Now I started to wonder: Do I know anyone who has never used a PC? I mean, someone who has had the opportunity to use one at some point but deliberately chose not to. I had trouble coming up with more than a few people. Even my in-laws are starting to ask about computers -- specifically, whether they should get one. I always give a very calculated answer because I know who'll end up "fixing" it when it "breaks." Then there's the story about my in-laws "using cable," but that's a story for another day.

In this particular case, I finally realized there is no compelling reason that people completely unfamiliar with technology should buy a PC. There is no clear-cut requirement for them to spend money on a particular technology. It's the same type of technology question you and I ask on a daily basis: What do we need and why?

Our cover package, by contributing editor Peter Rysavy and senior technology editor Dave Molta, deals with wireless, a technology many companies have struggled to cost-justify. Several years ago, when I was in the health-care industry, wireless technology was touted constantly as the perfect fit for hospitals. Analyst firms published projection charts with hockey-stick-type revenue growth in the health-care vertical market. But as the technology gatekeeper, I could never see the business requirement. Sure, we conducted a few pilot projects to see if we were missing anything, but ultimately we couldn't find a logical fit for the technology -- there was no particular business problem the technology would solve.

I know things have changed since the days of my hospital evaluations. Wireless technology has matured and is being used in ways we never considered before. Vertical markets are starting to adopt key wireless solutions to solve their specific business problems. And as our SOHO wireless-gateway testing proves, this technology is available and viable for any size business -- at prices that make the return on investment) mighty appealing.

We still don't have that one true killer application that makes wireless a no-brainer for all kinds of businesses, but that will change in time. The technology industry will continue developing and evolving wireless products so they become viable solutions in areas we can't imagine today. That innovation, coupled with people's insatiable appetite for new technology, will help drive more widespread deployment -- maybe even in the health-care market as all those analysts predicted long ago. As long as there's a business problem to solve, a technology solution will be available to solve it.

Now that I have all that figured out, I need to find a way to convince my in-laws not to spend their money on a computer they will never use. I'm all for helping to drive the economy by spending some money (especially someone else's), but the thought of teaching my father-in-law how to drag and drop is not as appealing as teaching my son. Hey, I know: I'll just have my son teach him. I hope my father-in-law likes Winnie the Pooh.