People pay for intelligence. Thing is, it grows all the time. Used to be intelligence was very close to pipe and device. It made sense to build regulatory models and business models around the two. Intelligence these days, however is in 2 places: (a) software - how well does software get you what you want when you want it where you want it and for how much; and (b) a niche, but cool devices that make good use of (a), are very desirable from a consumer perspective (I for one, love my new iMac; 21" screen, terabyte hard drive and smokin' fast apple RAM), not to mention it is a work of art, sitting on my desktop. I love it and was happy to pay top dollar for it.
So it is simple. You can have customers lining up around the block to pay for intelligence or you can go to war with them by trying to keep it out of their hands. One feels like surfing and the other feels like battling a tsunami with swords.
The outcome it seems to me is certain. The transition, however, remains in doubt.
Let us hope for superhuman perspicacity for those charged with making decisions critical to how the transition plays out.
