Technologies born from an invention usually go through a five-step curve:
Technology explosion: it's the crazy idea, the birth of something that can revolutionize a market, or people's lives. During this phase it is useless to open the wallet: you cannot buy anything yet.
The peak of expectations: following the wave of the first publicity given to the idea, some individuals or some interested companies begin to evaluate the opportunity of these technologies. This is usually where you know if something is working or not.
Ditch of disappointments: it is the quagmire in which a technology that many companies try to make profitable ends without succeeding: the perception of the public becomes a little negative. It can still happen that someone works the miracle, but it is not to be hoped for too much.
Spreading Hill: after the hitches of the 1st generation of products, the new improved releases of the 2nd and 3rd generation of these technologies give rise to cautious optimism.
Productivity plain: With better features and higher efficiency, innovation finally becomes mainstream and people start adopting it on a permanent basis.
put it with a graph:
Find a number of current or recent technologies on this curve, to see more or less at what stage they are: perhaps we were a little optimistic (wireless power could take many more years to adopt) but things like Internet TV, Cloud, Tablets ... well ... they are really 'next'. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think. (and click on the image for a larger view, of course):
