ECMgt.com: Nov2000: Volume 2, Issue 11 - B-to-B Growth Continues Its Dramatic Pace
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| ECMgt.com: Nov2000: Volume 2, Issue 11 - B-to-B Growth Continues Its Dramatic Pace |
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Subject: Nov2000 ECMgt.com: B-to-B
Growth Continues Its Dramatic Pace
ECMgt.com brought to you by ECnow.com
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November 1, 2000
*4,100 subscribers* Volume 2, Issue 11
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Subject: B-to-B Continues Its Dramatic Pace
MONTHLY SURVEY
Thank you for your comments, suggestions and responses to our survey question. Please keep them coming. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at mailto:ecmgt.comments@ecnow.com. We currently have over 4,100 subscribers. If you like what you read, please let your friends, clients and co-workers know about our free newsletter.
Our December issue deals with eCommerce Recap,
we would like your opinion on the following: 1. What do you consider the most
significant ecommerce activities/events/developments of 2000?
2.
How did the developments affect you? MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
B-to-B growth will continue at its dramatic 1999 pace, leading to more liquidity in the B-to-B exchanges and inter-organizational virtual enterprises. Part of this growth will stem from the B-to-B practitioners applying techniques that have already been proven successful in the B-to-C marketplace. Below is a listing of key market drivers for B2B growth.
B to B exchanges
and marketplaces:
Dynamic pricing- commonly used in market economies and
auctions, and popularized on the Internet by B2C portals eBay, Priceline, eWanted,
and Mercata- has extended beyond the consumer market. The Internet exchange model
is rapidly being adopted by both buyers and sellers in a variety of B2B industries
to gain efficiencies in apparent supply, to eliminate information inequity, and
to create new intermediaries and business models. In the B2B markets, Keenan Vision
estimates that $129 billion of the Internet economy will be conducted using Internet
Exchanges in 2002. One of the fastest-developing online arenas is the marketplace
concept, a hybrid of the Internet Exchange- essentially a Web portal that is used
to sell goods at auction. Exchange members meet to buy and sell goods for a market
price, negotiating according to a set of rules.
Small business buying direct
from suppliers:
An additional source of B2B growth is the number of small
businesses that find it useful to buy from suppliers online. A greater number
of small businesses use the Internet for procurement of supplies than to sell
goods. This is obvious when you compare the number of retail establishments, 1.5
million, with total number of small businesses, over 8 million. Just as consumers
have experienced broader selection, faster service, automated shipments, and personalized
offerings in the B2C space, small businesses are deriving the same benefits by
purchasing from suppliers over the Internet instead of via phone or fax.
EDI
factor:
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has grown from one trillion
dollars at the beginning of 1990 to almost 3 trillion by the end of 1999. By comparison,
Internet commerce (including B2C and B2B) is barely one tenth of that (Forrester
estimates $320 million for the year 2000). Most market research firms (including
eStats) estimate that Internet commerce will reach a little over $1 trillion by
2003; Forrester has lately estimated that e-commerce revenues in 2003 would be
3 trillion dollars (still only equal to EDI). As XML-based EDI encroaches on traditional
VAN (Value Added Networks), and more significantly, as Fortune 50,000 suppliers
require smaller businesses in the supply and value chain to be EDI compliant,
Web-based EDI will push total B2B transactions quickly to the 3 trillion dollar
figure estimated by Forrester. XML, the eXtensible Markup Language, will allows
easy creation of EDI documents, using the Web infrastructure for routing.
Shipping
B2B services with hardware:
Both Hewlett-Packard and Compaq have learned
from Microsoft's model of shipping applications with desktops, and are shipping
business servers with preloaded applications for e-business services. Hewlett-Packard's
e-Services group has been especially aggressive in establishing business alliances
that can be bundled with applications.
Telcos bundling e-commerce offerings:
Just as many telecommunications firm are offering Internet connectivity, email
accounts, and web hosting bundled with residential service offerings, larger firms
including MCI, SBC, GTE and Sprint are scrambling to rollout e-commerce and Internet
directory services bundled with DSL and T-1 service. The play is for the 8 million
small businesses and 11 million SOHO [define or spell out this term] that telcos
consider to be their customers. These are ripe for B2B (and B2B2C) offerings that
include credit card payments, Internet marketing, and product listings in Internet
directories.
Global digital commerce:
The 1990's saw the beginning
of the transformation of national and international economies to global, digital,
internetworked economies. With world gross domestic product estimated to be $32
trillion, Forrester's estimate (which predicts that only one tenth of that commerce
will be converted to e-commerce by 2003) may even seem low. It is more likely
that Fortune 5000 firms with a global presence will conduct a large fraction of
their international commerce via the Internet, because it helps open markets,
provide more suppliers, and coordinate production and manufacturing of "international
products".
Vertical market explosions:
While e-commerce growth in
both B2B and B2C sectors has been almost 100% CAGR in the United States, key vertical
markets still haven't embraced e-business processes. Health care, which represents
almost $1 trillion, remains fragmented because documents are not standardized
and because there are no uniform business processes for service approval, payments,
and record keeping. State and local governments face similar challenges. Banking
and finance (which arguably are already digital but not internetworked) have moved
rapidly to offer consumers online services, yet the majority of consumers still
have not participated. Utilities and telecommunications also are underrepresented
in Internet commerce, but are exploding rapidly in Internet Exchanges. Utilities
are now routinely trading power, and global telecommunications are creating a
seamless cable, fiber, and wireless grid where services must be traded to maintain
network integrity.
B2B2C model:
An additional source of B2B growth
is from the number of B2C eCommerce sites, which has grown in number from 400,000
at end of 1998 to an estimated 1,000,000 businesses at the end of 1999. These
sites require business services for payment processing, banking and finance, shipping
and logistics, and resupply of products they sell. This represents "upwards pressure"
from smaller business to conduct commerce with suppliers and other participants
in the value chain.
