The Tech Trap

The fortnight has seen an enormous surge in global tech stock prices. The conflict in Afghanistan seems to be going well and industry experts suggest that it will provide a huge boost for the mobile computing segment when the high-tech devices come onto the market.

According to some estimates, hand-helds incorporating some of the military applications used in Afghanistan could be commercially available to Christmas shoppers at around $2,000 to $3,000 apiece. Most of the applications are easily adapted to civilian use and indeed, the military apps were cobbled together using off-the-shelf palmtops.

Market players on Nasdaq are betting that the new technology will be rapidly adopted providing a boost to industry as well as to the moribund global economy. If true, this may accelerate the pace of recovery from the current recession.

We will not have credible projections about that until January 2002. However the current