How important are 3G technologies sgoing to be? Very important - for two reasons. First, 3G is the next generation of wireless voice technology. When we run out of spectrum for GSM, as we will in the not-too-distant future, 3G offers the solution and at 10% of the cost of GSM. Also, 3G provides substantial data bandwidth.
Has the poor showing of Wap dented enthusiasm for wireless technologies? No one with any understanding of the technology believed Wap would take off the way it was implemented. Trying to deliver data over a connection protocol was always going to be too slow. But as a packet network, using general packet radio service, it is a reasonable proposition.
Has wireless found its "killer app"? Absolutely - voice! But if you mean has wireless data found its killer app yet, I'm not sure. Probably instant messaging: you only have to see how teenagers live on SMS. This will move on to Enhanced SMS, then Multimedia SMS. But there are many other applications - all the things for which you use a PDA (personal digital assistant).
Will mobile devices ever replace the desktop? No. You would never want to write a novel on a PDA. Likewise, a desktop is useless when you're in a taxi and need information! The PDA in the taxi will be linked to the office through your Bluetooth-enabled phone so, if a meeting is changed, you can find out in real time.
Is Japan's i-mode technology a promising guide for 3G here? i-mode is a tremendous example of how ordinary people are willing to adopt wireless data.
Has the amount paid for 3G licences put more pressure on it to succeed? There will eventually be a tax on the 3G services being rolled out. I'm more optimistic about 3G than many, simply because spectrum is rare and we need that, even if there isn't any data.
Will advertisers come back to the net? I think they will, simply because the net has never stopped growing.
To what would you ascribe the success of the BBC Micro in the 80s? It was the best technology at the time and it had the endorsement of the BBC. I'm delighted that the Risc OS is still popular. Every now and then I meet someone who thanks me for my part in the BBC Micro.