ERP, extended ERP and extended enterprises (Inter-organizational
virtual enterprises)
The extended enterprise is being built from extended
applications, using horizontal and vertical integration brought about through
Java and XML. Future enterprises will be defined by extension of their business
processes applications over networks, rather than the physical and legal boundaries
that once defined and confined them. The Internet is a revolution in both distributed
computing and transactive content. Leveraging the Java and ASP value proposition
and the synergy of ASPs co-located in data centers (e-Application centers), business
and alliance partners of "traditional firms" can integrate their business processes,
share their markets, and create virtual enterprises as needed. Integrators at
e-Application centers can create e-business incubators from the synergy of ASPs
they host. It's a new model with few data points, but Exodus, Navisite, and 400
ASPs are pioneering the next generation "enterprise".
Conclusion
Even
with the April stock market retreat and the continued erosion of e-tail and B2B
stocks, it's clear that we are at the beginning of a new way of conducting business.
Nevertheless, "legacy" processes, laden with paperwork and other inefficiencies,
are still in place. Over time, these legacy processes will be chipped away and
replaced with more efficient processes brought by either the new B2B marketplaces
or the incumbents that integrate the Internet into how they conduct business.
Compaq - http://www.compaq.com/
eWanted
- http://www.ewanted.com
Exodus - http://www.exodus.net/
Mercata - http://www.mercata.com/
Microsoft
- http://www.microsoft.com/
Navisite
- http://www.navisite.com/
Priceline
- http://priceline.com/
Let me
leave you with a few of my favorite quotes this month:
***
I feel we all
must just hold on, the roller coaster ride is only in its second or third turn.
Hysteria and quick reactions will is ignorant. Many people thought TV would never
survive. The malls of the 70's died out to be replaced by highly profitable mega
malls. The railroad and shipping industries, true b2b industries, have gone through
ups and downs since the 1600's. The economy will survive and prosper.
(Kevin
Maris, President, Beanstalk, Inc.)
***
B2B is very difficult since most
retailers won't be able to compete against K-Mart or other big players with an
existing infrastructure and better economies of scale. Growth rates are difficult
to estimate, but certainly in the 50 - 100% annually. B2B will further grow on
the information side, not only on the pure transaction side.
(Patrick Stark,
Data Comm)
***
Based on the B2C experience, I think that purchases over
the Internet are most likely to happen if: -it is a repeat purchase of a previously
owned item (i.e. apparel) -it is a known item (i.e. book, CD) -the user can physically
test the product in a shop (i.e. car) -the user can buy from a remote shop location
(i.e. buyer in us/seller in Europe) B2B business, generally, is all of the 4 above,
therefore B2B can only be successful and grow!
(Alberto Griffa - San Jose
- CA)
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Corporation Delano Technology Corporation
is a provider of interaction-based e-business solutions that enable an organization
to interact with the extended enterprise, for fast measurable results.
"Building
e-Businesses with Unparalleled Velocity"
FEATURE ARTICLE
USING M&A TO BUILD B2B VALUE
By Tim Miller
Excerpted from the Web M&A Report from Webmergers.com
Buyers in the second quarter of 2000 spent $974 million on 33 transactions involving B2B exchanges, services that match industry buyers and sellers in "virtual" marketplaces. In Q1, at the peak of B2B frenzy, buyers spent $10.8 billion to complete 31 deals, with most of the spending occurring in the Health & Medical sector.
High B2B Stakes Drive Deals
Huge opportunities in the B2B sector are a primary driver of deals. The Boston Consulting Group recently predicted that B2B e-commerce in the U.S. will generate $4.8 billion in 2004, if you include electronic data interchange (EDI) and all of the purchases that occur along the supply chain. In addition, a new Forrester survey of purchasing executives at 50 major companies indicated that corporate chiefs plan significant increases in the spending they channel though B2B exchanges.
High stakes are only one factor driving B2B player to do deals. Another factor is the time-consuming and difficult task of building a B2B business from ground up. To be successful, B2B exchanges need to build both chicken and egg at the same time; on the one hand they need to generate a critical mass of suppliers and on the other hand they need to build critical mass of buyers to buy from those suppliers.
In addition, it all needs to be done fast because B2B marketplaces have a "winner-take-most" dynamic - those that capture the largest share of buyers and sellers first are likely to take most - if not all - of the activity.
These factors combine to create enormous pressures for B2B companies to grab market share quickly in the sector they target. Given the imperative to seize market share, it should not be surprising to see strategists making attempts to buy, rather than build, in these markets. While most sectors are unlikely to spawn the $15 billion rollup campaigns that were seen with WebMD in the medical sector, we are certain to see some multi-billion dollar deals in many of the larger B2B niches. In fact, Forrester Research predicts that by 2003 the number of B2B exchanges will consolidate down to less than 200 from the current level of 1000.
B2B M&A Strategies
B2B mergers and acquisitions reflect several kinds of business strategies:
Roll up suppliers and customers to gain market share.
This is perhaps
the most common type of B2B acquisition. In this category buyers increasingly
are acquiring existing software companies that bring both enabling software and
a customer base to the enterprise. For example, in Q2, Silicon Energy, an energy
B2B solutions provider, bought SRC Systems Inc., a provider of energy analysis
software. Not only will Silicon Energy adapt SRC's software to the web, it also
will inherit SRC's 5,000 corporate customers, including such companies as IBM,
Marriott Corp. and Siemens.
Merge forces with a competitor to obtain scale.
In this case, two very close B2B competitors join forces to bring more resources
to bear on the marketplace. In Q2, for example Munich-based DCI.de (Database for
Commerce and Industry), an IT and telecommunications exchange, acquired its direct
UK rival Ace-quote.com for US$39.2 million in cash and stock. In that case DCI.de
brought 100,000 business buyers, and 30,000 suppliers while Ace-quote contributed
12,000 buyers and 2,400 registered suppliers to the party.
Initiate a new
B2B business.
