As I reflect on Clifford Lynch’s talk at Computers in Libraries 2005 about the digital decades from the 80s to the present and beyond, I am struck by how many things I have seen in the past that are just now playing a role in the present and into the future.

Voice Over Internet Protocol is one of them. I first saw this technology about 10 years ago at an Internet World conference. I even remember one of the British exhibitors selling this technology was showing it off by having an old style English phone booth on display. I thought VOIP would be such a hot technology. And I think it has been, but individual consumers are just now using it on their computers to talk to their friends, relatives and colleagues for free over the internet on through iChat on Mac computers and Skype, and others I am sure.

Just goes to show you that I forgot about the early adoption cycle which proves that new technologes take time to be adopted by the general population.