HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF LATELY "WHAT'S 
HAPPENING OUT THERE?".  QUITE LIKELY IT WAS SOMETHING YOU FELT, 
RATHER THAN ACTUALLY THOUGHT. WELL, IT IS STRANGE AND IT IS 
DIFFERENT.  THE WORLD IS REJECTING MONOPOLY JUST AS A NEW FORM 
OF EXCLUSIVITY EMERGES.  THIS NEW POWERFUL ECONOMIC FORCE, SO 
FAR GENERALLY UNSEEN AND UNIMAGINED, IS  ALMOST INVISIBLE.  THE 
FIRST CHILD HAS JUST BEEN BORN.  THE AGE OF TECHNOPOLY OPENS.

AS COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD DEREGULATE,  CONVENTIONAL WAYS 
OF CONTROL DISAPPEAR.  THE VACUUM JUST STARTING WILL BE FILLED 
WITH THE CREATIONS OF THE NEW AGE:  THE CREATION OF THE 
TECHNOPOLIST.  WHAT IS IT?  WHO IS SHE?  IT IS A PRODUCT OR SERVICE 
THAT IS ALMOST 100 PERCENT  CONTROLLED --ALL OVER THE WORLD -- 
BY ONE COMPANY, GROUP OF COMPANIES, A SYNDICATE OR A COUNTRY.  IT 
WILL RARELY BE HELD BY ONE INDIVIDUAL.  AND IF SO, LIKELY BY A 
WOMAN.  THEY WILL HOLD CONTROL FIRST, BY THE UNIQUENESS OF THEIR 
PRODUCT.  IT WILL PERFORM IN A MANNER PREVIOUSLY UNIMAGINED.  
IT WILL CREATE A WORLD-WIDE DEMAND THAT WILL FORCE CONSUMERS 
AND/OR BUSINESSES TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THE PRODUCT REGARDLESS 
OF GOVERNMENTAL RESTRICTIONS.  

IT WILL, IN THE MAIN, BE PRICE INSENSITIVE.  EVEN THOSE WHO  
POSSESS ONLY A WELFARE CHECK WILL CUT BACK ELSEWHERE TO OBTAIN 
IT.  THEY WILL BUY IT REGARDLESS OF THE COST!

THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE OF THE TECHNOPOLIST WILL BE MADE 
INITIALLY IN ONE LOCATION.  IT WILL BE STREAMLINED AND MARKETED 
LOCALLY TO TEST ALL POSSIBILITIES AND RECOVER MUCH OF THE 
INITIAL CAPITAL INVESTED IN THIS "DREAM".  BY THAT TIME, 
PRODUCTION EFFICIENCES OF THE EMERGING TECHNOPOLY WILL BE 
ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MATCH BY ANY LATE-ENTERING COMPETITOR.  
AS DISTRIBUTION GROWS,  ENORMOUS PROFIT WILL ALLOW THE 
ORIGINATOR TO OFFER BETTER MARKETING AND FINANCING TERMS THAN 
COMPETITIVE LATE-STARTERS.  THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT WILL 
CONSTANTLY BE UPDATED SO THAT COMPETING PRODUCTS WILL APPEAR 
OLD-FASHIONED AND UNDESIRABLE.  COMPETITOR SALES WILL BE 
MINIMAL AND THEIR BANKRUPTCY WILL FOLLOW.

