Based upon what I have seen develop in my lifetime, from very small vacuum tubes to integrated circuits smaller than a postage stamp that can control the guidance of a missile, electronics is evolving on virtually a daily basis. I still recall when transistors were announced. There are a couple still in my junk parts bin. Looking at one now they are absolutely primitive. I used them to build power supplies, radios, timers, listening devices. I still have a timer that I constructed in about 1965? It has 11 transistors, among other things, and operates on a 6V lantern battery and measures 8”x8”x12”. I have a commercial unit that performs the same functions and is about .25”x1”x.5” and uses a hearing aid battery. I will never be as short-sighted as the founder of Digital Equipment Co. who said something like “I can see no reason anyone would need a computer in their home” or the chairman of IBM “There may be a demand for 5 computers worldwide”. My first cell phone, 1992, was a monster with a shoulder strap. Look back 20 years and extrapolate into the future. Thus far, every system except power distribution can be economically provided by RF transmission and power is the next great breakthrough, although a few years in the future. I believe that hard wiring of many systems will go the way of the dinosaur as people, especially the younger generation who have evolved with innovation, become entrepreneurs and homeowners.
Sam