Buyers in this case simply buy an existing B2B business
to create one where there was none before or to jumpstart a moribund existing
effort. One example in this category in Q2 was Ariba Inc's $558 million acquisition
of SupplierMarket.com, an exchange for industrial materials. The deal not only
gives Ariba a new B2B marketplace of its own, it provides it with materials-sourcing
expertise that it can leverage to customers in other sectors.
Add a new
vertical category.
Another common B2B strategy is to acquire a "line extension"
to an existing B2B business. VerticalNet has been an active example, making 20
acquisitions in the past 18 months to add to a collection of B2B businesses that
now totals 57. In one Q2 example, Belgium-based construction exchange Bricsnet
acquired California-based software provider VISCOMM to add facilities management
services to its offerings.
Acquire enabling infrastructure.
Again,
the imperatives to move quickly in the B2B space cause many buyers to buy, rather
than build the infrastructure they need to support e-marketplaces and the associated
supply chain services. In some cases, the above-mentioned acquisition of a software
company provides both the enabling technology and the customer base in one fell
swoop.
Acquire revenue.
Many of the above transactions also offer
the added benefit of buying the revenue that so often eludes early-stage B2B businesses.
For example in Q2, ImageX.com, Inc. a business printing B2B exchange acquired
traditional printing company Howard Press, gaining not only some printing capabilities
but also some $30 million in 1999 revenue.
Given the pressures inherent in building B2B marketplaces, it is certain that will see continued mergers and acquisitions activity in this sector for many quarters to come.
Excerpted from the Web M&A Report from Webmergers.com. Copyright, 2000, Webmergers, Inc.
READERS'
COMMENTS Dear Mitchell, I appreciate your
emails and open panel discussions. In regard to the B2B marketplace and the
shaky markets, I believe the following: The evolution of the Internet as we
know, is the quickest economic revolution in history. If you think about it in
domestic terms, the Internet's evolution was the equivalent of having a map of
North America and casting all roads, highways, air and railroad routes over it
within a 2 or 3 year period. One can not assume that all businesses and services
could set up viable operations in such a short time. Traffic studies, consumer
behavior, location analysis, fulfillment, real estate, financial institutions,
utilities etc. would all need to be figured out. The early Internet businesses
have had to figure this out at breakneck speed. Major adjustments had to occur.
B2B exchanges will help much of this. Just getting the consumer to your business
is tough enough; to figure out all supply and distribution channels is a whole
other problem. When railroads chose which cities to have hubs in, the decisions
made or broke certain cities. The same goes for airports. This took America 100
years to figure out. When highways were replaced with interstates, many small
towns collapsed, forcing mom and pop stores out of business. Slowly, interstate
exits got basic services like gas stations, lodging and restaurants. Banks and
real estate followed to handle transactions. Trucking firms and distribution centers
evolved to supply goods. Utilities were needed also. Therefore, people went
ahead and set up shops on the Internet; not knowing if they had the bandwidth
(transportation arteries) to even get people to their businesses. They did not
know how to get signage (search engine and directory placement) to attract customers.
The certainly had no idea how to advertise and create a brand awareness. Much
less, they did not have any idea of how to manage staffing to provide customer
care, fulfillment and delivery. Clearly, the financial support systems (banks,
credit card processors) were not there for them. In short, a correction was inevitable.
If you think about it, given every location in North America, where would one
choose to set up their business? Would it have everything one needed to operate
efficiently? Probably not. On top of all this, VC's were throwing money after
these businesses with unreal expectations. As these businesses failed, they left
a string of unpaid bills to companies. Investors lost millions. A massive correction
was inevitable. Where does that leave us? First, B2B exchanges will work out
most of the logistical issues. Bandwidth will catch up and make this possible.
Consumer sectors and tendencies will be analyzed to make advertising more targeted.
Viable business models will survive and we will see this cause an overall upswing
in successful, profit-producing Internet operations. I think we will begin seeing
signs of this in the 2nd quarter of next year. In five, years I think we will
see a mature Internet economy that increases the overall global economy a thousand
fold, if not more. People need to be patient. The sky is not falling; just the
positioning of business in relationship to the sky is taking place. Consumers
are going to benefit dramatically. Businesses will benefit too. Their margins
will be less but this will be made up in volume. Certain wireless sectors are
in their infancy. Media have no idea how to converge. These sectors will bring
on a whole other windfall. In conclusion, I feel we all must just hold on,
because the roller coaster ride is only in its second or third turn. Hysteria
and quick reactions reflect ignorance. Many people thought TV would never survive.
The malls of the 70's died out, only to be replaced by highly profitable mega
malls. The railroad and shipping industries, true B2B industries, have gone through
up and downs since the 1600's. The economy will survive and prosper. (Kevin Maris,
President, Beanstalk, Inc., 8411 Preston Road, Suite 820, Dallas, TX 75225, Voice
214.219.7620, Fax 214.219.7625) **** I think B2B is starting to really take
off. B2C is very difficult since most retailers won't be able to compete against
K-Mart or other big players who have an existing infrastructure and better economies
of scale. Growth rates are difficult to estimate, but certainly in the 50 - 100%
annually. B2B will further grow on the information side, not only on the pure
transaction side. (Patrick Stark, Data Comm) **** The April correction impacted
mostly B2C, determining the burst of the dot.com "bubble". Now dot.coms need to
show profitability, and B2Bs do that. The B2B market has a tremendous potential,
one that is probably still underestimated. Based on the B2C experience, I think
that purchases over internet are most likely to happen if: B2B
business, generally, has all 4 of the above characteristics, therefore B2B can
only be successful and grow! Procurement (through creation of e-marketplace, reverse
auction, auction for excess of material, optimization of stock size, collaborative
design...) will be the main area of development in the next few months (see Covisint
in the automotive industry). (Alberto Griffa - San Jose - CA) >**** Do you
expect the B2B exchanges to start demonstrating significant cost savings and increased
liquidity? If so, please explain and give an example or two. One of the most
'hyped' e-marketplaces - Covisint - has traditional rivals throwing aside their
traditionally competitive practices for the lure of the dollar. Industry figures
show that Ford spends around $80 Billion every year with suppliers, GM around
$87 Billion and Daimler Chrysler around $80 Billion. Their cumulative 'spending
power' has resulted in a B2B e-marketplace trading hub. The hub is still in its
embryonic stage and no real figures are available, but GM has already stated that
it expects to handle $50 Billion of transactions in the first year. The outcome
will be very interesting as it brings together fierce rivals, and exposes one
of the fundamental hurdles of e-marketplaces - having to sit down with your traditional
competitors and put aside a history of rivalry. Sometimes, no matter how good
the business plan looks on paper, the thought of watching your main competitor
for the last 4 decades, assume the mantle of 'lead dog' is just too much to swallow.