THE "PILOT" PRODUCT FOR THIS NEW APPROACH IS ALREADY HERE.  LAST 
YEAR MORE THAN 45 MILLION OF THEM WERE SOLD ON THIS PLANET.  
MORE NET PROFIT WAS MADE FROM THIS ONE PRODUCT BY ONE COUNTRY 
THAN FROM AUTOMOBILES.  IT IS NOW FOUND IN MORE THAN 60 PERCENT 
OF NORTH AMERICAN HOMES, WITH AN EVEN HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN 
BRITAIN AND THE MIDDLE EAST.  STRONG DEMAND CONTINUES FROM NEW 
BUYERS, AS WELL AS FROM INITIAL BUYERS UPGRADING TO LATEST 
MODELS.  MORE THAN 95 PERCENT OF WORLD PRODUCTION COMES FROM 
ONE PLACE.  THE DRIVING TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE WHOLE PHENOMENON 
HAS A CONTINOUS RESERVE OF "NEW" DEVELOPMENTS ALREADY 
PERFECTED AND WAITING FOR THE PROPER MARKETING MOMENT.  THE 
STRATEGY IS TO MAKE THEIR OWN PRODUCTS OBSOLETE WITH THEIR OWN 
NEW DEVELOPMENTS, THEREBY PROHIBITING COMPETITORS FROM EVER 
CAPTURING MORE THAN A MINISCULE SHARE OF THE GLOBAL MARKET.

THESE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES WILL PROVIDE SOMETHING  NEVER 
PREVIOUSLY CONCEIVED.  THEY WILL DO MORE FOR LESS, AND WILL 
RENDER OBSOLETE NOT ONLY OTHER SINGLE PRODUCTS BUT WHOLE 
INDUSTRIES.  

A NUMBER OF THESE TECHNOPOLIES ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT RIGHT 
NOW.  FEW IN THE U.S. OR CANADA.  THEIR VALUE WILL BE SO APPARENT 
THAT POLITICAL BARRIERS AGAINST THEIR IMPORT (OR LOCAL 
MANUFACTURE) WILL BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE.  NOT ONLY WILL THE 
CITIZENS OF SUCH COUNTRIES RISE UP IN PROTEST, BUT THE NON-USE OF 
SUCH PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WILL PUSH COUNTRIES LIMITING FOREIGN 
TECHNOPOLIES EVEN FURTHER BACK IN THE TECHNOLOGY RACE.  THE 
SEDUCTIVENESS OF THEIR 'TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER' NECESSITY WILL 
BECOME AN IRRESISTIBLE ADDICTION.

SOUND LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM ... OR NIGHTMARE?  MOST LIKELY THE 
FIRST EXAMPLE IS ALREADY IN YOUR HOME !.  THE PRODUCT IS THE 
VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER!

ALREADY FOLLOWING, AS THE SECOND WAVE OF THE AGE OF 
TECHNOPOLIES, IS THE FACSIMILE MACHINE.  THERE ARE CURRENTLY 
TWICE AS MANY FAX MACHINES IN JAPAN (WITH HALF THE U.S. 
POPULATION) THAN IN THE U.S.  BUT THE ONE MILLIONTH AMERICAN 
FAX MACHINE IS PROBABLY ALREADY IN SOME U.S. WAREHOUSE!   THEY 
ARE ALL MADE IN JAPAN! 

NEXT:  HDTV (HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION).  WITH A PICTURE 
SUPERIORITY OF 1125 LINES OF RESOLUTION TO THE INCH, COMPARED TO 
THE OLD NORTH AMERICAN AND JAPANESE SYSTEM OF ONLY 525 LINES, 
HDTV LOOKS LIKE A SLICK COLOR MAGAZINE AD COMPARED TO OLD-
FASHIONED BLACK AND WHITE WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS VISIBLE DOT 
PICTURES.  THE NETWORK OR CABLE NETWORKS THAT INTRODUCES 
PROGRAMMING IN HDTV WILL STEAL AWAY THE CRITICAL MARKET 
MASS WITHIN TWO YEARS.

CURRENTLY NHK HOLDS THE MOST ADVANCED SYSTEM, WITH A 
SUBSTANTIALLY SUPERIOR LEAD IN HDTV DEVELOPMENT.  THEY HAVE 
BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR WELL OVER TEN YEARS.  WHO'S NHK, YOU ASK?  
THE JAPANESE BROADCASTING CORPORATION.  

THE DAYS OF OLD AGE TV ARE ABOUT TO END.  HOW WILL THIS AFFECT 
YOU?  BETTER START SAVING NOW FOR THAT NEW, MORE EXPENSIVE, 
DIGITAL HDTV SET. 

OR ARE YOU STILL WATCHING IN BLACK AND WHITE?
_