Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management

    Were Finally Getting Back to the Business of Business

    By
    Deborah Gage
    -
    February 19, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Once again, I am closeted in a fancy hotel at a conference for startups and venture capitalists. This time, however, I am sort of enjoying it. The silliness and arrogance of the past couple of years are fading away, and I am surrounded by people who talk intensely about technology, self-discipline and five-year business plans.

      Conference moderator Chris Shipley claims that the experience of funding so many bad startups made the high-tech industry progress faster than it otherwise would have. I dont believe it. Having so many people running around not knowing what they were doing certainly made my job harder. And what are the benefits to anybody of having half a dozen versions of Pets.com?

      Here are the lessons I see from Demo 2001:

      > Microsoft is still inspiring companies to compete against it. I was delighted to watch Intuit CEO Scott Cook introduce his latest scheme for removing the need to use Microsoft software. Six years after Intuit was almost acquired by Microsoft, Cook is still at it. He is opening the APIs to QuickBooks and creating an online marketplace for developers to offer applications to small businesses. Intuits data center also will suck data out of Microsoft Excel and parse it for importing into Intuit software. Meanwhile, Eazel—a group of former Apple, Netscape and Sun employees building an interface for Linux—claims that because people are finding useful software on the Web, the rules have changed and Microsofts lock on applications is broken. Well see.

      > The Internet has not changed Microsoft. IntelliShrink—Microsofts scheme for squeezing Outlook messages onto mobile devices by stripping out spaces, punctuation and vowels, and replacing long words with short ones—is typical of Microsofts brute-force approach to software design and produces messages that are hard to read. But IntelliShrink does carry Microsofts “Intelli” branding scheme beyond the PC and into a new market, which would be one of Microsofts top priorities.

      > Internet entrepreneurs need to remember to think about the outside world. It took a Wall Street Journal columnist, Walter Mossberg, to straighten out a panel discussion that had stalled on privacy. Mossberg asked why Net companies are not begging the government to set rules on privacy the way railroads begged the government to create the Interstate Commerce Commission. That way, they could avoid being regulated separately by each state and municipality. He also said companies should have to pay for the privilege of getting information about consumers—who should in turn choose whether to make their information available—and have to expect to earn customers trust.

      > The Internet will not change human behavior. A teaser for my next column—well discuss why the remote-controlled iRobot was given human characteristics.

      Deborah Gage
      Senior Writerdebbie_gage@ziffdavisenterprise.comBased in Silicon Valley, Debbie was a founding member of Ziff Davis Media's Sm@rt Partner, where she developed investigative projects and wrote a column on start-ups. She has covered the high-tech industry since 1994 and has also worked for Minnesota Public Radio, covering state politics. She has written freelance op-ed pieces on public education for the San Jose Mercury News, and has also won several national awards for her work co-producing a documentary. She has a B.A. from Minnesota State University.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×