the.world.is.flat-第40节

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ability　to　zoom　in　from　space　level；　in　some　cases；　it　can　zoom　in　all　the　way　to　
a　street…level　view。　The　company　does　not　have　high…resolution　imagery　for　the　entire　
globe；　but　its　Website　offers　a　list　of　cities　that　are　available　for　more　detailed　
viewing。　The　company　has　focused　most　on　covering　large　metropolitan　areas　in　the　
United　States　and　is　working　to　expand　its　coverage。〃　
Flattener　#10　
The　Steroids　
Digital；　Mobile；　Personal；　and　Virtual　
But　this　iPaq's　real　distinction　is　its　wirelessness。　It's　the　first　palmtop　that　
can　connect　to　the　Internet　and　other　gadgets　in　four　wireless　ways。　For　distances　
up　to　30　inches；　the　iPaq　can　beam　
160　
information；　like　your　electronic　business　card；　to　another　palmtop　using　an　infrared　
transmitter。　For　distances　up　to　30　feet；　it　has　built…in　Bluetooth　circuitry　。　。　。　
For　distances　up　to　150　feet；　it　has　a　Wi…Fi　antenna。　And　for　transmissions　around　
the　entire　planet；　the　iPaq　has　one　other　trick　up　its　sleeve：　it's　also　a　cell　phone。　
If　your　office　can't　reach　you　on　this；　then　you　must　be　on　the　International　Space　
Station。　
…From　a　New　York　Times　article　about　HP's　new　PocketPC；　
July　29；　2004　
I　am　on　the　bullet　train　speeding　southwest　from　Tokyo　to　Mishima。　The　view　is　
spectacular：　fishing　villages　on　my　left　and　a　snow…dusted　Mt。　Fuji　on　my　right。　My　


colleague　Jim　Brooke；　the　Tokyo　bureau　chief　for　The　New　York　Times；　is　sitting　across　
the　aisle　and　paying　no　attention　to　the　view。　He　is　engrossed　in　his　computer。　So　
am　I；　actually；　but　he's　online　through　a　wireless　connection；　and　I'm　just　typing　
away　on　a　column　on　my　unconnected　laptop。　Ever　since　we　took　a　cab　together　the　other　
day　in　downtown　Tokyo　and　Jim　whipped　out　his　wireless…enabled　laptop　in　the　backseat　
and　e…mailed　me　something　through　Yahoo！；　I　have　been　exclaiming　at　the　amazing　degree　
of　wireless　penetration　and　connectivity　in　Japan。　Save　for　a　few　remote　islands　and　
mountain　villages；　if　you　have　a　wireless　card　in　your　computer；　or　any　Japanese　cell　
phone；　you　can　get　online　anywhere…from　deep　inside　the　subway　stations　to　the　bullet　
trains　speeding　through　the　countryside。　Jim　knows　I　am　slightly　obsessed　with　the　
fact　that　Japan；　not　to　mention　most　of　the　rest　of　the　world；　has　so　much　better　
wireless　connectivity　than　America。　Anyway；　Jim　likes　to　rub　it　in。　
〃See；　Tom；　I　am　online　right　now；〃　he　says；　as　the　Japanese　countryside　whizzes　by。　
〃A　friend　of　mine　who's　the　Times's　stringer　in　Alma　Ata　just　had　a　baby　and　I　am　
congratulating　him。　He　had　a　baby　girl　last　night。〃　Jim　keeps　giving　me　updates。　〃Now　
I'm　reading　the　frontings！〃　…a　summary　ofthe　day's　New　York　Times　headlines。　Finally；　
I　ask　Jim；　who　is　fluent　in　Japanese；　to　ask　the　train　conductor　to　come　over。　He　
ambles　by。　I　ask　Jim　to　ask　the　conductor　how　fast　we　are　going。　They　rattle　back　
and　forth　in　Japanese　for　a　few　seconds　before　Jim　translates：　〃240　kilo

