What's a store?

Usually you think of a physical location, a building (or a piece of one), in which you find merchandise and a cash register.

But is that the only store? Isn't Amazon.Com a store? Amazon consists of warehouses and databases and delivery vehicles. That model is actually 150 years old, dating from the Sears or Montgomery Ward "Wish Books" of the 19th century. (This here store is actually just a cute piece of bric-a-brac, available here from Aspencountry.com, a Web site.)

But is that the only store?

No. Now a store can be anywhere thanks to Always-On technologies (and Verifone, which has enabled its use for Point of Sale transactions).

What are you talking about, Dana?

• When the Chinese food comes to the door they can swipe your credit or debit card, at the door, rather than just copying your credit card on a slip and doing it later.
• A fair or festival can be filled with real-time transaction processing, not just with cash but with plastic.
• The UPS or FedEx driver could take on-the-spot orders, not just what you called-in for pickup, and they wouldn't need an existing account to take the business.
• The insect guy, the plumber, and the other service people who come to your house could take something other than a check.

This is very cool, and my guess is someone is going to take advantage of this to make a fortune.