Mobile phones are a “fifth wave” in the development of computers, according to Hermann Hauser, the veteran technology investor. When I visited him in Cambridge recently he said: “Mainframes were the first wave, mini computers were the second wave, work stations were the third wave and PCs were the fourth.”
Mr Hauser, kingpin of the “Silicon Fen” innovation scene for three decades, was making a point that applies more broadly than solely IT. New technologies devour old ones in waves, destroying established businesses but simultaneously creating new ones.
