Every industry will follow the money. Its events will be held where its markets are, or where its developers are. And the markets always have an opportunity to lure developers to them, through those events.

Thus, next month represents a great opportunity for Detroit in the history of Always-On. (This lovely photo of downtown Detroit, a view few people today associate with that great city, is from American-Products Publishing, which is based in Oregon.)

The fact is that sensors today are seen mainly as an automotive technology. Auto companies are buying lots of sensors to improve engines, to control pollution, increase fuel economy, to customize air conditioning, and for other purposes. The keynoters at next months's sensor conference in Detroit will both be auto industry suppliers, from Delphi and GE.

Autos will not always dominate the sensor scene. As sensors become more useful, other applications will emerge. We'll have factory applications, building applications, and (yes, in time) consumer applications. That's what Always-On is about, linking networked sensors with PC and Internet standards so the Internet can ride in the air.

Right now, however, it's Detroit's time. It would be wise for Detroit universities, and business development types, to take advantage of this time. A few hundred million dollars could very profitably be invested, right now, in building a sensor technology center, say, at Flint. Such an investment would transform that old auto town, and do more for its future than Michael Moore ever could.

I'm just saying...