Technology keeps accelerating to force change, even on those who are unwilling to cooperate. I never thought that techno-geek, gadget-freak Pinto would be in that category.

I have a cellphone that's 2 years old, and Cingular tells me that I can exchange it for a brand new model - at zero cost (provided, of course, that I sign up for another 2 years). Now, I am happy with Cingular (largest provider in the US, with the broadest coverage - I got a good signal during my recent trip in N. Dakota) and I don't expect to change. But, I can get a free, new cellphone anyway.

So, I went to take a look. I always go for the latest gadget; but, tell the truth, I was confused. I didn't want a slimmer phone with a camera and CD music, and I didn't want to browse the Internet everywhere I go with a more bulky cellphone/camera/PDA in my pocket for an additional $40 a month. So, I've still got my antique 2-year-old cellphone.

In 1990, the tech-prophet George Gilder wrote a book called "Life After Television" which declared that TV was dead. TV still seems to dominate many American living rooms, with big-screens and HDTV still showing significant market expansion. But, the shift to small screens (iPods and cellphones) is making major impact on TV network plans and projections.

Meanwhile, sales of conventional CDs are declining quickly - fewer people listen to music via regular, cumbersome CD players. I have a 12-CD player in my car, but changing the discs is too much of a hassle compared with clicking through playlists with thousands of songs on my iPod.

The key change that is occurring is software - hardwired TV, telephones and music-players are giving way to software adaptable "teleputers".

At the recent AlwaysOn Innovation Summit held recently in Stanford, California, tech-guru George Gilder exercised his usual hyperbole: "At the center of the network will be world wide webs of glass and light, and all of the action will move to the edge of the network, ushering in the life after telephony".