Its readers are what CNet executives call the "early majority," referring to the large number of people interested in learning about the newest technology.

The most difficult step is making the transition between visionaries (early adopters) and pragmatists (early majority).

Rogers classified individuals into five groups: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

Hoffmann-La Roche's scientific prominence, and its earlier majority investment in Genentech Inc., a leader in biotechnology, make it a particularly desirable partner, they said.

Crossing the Chasm is closely related to the technology adoption lifecycle where five main segments are recognized: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards.

He suggests that for discontinuous or disruptive innovations, there is a gap or chasm between the first two adopter groups (innovators/early adopters), and the early majority.

The earliest majority inhabitants of Taiwan were probably from Southeast Asia and are racially similar to the Malay group who inhabit Malaysia and Indonesia.

Next, it passes to the "early majority" (people who see cool people across the street), followed by the "late majority" (people who see cool people on MTV).

The British government broadly accepted this report, signalling a withdrawal of support for the Federation and the acceptance of early majority rule for Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia.

It's the normal progression of things--from the edgy early adopter who seeks purity and novelty above all things, all the way through the early majority and then the mass market.

She explains that innovators and early adopters are comfortable making gut decisions driven by what they believe about the world, rather than just by what product is available for their use, while the early majority doesn't like to try something until someone else tries it first.

In Crossing the Chasm, Moore begins with the diffusion of innovations theory from Everett Rogers, and argues there is a chasm between the early adopters of the product (the technology enthusiasts and visionaries) and the early majority (the pragmatists).

Justice Ginsburg's opinion in the Virginia case cited one of Justice O'Connor's earliest majority opinions for the Court, a 1982 decision called Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan that declared unconstitutional the exclusion of male students from a state-supported nursing school.

They were an "early majority," a step or two ahead of the public as a whole on everything from social trends to consumer products, offering a picture of "what the majority of Americans will be doing in two to five years," whether it's talking on cellphones or buying a personal computer.