meters　per　hour。〃　I　shake　my　head。　We　are　on　a　bullet　train　going　240　km　per　hour…that's　
150　mph…and　my　colleague　is　answering　e…mail　from　Kazakhstan；　and　I　can't　drive　from　
my　home　in　suburban　Washington　to　downtown　DC　without　my　cell　phone　service　being　
interrupted　at　least　twice。　The　day　before；　I　was　in　Tokyo　waiting　for　an　appointment　
with　Jim's　colleague　Todd　Zaun；　and　he　was　preoccupied　with　his　Japanese　cell　phone；　
which　easily　connects　to　the　Internet　from　anywhere。　〃I　am　a　surfer；〃　Todd　explained；　
as　he　used　his　thumb　to　manipulate　the　keypad。　〃For　3　a　month　I　subscribe　to　this　
＇Japanese＇　site　that　tells　me　each　morning　how　high　the　waves　are　at　the　beaches　near　
my　house。　I　check　it　out；　and　I　decide　where　the　best　place　to　surf　is　that　day。〃　
（The　more　I　thought　about　this；　the　more　I　wanted　to　run　for　president　on　a　one…issue　
ticket：　〃I　promise；　if　elected；　that　within　four　years　America　will　have　as　good　a　
cell　phone　coverage　as　Ghana；　and　in　eight　years　as　good　as　Japan…provided　that　the　
Japanese　sign　a　standstill　agreement　and　won't　innovate　for　eight　years　so　we　can　
catch　up。〃　My　campaign　bumper　sticker　will　be　very　simple：　〃Can　You　Hear　Me　Now？〃）　
I　know　that　America　will　catch　up　sooner　or　later　with　the　rest　of　the　world　in　wireless　
technology。　It's　already　happening。　But　this　section　about　the　tenth　flattener　is　
not　just　about　wireless。　It　is　about　what　I　call　〃the　steroids。〃　I　call　certain　new　
technologies　the　steroids　because　they　are　amplifying　and　turbocharging　all　the　other　
flatteners。　They　are　taking　all　the　forms　of　collaboration　highlighted　in　this　
section…　outsourcing；　offshoring；　open…sourcing；　supply…chaining；　insourcing；　and　
in…forming…and　making　it　possible　to　do　each　and　every　one　of　them　in　a　way　that　is　
〃digital；　mobile；　virtual；　and　personal；〃　as　former　HP　CEO　Carly　Fiorina　put　it　in　
her　speeches；　thereby　enhancing　each　one　and　making　the　world　flatter　by　the　day。　
By　〃digital；〃　Fiorina　means　that　thanks　to　the　PC…Windows…Netscape…work　flow　