The mistake of assuming that a suitable platform can be provided by anything
less than totally integrated front-end to back-end processes can be potentially
fatal. Very quickly, B2B ventures realize that if the back-end is not smoothly
joined with the front-end, all cost-saving predictions start to evaporate. The
minefield of 'stovepipes' created through multiple legacy systems, duplicated
data entry, and islands of information can create huge bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
Practice is showing that businesses are significantly underestimating the amount
of time and effort that is required to transform their 'traditional' procurement
processes into effective B2B processes. Here is where the right technology,
leadership and culture are crucial. For example, the issue of the paperless office
is one that comes up time and time again. In a perfect process there would be
no paper - all documents and data would be available instantly at the click of
a mouse. However, to most organizations, the cultural reorganization in terms
of working practices and organizational models is terrifying. However, this is
a key area that can make the difference between a solid, profitable B2B venture
and one that is not worth the paper it is written on.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Thank you for your comments, suggestions and responses to our survey question. Please keep them coming. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at mailto:ecmgt.comments@ecnow.com. We currently have over 4,100 subscribers. If you like what you read, please let your friends, clients and co-workers know about our free newsletter.
Our December issue deals with eCommerce Recap,
we would like your opinion on the following: 1. What do you consider the most
significant ecommerce activities/events/developments of 2000? 2. How did the
developments affect you?
CONTENT - ECMGT.COM E-COMMERCE NEWS
MBA students ditch dot-coms
Some MBA students who left school to join
what they thought were promising e-commerce ventures are being prompted to return
to the classroom by the shakeout and financial problems besetting many of the
start-ups.
Rethinking E-Commerce
Gender Demographics
In August, women became a majority of Web users in
the U.S. for the first time in history, a milestone for an Internet once considered
to be a male-oriented environment.
Privacy, Security Major
Concerns for U.S. Consumers
"U.S. consumers are more concerned about
losing their personal privacy than they are about key public policy issues such
as health care, crime and taxes, according to a new study..."
Cybercrime Outpacing
Security Spending
Cybercrime is skyrocketing despite increased spending
on security measures, according to "The 2000 Information Security Survey,"
Corporate Cybercrime
Soaring, Says Security Magazine
Consumers may be worried about using
their plastic online, but there is also a serious problem brewing on the corporate
cybercrime front
Tech Execs Predict U.S.
Net Tax
More than 64 percent of top tech executives believe the next
U.S. Congress will move to tax the Internet, according to an Ernst & Young survey
Companies Support Causes
to Attract and Keep Employees
In the Nation's Tightest Labor Market in
Three Decades, Companies Support Causes to Attract and Keep Employees
Staggering Growth Predicted
For B2b
B2B ecommerce revenues in the US are expected to rise from USD336
billion this year to USD6.3 trillion by 2005
Intermediaries Revolutionise
UK Online Retail Fulfilment
New fulfilment intermediaries will help the
UK's online merchants confront problems of increasing competition and painful
economics
Online investing Skyrockets
In UK
The number of online investment accounts in the UK has grown by
almost 800 percent in the past 12 months, from 38,000 accounts to over 300,000
'Newbies' Key to U.S.
E-Holiday Sales
Due in part to an influx of new e-shoppers, nearly 45
million Americans will do some of their shopping online this holiday season
Older Americans Are Discovering
Online Music
Nearly 7 million Americans age 50 and over visited music-related
Web sites during June 2000, and Americans 35+ already represent the majority of
multimedia-player users
Net Morphing Into HyperNet
New mobile technologies are causing "the Internet as we know it to be
transformed into a super-charged Hypernet,
E-tail Slump Enters Third
Month
According to statistics firm PC Data, the pace of business at the
top online retailers in September was virtually unchanged from August, marking
the second consecutive month of lackluster activity.
The Death of the Pure
Dot-Com
One consequence of the six-month sell-off in Internet stocks
has been the emergence of a new business model, one that combines the Web with
other ways of doing business, such as telephone service, brick-and-mortar storefronts
and catalogues
Top 10 Most Innovative
Technologies
Examination of the top 10 technologies and standards that
have driven the industry forward. See our picks for the decade's most innovative
technologies
Next Generation Wireless
: No Panacea
Think the cellular providers will surely learn from their
current quagmire? Think again.
Taking the Hell out of
DSL
Heel the consumer watchdogs -- technological improvements and market
economics are paving the way toward easier DSL installations.
Internet Bandwagon
The online population is starting to reflect global diversity.
World Produces Up To
Two Exabytes Of Data Yearly
The data storage firm EMC, has reportedly
shown that computers and the Internet have created an explosion in the amount
of data available worldwide, leaving people "drowning in a sea of information."
