This happens over and over. Compare the internal combustion engine. A powerful technology is realized. At first, it's really expensive, and used only for ind

This happens over and over. Compare the internal combustion engine. A powerful technology is realized. At first, it's really expensive, and used only for industrial purposes or where it can serve many at once. The cost comes down to where wealthy individuals, professionals who benefit most, and sufficiently motivated hobbyists can get them, and there's huge growth. The cost comes down further, and soon everyone has them. At this point, the market becomes disjoint: you get products aimed for the wealthy (Apple; BMW, Ferrari), products aimed at the hobbyist (various DIY outfits; Jeep), products aimed at professionals who most benefit (RIM, Lenovo, Dell; some Ford/GM/Toyota products), and everyone else (LG, Nokia; Kia, other Ford/GM/Toyota products). I think that middle stage is the most exciting; unfortunately, we're just leaving it. It's still a very exciting time to be a developer, but I would barely hesitate to trade it all to work at Xerox PARC or Bell Labs in their heyday. On the upside, certain areas of biology are poised to move into that second stage any time now, in no small part because of the power commodity computing provides.