5 technologies key to the mobile revolution

Although the details were fuzzy, many experts believe Kundra is spot-on about the big picture when he called traditional desktop computers the old world and said the new world will be a virtual platform that relies on highly portable devices, just as smart phones and tablet PCs.

The question

That raises the question: Will aggressive research by mobile-innovation vendors in the then several years relegate desktop PCs to niche roles? Finally, could mobile devices become the new mainstream personal computing platform, with or without federal subsidies?

You don't have to peer far into the future to see that happening. Near 90 percent of the IT managers surveyed recently by InformationWeek said mobile devices, including smart phones, will represent a growing share of user devices in their organizations in the at once two years.

The case that if you are building a health care app

"It's already the case that if you are building a health care app, you thoroughly have to think about mobile from the beginning," said Todd Park, chief research officer at the Health and Human Services Department. "Talking about mobile as something special or something separate just seems goofy."

Much work remains to be done. In short, it took the desktop PC the better part of two decades to become the indispensable computing centerpiece it is now, and it nevertheless remains a work - and pain - in progress.

The workplace

Everyday mobile computing for the workplace and elsewhere will rest on a foundation of multiple, interdependent research pieces - some built and managed by agency IT departments, others delivered as services by third-party providers. Many of those pieces are far from mature. However the outlines for the eventual solutions have taken shape, and the development work has begun.