Dot-Com Budget Cutbacks
Disastrous
Dot-coms that slash their costs (especially their marketing
budgets) in an effort to become profitable significantly cut their growth rates
and undermine the companies' already depressed valuations
Content Distribution
Services Market Will Approach $1 Billion by 2004
The U.S. content distribution
market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 150%, from $10 million
in 1999 to nearly $1 billion in 2004
Global eCommerce Approaches
Hypergrowth
Forrester estimates that eCommerce will account for 8.6%
of worldwide sales of goods and services in 2004
Strong Growth in the
Internet Security Software Market
According to IDC, Internet Security
Software Market worldwide revenue will jump from less than $4 billion in 1999
to more than $11 billion in 2004
Final Netscape
6 Beta Arrives
Available in English and Japanese versions, Netscape 6
Preview Release 3 is available for free download. New features include better
support for double-byte characters, customization, security, and a more streamlined
and user-friendly interface than the previous preview release:
'Who wants to be a millionaire?'
Oracle's Ellison asks
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison guaranteed the company's
database and e-commerce software will run Web sites three times faster than rival
offerings from IBM and Microsoft--or he'll give customers $1 million.
Torvalds says Linux 2.4
delayed again
The much-anticipated 2.4 Version of the Linux kernel will
take at least another two months to complete, according to Linus Torvalds, creator
of the open-source operating system.
OpenBSD Plugs a Rare
Security Leak
For most open source projects, news of an overlooked security
hole is simply part of the debugging process. But for the developers of OpenBSD,
an operating system whose design motto is 'secure by default,' it's nothing short
of an affront...
Voice Recognition: Still
Trying
Dictation programs designed to convert the spoken word into typed
text haven't come that far, after all.
New B-To-B Player Wins
Big Online Marketplace Contract
Idapta, a relatively unknown provider
of online trading exchange platforms, will announce today that it has won a big
e-marketplace customer, beating out the big boys of b-to-b.
Big Blue's blunder
IBM faces a potential lawsuit over its eServer brand of servers, in a dispute
over an "e." Cary,
Copyright fears make
publishers wary of e-books
Antipiracy technology aimed at creating a
safer marketplace for digital publishers may do more harm than good for the nascent
e-book industry
Curious Networks expands
wireless device support
Multichannel access server is designed to make
it easier to tap into the Web from PCs and mobile devices.
AMD readies new Athlon, Duron chips
Keeping the heat on rival Intel,
Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to ship its next-generation processors late
this month
A new twist on private
data networking
DSLnetworks on Wednesday unveiled a new broadband service
for enterprise customers to compete with Frame Relay and traditional VPNs.
Mousing Around The Web
The Mysmart Pad sounds like a promising idea: It plugs into your PC and
acts as a remote control for the Web, letting you connect to your favorite sites
with the push of a button and shepherding you to others through an on-screen directory.
Cisco Fortifies Routers, Switches
Cisco Systems is looking to alter
the balance in the Internet security arena by further embedding key technologies
into its routers and switches.
Cracks appear in exchange alliance
Despite winning 21 customers since
its inception, questions abound about the long-term health of the e-business alliance
of IBM, Ariba and i2.
Sun: Moving away from data monoliths
Sun's new 64-bit UltraSPARC III
processor and network initiatives are key to the company's Net Effect plan.
Microsoft pitches 'reliable'
Windows Datacenter
With Windows 2000 Datacenter's debut, Microsoft took
the tack of emphasizing system stability rather than the usual availability on
the cheapest hardware.
Compaq, Microsoft Set
Record TPC-C Benchmark
Windows 2000 has again broken the record for TPC-C
benchmarks. A 24-node cluster running Windows 2000 Advanced Server and SQL Server
2000 Enterprise Edition received a TPC-C benchmark of 505,302.77, processing more
than half a million transactions in a minute.
New IBooks Slower? Not
So Fast
Tests indicate that the latest portable Macintoshes trail their
predecessors in performance. But it's a popular benchmark, and not the computers,
that needs retooling.
CacheFlow steps on the
accelerator
Faster and more robust web servers are the goal behind a
new line of products from CacheFlow that are designed to let sites handle up to
10 times the traffic with quicker response times.
Digital Devices : Getting
a different picture
Digital video camera systems abound, with general
software included in their low price. So, to make noise in this market, a company
must offer something special. Inetcam does with its iVISTA 3.0 software:
Sun's StarOffice blunder
Sun Microsystems released the source code for its StarOffice software
suite almost. The effort to spur adoption of the office applications package and
secure the good will of the sometimes prickly open - source programming community
went awry when demand for the software sunk
Dell recall
Dell
Computer on Friday recalled as many as 27,000 notebook batteries suspected of
causing fires. In a statement, Dell emphasized that the recall is voluntary and
affects only batteries used in the notebooks and not the notebooks themselves.
IBM tops off Unix server
line with new high-end system
Matching earlier moves by Unix rivals Sun
and Hewlett-Packard, IBM boosted its eServer product line by announcing a 24-processor
machine that features faster microprocessors and more memory.
Distributed Analyzers:
The Next Best Thing
The last thing a network engineer needs is to be
caught like a deer in headlights when there's a network problem. Be prepared to
monitor and track down problems with distributed analyzers. We tested three high-end
products.
Broadvision at the Crossroads
Ecommerce pioneer BroadVision is scrambling to erase the notion that
the company is a technology laggard. Its rivals beg to differ.
Microsoft unveils latest
Windows CE for in-car use
The latest version of Microsoft's Windows CE
operating system for automotive use has been unveiled, with a host of improved
features for over-the-road computing.
Handspring adds color
Device maker Handspring, unveiled two new handheld computers --including
its first device with a color display--as part of its continuing battle against
market leader Palm.
Managed Hoster
On Deck
San Antonio-based Rackspace claims to be the second largest managed
hosting facility after Digex, whose parent company was recently acquired by WorldCom
for $3 billion
ClientLogic Receives
2000 STAR Award for Call Volume
The Software Support Professionals Association
(SSPA) bestowed this year's STAR award for high call volume to ClientLogic in
recognition of the company's "outstanding accomplishments."
US Air installs kiosks
for e-ticketed customers
Joins ranks of competitors trying to ease wait
lines to let customers serve themselves.