revolutions；　all　analog　content　and　processes…　everything　from　photography　to　
entertainment　to　communication　to　word　processing　to　architectural　design　to　the　
management　of　my　home　lawn　sprinkler　system…are　being　digitized　and　therefore　can　
be　shaped；　manipulated；　and　transmitted　over　computers；　the　Internet；　satellites；　
or　fiber…optic　cable。　By　〃virtual；〃　she　means　that　the　process　of　shaping；　ma162　
nipulating；　and　transmitting　this　digitized　content　can　be　done　at　very　high　speeds；　
with　total　ease；　so　that　you　never　have　to　think　about　it…thanks　to　all　the　underlying　
digital　pipes；　protocols；　and　standards　that　have　now　been　installed。　By　〃mobile；〃　
she　means　that　thanks　to　wireless　technology；　all　this　can　be　done　from　anywhere；　
with　anyone；　through　any　device；　and　can　be　taken　anywhere。　And　by　〃personal；〃　she　
means　that　it　can　be　done　by　you；　just　for　you；　on　your　own　device。　
What　does　the　flat　world　look　like　when　you　take　all　these　new　forms　of　collaboration　
and　turbocharge　them　in　this　way？　Let　me　give　just　one　example。　Bill　Brody；　the　
president　of　Johns　Hopkins；　told　me　this　story　in　the　summer　of　2004：　〃I　am　sitting　
in　a　medical　meeting　in　Vail　and　the　＇doctor＇　giving　a　lecture　quotes　a　study　from　
Johns　Hopkins　University。　And　the　guy　speaking　is　touting　a　new　approach　to　treating　
prostate　cancer　that　went　against　the　grain　of　the　current　surgical　method。　It　was　
a　minimally　invasive　approach　to　prostate　cancer。　So　he　quotes　a　study　by　Dr。　Patrick　
Walsh；　who　had　developed　the　state…of…the…art　standard　of　care　for　prostate　surgery。　
This　guy　who　is　speaking　proposes　an　alternate　method…which　was　controversial…but　
he　quotes　from　Walsh's　Hopkins　study　in　a　way　that　supported　his　approach。　When　he　
said　that；　I　said　to　myself；　That　doesn't　sound　like　Dr。　Walsh's　study。'　So　I　had　
a　PDA　＇personal　digital　assistant＇；　and　I　immediately　went　online　＇wirelessly＇　and　
got　into　the　Johns　Hopkins　portal　and　into　Medline　and　did　a　search　right　while　I　
was　sitting　there。　Up　come　all　the　Walsh　abstracts。　I　toggled　on　one　and　read　it；　
and　it　was　not　at　all　what　the　guy　was　saying　it　was。　So　I　raised　my　hand　during　the　
Q　and　A　and　read　two　lines　from　the　abstract；　and　the　guy　just　turned　beet　red。〃　
The　digitization　and　storage　of　all　the　Johns　Hopkins　faculty　research　in　recent　years　
made　it　possible　for　Brody　to　search　it　instantly　and　virtually　without　giving　it　
a　second　thought。　The　advances　in　wireless　technology　made　it　possible　for　him　to　
do　that　search　from　anywhere　with　any　device。　And　his　handheld　personal　computer　
enabled　him　to　do　that　search　personally…by　himself；　just　for　himself。　
What　are　the　steroids　that　made　all　this　possible？　
163　
One　simple　way　to　think　about　computing；　at　any　scale；　is　that　it　is　comprised　of　
three　things：　computational　capability；　storage　capability；　and　input/output　
capability…the　speed　by　which　information　is　drawn　in　and　out　of　the　computer/storage　
complexes。　And　all　of　these　have　been　steadily　increasing　since　the　days　of　the　first　
bulky　mainframes。　This　mutually　reinforcing　progress　constitutes　a　significant　
steroid。　As　a　result　of　it；　year　after　year　we　have　been　able　to　digitize；　shape；　
crunch；　and　transmit　more　words；　music；　data；　and　entertainment　than　ever　before。　
For　instance；　MIPS　stands　for　〃millions　of　instructions　per　second；〃　and　it　is　one　
measure　of　the　computational　capability　of　a　computer's　microchips。　In　1971；　the　Intel　


4004　microprocessor　produced　。06　MIPS；　or　60；000　instructions　per　second。　Today's　
Intel　Pentium　4　Extreme　Edition　has　a　theoretical　maximum　of　10。8　billion　instructions　
per　second。　In　1971；　the　Intel　4004　microprocessor　contained　2；300　transistors。　
Today's　Itanium　2　packs　410　million　transistors。　Meanwhile；　inputting　and　outputting　
data　have　leaped　ahead　at　a　staggering　rate。　At　the　speeds　that　disk　drives　operated　
back　in　the　early　days　of　286　and　386　chips；　it　would　have　taken　about　a　minute　to　
download　a　single　photo　from　my　latest　digital　camera。　Today　I　can　do　that　in　less　
than　a　second　on　a　USB　2。0　disk　drive　and　a　Pentium　processor。　The　amount　of　stuff　
you　can　now　store　to　input　and　output　〃is　off　the　charts；　than