Cybersurfers never had it so good. The efforts of Apple's Steven Jobs to revive his legacy mean that we can order the iMac in one of five "flavors." Thanks, Steve. Bill Gates wants you to be able to go anywhere you want on the Net -- as long as Microsoft escorts you on the journey

To a large degree, that is what passes for choice on today's Internet. You want to go online? Unless you've got one of the few fancy new cell phones, you've got to boot up some version of a PC to climb aboard. As Henry Ford used to say, his customers could have any color car they wanted, as long as it was black.

That sorry state of affairs is about to end. In the next year or two, there will be an explosion of Internet-capable devices that offer users access to the Net -- and the information that they want or need -- in a manner best suited to their individual lifestyles. Do I really need a computer for e-mail if I'm using a cellular phone all day? Why bother with the PC when I really just want to download new games for my PlayStation?