With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

In the early 1970s, Ford Motor (NYSE: F) had a great slogan: "Ford brings you better ideas." Although the auto industry is driving in reverse these days, Ford is the only U.S. auto maker yet to take government money. It may need to do so eventually, but for now Ford is getting by. And one of its better ideas is Ford SYNC, which Charlotte Fisher, Ford's Global Design and Technology Communications spokesperson, described to me as "a voice-activated, in-car communications technology that lets Ford customers play music, call friends, or receive text messages, without ever taking a hand off the wheel."