CPM Launches Interactive
CRM Health Portal
East Peoria, Illinois-based Customer Potential Management
Corporation (CPM) has rolled out a CRM health portal that's designed to increase
and manage interactions among patients, doctors, hospitals and healthcare providers.
Client Loyalty Follows
Solid Communication
A reader from Montana e-mailed me for advice on what
he could do "to make his clients love him." "It's easy," I quipped, "all you have
to do is cut your rates in half."
Linux leader says standard
version will emerge
The profusion of Linux versions available today soon
will converge into a single edition
Three Airlines Racing
To Provide Public High-speed Wireless LAN Service At Gates
Three of the
leading domestic airlines have kicked off a race to provide high-speed, public-access
wireless LAN service at airport gates and lounges.
Plumtree Portal Taps
Parallel Processing
Plumtree Portal 4.0 is finding a new use for an old
concept, using parallel processing to solve big, compute-intensive problems more
quickly.
France Telecom goes solo
with network
France Telecom has announced it plans to link 28 U.S. cities
to each other and the world as part of its strategy to lure the globe's largest
multinational corporations.
JetForm Adopts Servicesoft CRM Suite
JetForm Corporation has adopted
CRM software from Servicesoft, Inc. to provide an intuitive and searchable knowledge
base directly to its customers.
French TV Power Has Interactive
Ideas
Getting couch potatoes to interact with their televisions has challenged
some of the best minds in media. Aside from shouting a few choice words at their
favorite sports teams, channel-surfing past commercials or occasionally buying
rare coins and steak knives, few viewers seem to interface much with their video
screens.
Datacasts Expand Net's
Reach
WorldSpace will launch the world's first direct-to-receiver multimedia
content service, exposing millions in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin
America to the Internet. Nick Wachira reports from Nairobi, Kenya.
Customer Communications
Group Teams with IntelliStats
Denver, Colorado-based Customer Communications
Group has entered a strategic partnership with IntelliStats, Inc. to provide its
clients with greater access to market information and analysis tools.
Taking Faces To New Places
With advances in software, compression and bandwidth, Video conferencing
is promising not only "face time" with people in distant lands, but measurable
increases in productivity. And the work is getting done in the natural environment
of the doctor, executive, engineer or teacher.
Cable creeps into the corporation
Early users of corporate cable LAN
connections appreciate the price, speed, reliability and service.
Tut Systems, Inc. Ships
308,000 Lines to the Multi-Tenant Industry
Tut Systems, Inc., a leading
provider of multi-service broadband systems for multi-tenant buildings, announced
that Tut's total shipments to date to customers in the multi-tenant unit market
reached 308,000 lines.
Breaking Up The Data
Transmission Bottleneck
Upstart companies deploying Internet services
over Ethernet are pulling the plug out of the broadband bottleneck. And while
newcomers such as Yipes Communications and Telseon are at the leading edge, the
space is growing more competitive as the big dog telcos join the fray.
Privacy: Sorry, no sale
Many e-businesses are taking the hint: It's hard to earn customers' trust
if you won't respect their privacy. Here's what businesses are doing to assure
shoppers that their personal data won't be rented, swapped or sold.
Lessons from setting
up a marketplace
Building e-marketplaces is turning out to be a far more
complicated, time-consuming and resource-intensive process than many had originally
figured.
Seek And You Shall Find
On WAP
Employment site Seek Communications has partnered with Telstra
to offer customers of the telco the chance to search for jobs from their Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP)-enabled mobile phone.
CCAS Driving Toward Telematics-CRM
Solution
Cross Country Automotive Services said it will integrate its
complete range of roadside, consumer affairs and telematics services with WirelessCar's
Universal Telematics Network to deliver a total wireless CRM package for the automotive
industry...
AOL turns on Instant
Messenger at Sprint PCS
AOL has turned on its Instant Messenger service
on the nationwide Sprint PCS wireless network, allowing about 4 million users
to go mobile with their Buddy Lists.
Former Informix VP indicted on federal fraud charges
A former European
executive at Informix Software Inc. has been charged with wire fraud and securities
violations after he allegedly provided sales figures that led the company to overstate
its revenues from 1994 to 1996.
You Can't Do That Online
(...Or Can You)
Let's face it, plenty of Internet business models have
us scratching our heads. Here's a look at how companies are attempting to overcome
the limitations of the digital world.
Sites get smarter about
personalization
Much of the e-commerce personalization done to date has
been, well, nothing personal for users. Now, armed with more sophisticated personalization
tools and a better understanding of how and where to use them, the kings of e-commerce
are attempting to make personalization really pay off.
Fountain of Youth
AARP woos reluctant Boomers with a high-priced makeover
Online Intellectual Property
Survey
Survey results of Online Intellectual Property
Can Amazon Achieve, Sustain
Profits?
Shares of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) dipped in trading after
Robertson Stephens analyst Lauren Cooks Levitan expressed concern about that company's
ability to achieve profitability under its current business model
Auction Sites Bid To
Keep 'Em Coming Back
As auction sites continue to pop up around the Internet,
now comes warning that online auctions might not have much staying power.
Giving You Control of
-- and Cash for -- Your Cookies
mValue lets Netizens trade their personal
info for money and advertisers reach prized demographic groups
Internet Company Wants
To Poll The World
3Com Inc. plans to use the Internet to poll people
worldwide for their opinions on sex, education, dreams and other personal topics
Internet Advertising
Revenues Pass $2 Billion In Second Quarter 2000
Recording its eighteenth
consecutive quarter of positive growth in the United States, the Internet advertising
industry broke the 2 billion dollar mark in the second quarter of 2000, amassing
$2.1 billion in revenue.
Study Examines Web Travel
Services
Online travel agencies that promise to find low airfares may
be playing favorites with the airlines.
