Dec 24

The Future of Less

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The Future of Less This time, Less really is More – James R. Hoadley – United States
The pace of development in technology is fast, and potentially confusing. Allen Kupetz does a stellar job of explaining what the future holds. The “less” he refers to is not a statement that we will all be impoverished, but rather that there will be a huge reduction of the barriers that keep us from doing many things now.
The crux of the book is that technology will allow us to do more by going “less.” Paperless, cashless, and wireless will allow us to get rid of paper forms, spend without carrying cash or credit cards, and communicate seamlessly with everyone and everything, all the time, from anywhere. Many nations in Asia are far ahead of the United States in implementation and use of new mobile technologies. If you want to find out what we will be doing in 5 to 10 years with our phones, and you can’t afford to take a trip to Korea and Japan right now, The Future of Less will tell you.
Book Review: The Future of Less
Reviewed by Rob Logan
Published by Central Florida Lifestyle
(centralflorida-lifestyle.com/index.php?page=singlearticle&catid=24&artid=697)

In his new book, technologist and Rollins College professor Allen Kupetz foresees the consequences of the United States entering a new wireless–and paperless–age.

Communicating using the popular new wave of Internet-compatible smartphones may be cutting edge for us, but it’s just the beginning of a wireless trend that will change our daily lives, according to business technology expert Allen H. Kupetz and his thought-provoking new book, “The Future of Less: What the Wireless, Paperless, and Cashless Revolution Means to You.”

If you think the iPhone is cool, pay attention to wireless technology in Asia. After living in South Korea for a number of years, Kupetz (who is currently executive-in-residence at Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business) observes that the United States is about five years behind. “South Koreans are early adopters of new technologies and quickly weed out those that provide little value,” he says. “After this informal testing period, the surviving technology goes global, and we get to use it here in the United States.”

In South Korea and Japan, the average citizen uses smartphones to perform out-of-office work, stream TV, read news, make purchases, pay the check at a restaurant and transfer data at speeds faster than a DSL-wired Internet connection. Mobile devices are such a major part of life in these countries that Kupetz foresees significant changes in the consumer landscape once high-speed wireless becomes commonplace in the United States in the next few years. “[The mobile phone] will be the Swiss Army knife of our life,” Kupetz says. “It will replace our wallet, MP3 player, camera, video camera, wrist watch and GPS receiver. We’ll watch television on it when we can’t find a larger screen.”

One effect of efficient wireless data transmission and storage is less demand for printed material, which Kupetz says may ultimately have beneficial environmental effects, as fewer trees are needed for paper. He also foresees a considerable change for the kind of paper we carry in our wallets. “Stored-value mobile wallets will eventually become popular in the United States once merchant acceptance grows, especially in the youth and other underserved segments with less access to traditional bank cards,” he argues, based on similar trends already occurring in Japan, where millions already use e-wallet functionality that allows their mobile phone to replace an ATM card.

All of this wireless bliss comes at a price, of course. The primary hurdle, as Kupetz points out, is our current cellular network, which is poorly suited for the needed bandwidth and already lags under the weight of millions of American teenagers texting their “BFFs” (best friends forever). Shall we continue building more cellular towers, the book questions–expanding our now frumpy 20th century cell networks to handle the increasing bandwidth demands? Or shall we spend billions migrating to hot new peer-to-peer networks that are better at supporting the high data rates?

While “The Future of Less” (which practices what it preaches and will be available as a downloadable Kindle book soon) provides convincing evidence that we indeed must face this culture changing decision, there are still unknowns in our wireless future. Kupetz’s crystal ball provides a tantalizing glimpse of how things will be, but becomes cloudy on how we should get there, suggesting that even South Korea doesn’t provide a ready-made answer for us. : You are on the verge of a transformation in your personal and business life, a transformation driven by the future of less. The wireless, paperless, and cashless revolutions will profoundly impact virtually every aspect of how you live, work, and play. How can you prepare for these huge inevitable changes? How can you ensure that these revolutions will make your life more convenient and more secure, and make your business more profitable? In this insightful examination of America’s technological future, author Allen H. Kupetz analyzes the innovations that will soon make wires, paper, and cash obsolete. A president of a global consulting firm and academic, Kupetz combines theoretical discussion with real-world experience, taking you on a tour of the communications frontier. You will see how the future is actually playing out in countries like Japan and South Korea, and you will learn how countries like China and India may be better positioned than the United States to take advantage of the coming revolutions. An eye-opening look into the not-so-distant future, The Future of Less will teach you what’s coming and how to use the new wireless, paperless, and cashless technologies that are just over the horizon to simplify your life and help your business grow.
The Future of Less

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