, perhaps there would have been the money to help develop the data superhighway like the interstate highway system in the 1940's." |