-- Addresses consumer speculation about technology and provides a framework for smarter, more profitable investments.-- Explains the difficulties in getting new technologies and products to market and how that affects customer reception.-- Covers economic, cultural, and technological factors affecting technology and product hype - and how consumers can see through it.Technology is hard and takes time to develop, but often other issues, ranging from the development of technical standards, regulations, politics, bureaucracy, and legal issues get in the way and slow its development and its availability for marketable products. This book is about how technologies emerge and, almost immediately, are heavily promoted, or hyped, in the hope of winning investor and consumer interest, often years before they (or products based on these technologies) ever appear on the market. Despite a product or technology's failure to come to fruition, without fail the hype goes on, creating great expectations, often with little or no concern about actual consumer interest. This book provides several examples of technologies that have been highly touted for years (including HDTV, artificial intelligence, mobile communications satellites, and WAP) and are only now beginning to appear in any significant way as real products or services. Beginning with a historical perspective, it details their all-too-long journey into the marketplace.