We are on the verge of a world where all manner of devices will speak to one another wirelessly, but it’s going to be a royal pain to put together. To get to this level, companies are simply going to have to cooperate more. Research will need to be shared, while companies specializing in software will have to team up with hardware companies at the start of product development. In other words, the much-vaunted “horizontal” IT business structure–in which chipmakers, PC manufacturers and software makers work somewhat autonomously–will have to be rethought.