The World of Technology in 2019

Cloud technology is already moving the center of innovation and economic activity from office buildings circling the city to labs inside the city. Clouds let us test ideas more rapidly and build molecules or even new forms of life an atom at a time, each custom-designed for a specific purpose.

The best access to cloud requires the best communication links, which is why the areas around research colleges are so hot. But start-ups are also moving to Kansas City, VentureBeat reports, because 700 Mbps fiber also offers that kind of access.

In the 1970s the rise of technologies like semiconductors resulted mainly in more technology: the personal computer. In the 1980s the rise of the PC led mainly to new technology: software. In the 1990s the rise of software led mainly to new technology: the Internet.

It's going to be different this time. As with those earlier booms, just how different it's going to be isn't apparent at the start of the boom. It's not obvious now how different 2019 will be. But the tools are now in place to make it different.

What does this tell investors? The companies that most transformed society and were born in those booms weren't publicly traded at their start. Apple was a record company in 1973, Microsoft was still private in 1983. Amazon.com (AMZN) had not been founded by 1993.

Watch the IPO market. Look for new names in the fields I just mentioned. Spread your bets around widely.

Then sit back and be amazed. When you look at today from the end of this decade, at the end of the current boom, you will call the world of 2013 primitive by comparison.

At the time of publication the author had a position in AAPL, MSFT, INTC, GOOG, RHT and DDD.

Follow @DanaBlankenhorn

This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

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