Security Software Sales
To Surge
Fueled by an epidemic of hack attacks and costly viruses, spending
on security software is set to soar from $2.5 billion (US$) in 1999 to over $6.7
billion in 2004
It's U.S. vs. Japan,
and not in the Olympics
It's completely possible that Japan will succeed
and become the telecom giant that drives new global standards
Streaming Media Gets
Down to Business
No longer the exclusive domain of the consumer market,
streaming media is maturing into an effective, viable and potentially profitable
business tool
Yahoo! Beats 3Q Forecasts
After market close Tuesday, the Web portal operator came through with
some good earnings news in what has been otherwise a dismal period for technology
issues.
Net Plays Ball With Music
Giants
Major Internet companies are lining up to distribute music from
the major labels ... Canada gets into peer relations ... Sony and Microsoft do
Europe ... Reciprocal gets pseudo-multimedia-esque
The Promise of Multichannel
Retailing
A study has confirmed what most retailers have assumed was
common sense until now - that stores, catalogs and Web sites pass customers and
sales to and from one another.
HP's Fiorina: Speed is e-market killer app
Partnering, managing risk
and open systems are key in the new economy, HP chief exec Carly Fiorina told
Planet 2000 attendees. But speed tops all.
Openfor BID-Ness, Round
Two
Although online media buying has been widely embraced, Madison Avenue
hasn't given up its three - martini lunches -- yet.
Suits And Propeller Heads,
Unite!
Want to get your sales and technical staffers pulling together
instead of pulling your deals apart? Consultants propose collaborative selling
as a way for integrators to smooth the sales cycle.
All for the Cause
Cause marketing is helping dot-coms profit through philanthropy.
Chemical sector leads
e-business
Throughout the $435 billion U.S. chemical industry, would-be
rust buckets in the Internet economy are turning out to be surprisingly swift
at transforming into e-businesses.
New eRecruiting Market
Segmentation Based on Recruiting Continuum
IDC Foresees Shift from Job
Boards to End-to-End eRecruiting Solutions in Changing Market Landscape
Hybrid marketing model
targets digital Music
Upstart Soundom makes a go of compensating artists
with online ad revenues and paying users to offer up profiling data.
HP wants to be tops in
PC sales
CEO tells Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2000 that HP will work to
be top PC maker in a market that is still rich, despite some predictions. In addition,
she says, HP won't be a major application service provider.
Net Markets Set To Quadruple
By 2002
The number of "Net markets" is expected to grow from 1,200 currently
to more than 5,000 by 2002
Secondary Mortgage eMarketplaces
Will Be Challenged to Provide Value-Added Services
The secondary mortgage
emarketplace has the potential to become a transforming influence on the secondary
mortgage market, but to do so, it will have to overcome fierce competition from
existing offline brokerage firms with deep roots in the industry.
Quick,
Inc. Selects Descartes for Web-Based Delivery System
Quick, Inc., an
Internet home delivery service for grocery and related products, has selected
Descartes Systems Group to provide a Web-based routing and scheduling optimization
system to facilitate on-time delivery to Quick customers' homes.
Priceline on the Ropes
The company's WebHouse affiliate has shut down. Is the business model
in jeopardy?
Promoteam.com Selects
Xchange 4.0 for Personalized, Permission-Based E-Mail
Xchange, Inc. (Nasdaq:
EXAP) said that Promoteam.com has selected the e-messaging component of its Xchange
4.0 suite for eCRM.
Novell proposes .dir
domain for directories
Novell formally recommended a plan to create an
Internet domain .dir to help companies integrate corporate directories. Some critics,
though, complain the idea is making an end run around standards.
JD Edwards stakes e-business
claim with OneWorld Xe
With this week's launch of the Web-enabled version
of its flagship OneWorld product, JD Edwards is looking to catch up to ERP rivals
SAP and Oracle and adapt to B2B.
Sun and E.piphany forge
CRM alliance
The pair signed a multimillion-dollar strategic alliance
to offer E.piphany CRM solutions packaged with Sun hardware and operating system
software.
Commerce One CEO on B2B:
Fasten your seat belts
In his keynote at this week's Electronic Commerce
World show, Mark Hoffman described what he sees as several growth areas in B2B
e-commerce.
FedEx Revamps Online
Return System
In a bid to help e-tailers avoid some of the snafus that
marred last year's holiday shopping season, FedEx announced Monday that it will
be revamping its Internet-based package return system to streamline the process
for customers and businesses
Supply-chain coordination
critical for e-business
At the Planet 2000 conference, users and keynote
speakers said companies looking to take advantage of the Web have to be able to
share data and coordinate operations with customers and suppliers in real time.
B2B Exchanges: Bonanza
or Bust?
Too many business-to-business exchanges are chasing too few
transactions. So how does a corporation decide when and with whom to do business?
Caterpillar moves to
revamp supply-chain operations via the Web
The venerable maker of heavy
machinery is embarking on a wide-ranging e-business initiative that includes a
planned switch to build-to-order manufacturing and a private online marketplace
for its suppliers and dealers.
Online exchange comes
to reinsurance industry
The reinsurance industry -- which focuses on
insurance for insurance companies -- is beginning to embrace business-to-business
exchange technology.
Sotheby's, Amazon to
shut down jointly owned site
Auction house Sotheby's Holdings Inc. and
Amazon.com Inc. today said they are closing their co-branded site, which sells
art, collectibles and antiques.
Procom Technology Gets
Ask Jeeves For CRM Support
Procom Technology, a manufacturer of data
server appliances, has selected the Jeeves Live solution from question-and-answer
company Ask Jeeves to enhance its customer support.
Oracle Helps Hubs Collaborate
Oracle Product Development Exchange (OPDX) promises to let e-marketplace
operators move beyond basic matchmaking, .
B-to-B Market Places
Tall Promises
B-to-B marketplaces hold great promise, but none of the
current models delivers the perfect solution for every business.
PeopleSoft Unveils Integrated
CRM Suite
PeopleSoft, Inc. launched its PeopleSoft 8 CRM suite of applications
for e-business at its annual user conference in Orlando, Florida,
Marketplaces are tough
to build
Picking the right technology to build a complex electronic marketplace
is only one step in the battle. Snaring a skilled consulting team can sometimes
be even more frustrating and challenging.
