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What would it mean to you if your technology costs dropped? Over the past 30 years, the costs of computing have been falling steadily and, sometimes, exponentially. Some 30 years ago, a computer of decent processing power cost as much as US$20 million and was so big that it required its own highly air‐conditioned room. Today, a machine with comparable specifications can be picked up at a local Best Buy for about $200, and it is about the size of a high school yearbook. The decline in the costs of computer technology has been driven by several factors:

1. Broadly‐based demand for fast, superior computing by retail users, such as video gamers, has created a business case for a larger‐scale manufacturing of computers, reducing costs.

2. Investments in research and development by Silicon Valley consumer‐oriented companies, such as Google and Apple, have resulted in faster, leaner, and more affordable solutions.

3. Overseas investments by countries such as Singapore enabled foreign production of top‐quality components at a fraction of the cost, reducing overall ticket prices of machines.

Lower costs have permeated every aspect of computing from data storage to analytic power, allowing innovations such as cloud computing to flourish.