Abstract :
Summary form only given. From Aristotle and Ptolemy to Copernicus and Galileo, it took man nearly two thousand years to decide that the earth was not ??at, and that one would not fall off the edge by traveling too far. Now, by virtue of high-speed communication and global networking, it is argued that the world really is ??at , at least in the technological sense. Especially over the last decade we have witnessed enormous shifts in business activities that can be aggregated and performed at those geographic locations which provide highest quality for lowest cost. This trend is sure to continue, fueled by evolving techniques for multipoint collaboration and conferencing.