T T he invention of the movable type printing press launched the information age by making the mass distribution of information both feasible and economical. Newspapers, magazines, shopping catalogs, restaurant guides, and classified advertisements can trace their origins to the printing process. Five and a half centuries of technological progress in communications networks, protocols, computers, and user interface design led to the Web, online publishing, and e-commerce. Consumers and businesses have access to vast stores of information. All this information, however, used to be accessible only while users were tethered to a computer at home or in an office. Wireless data and voice access to this vast store allows unprecedented access to information from any location at any time.

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