Porn Panel: Nix 'Mouse-Trapping'
The Commission on Child Online Protection
wants the government to come down hard on sex site practices such as 'mouse-trapping'
-- when multiple windows open and it takes forever to close them all.
Cisco Wires The Home
Even if you're not James Bond, Cisco Systems can help you live like him
The "R" Technology Revolution:
Relationship, Research Revenue
Single letters are the marketer's touchstones.
We have the ubiquitous - e- used in company names, e-commerce (B2C and B2B varieties),
and, as one pundit exclaimed, E-nough. We want to focus on R-relationship technologies
gathering research to produce revenue
Privacy Council Will
Offer Lexis-Nexis Content
The Privacy Council announced this week that
it has formed an alliance with Lexis-Nexis to provide privacy content through
the latter company's real-time news service, Veracity.
Lawyers: Helping Us,
Hurting Us
Journalists and lawyers. Siblings under the skin. A symbiosis
that's often uneasy but essential to a free press
AOL Said Not Living Up
to Promises
Rivals continue to maintain that America Online is not allowing
other services to communicate with its popular instant messaging service
Everybody Go Surfing
Need to get out more but can't bear to leave your computer screen? Jack
Schofield explains how to socialise in cyberspace
IDC Sees an Interactive
TV Revolution
Massive improvements to the infrastructure for TV-centric
information appliances over the past few years and lower costs per home for interactive
service deployment will foster an interactive TV revolution.
Cross-Examination Sinks
E-Mail Add-On
Jude asks the right questions and uncovers security flaws
that give a vendor a failing grade
Expanded Web Domains
Could Include .Kids, .Pro, Or .xxx
As the Internet evolves and grows,
browsers seeking family-friendly sites might soon be able to type .kids instead
of .com. Less kid-friendly sites might be found using the suffix .sex or .xxx.
Barnes and Noble Leads
Bricks - and Mortars Pack
Book seller boasts a unique audience of 3.5
million, by far the leader among bricks-and-mortar shopping sites
Global Bandwidth: Feast
or Famine?
How much bandwidth is really out there, how much do you need,
and how much should you expect to pay for it?
E-tailers Must Master
China's Diversity
e-tailers will need to understand regional differences
among the Chinese population in order to gain a foothold in the world's most populous
country.
Network Appliance to
push content delivery network
Network Appliance is looking to capitalize
on its cache expertise to get a head start in the content delivery network market.
Austin Suffers Growing
Pains
San Francisco gets all the ink on how dot-coms are influencing
the landscape. But Texas' famous university town is changing, too, and some say
not for the better.
Network Appliance Unveils
Content Delivery Products
CA-based Network Appliance introduced a host
of new products that it hopes will come closer to fulfilling the promise of rich
content delivery.
Does someone in Alabama
have my CD?
Double-check your checkout at e-commerce sites, says Jim
Rapoza, for the holidays are near.
Microsoft .Net in the
works for Linux?
According to an SEC filing, Corel could port .Net to
Linux. And -- surprise, surprise -- Microsoft was threatening to sue Corel, not
vice versa.
Older IT Pros Need Not
Apply
If filling IT positions is such a big problem for companies, then
why do skilled, experienced workers struggle to find full-time employment?
The Pitch : Alternative
Medicine
Awash in struggling startups and unfulfilled promises, online
health care is one sector most entrepreneurs won't go near. Three new companies
are taking a swing anyway -- and promising results and profits now, not later.
Site Places Bounty On
Patents
BountyQuest.com aims to enlist public to help companies track
down patent-related information
The Net Gets Wet
The Navy announces it has finally conquered one of the toughest Internet frontiers:
the ocean.
On Creating Digital Dividends
Hundreds of world leaders and Internet bigwigs converge this week to
discuss the worldwide gap between those with access to digital technologies and
those without.
Web Users Intend To Vote
... In Force
Online users are a politically involved group, with a respectable
55.7% reporting that they voted in the non-Presidential election year 1999
Whitehouse.gov No Place for Kids?
The White House for Kids website
isn't required to comply with COPPA regulations, and doesn't. Also from Declan
McCullagh's D.C. notebook: Porno emails in Congress.... Reporter jailed for porno....
And a post office that wants to expand its domain.
For T-Online, the T Stands
for Turmoil
T-Online is Europe's biggest ISP. So why are all its big
shots heading for the door?
Capitol Rush to Sign
Tech Bills
Congress is itching to adjourn, but not before dealing with
library porn, mail privacy, cookies and Internet taxes. Those are all part of
massive spending bills Washington hopes to finish soon
Critics blast FBI's first
release of Carnivore documents
The FBI released documents about its controversial
Carnivore technology, but critics blasted the lack of information and said they
still could not determine whether the email-tapping program would be an invasion
of privacy.
Canada or U.S.: Tough
Tech Choice
Recent Canadian laws affecting capital gains taxes have startups
moving to the United States. Meanwhile, U.S. businesses decry the regs and occasionally
talk about crossing the border north
U.S. Shuts Down Net Porn
Billing Scam
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Thursday it
has charged an overseas company and its principals with billing consumers and
attempting to collect payment for Internet-based adult entertainment services
and international phone calls that were never purchased or authorized...
Crackdown Looms for web
'Typosquatters'
It seemed genius at the time -- turning Net surfers'
typos into high-volume Web traffic for sale. But it's backfired for one site,
and the FBI is now on the case
Microsoft, Govt. Spar
Over Appeal Schedule
Microsoft accused government lawyers of seeking
to curb the company's ability to appeal a breakup order, as both sides continued
sparring over the ground rules for the next phase in the two-year-old antitrust
case
Senate Judiciary Passes
Watered-Down Cyber Crime Bill
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved
a slimmed-down version of S. 2448, an anti-cyber crime bill that was stripped
of key privacy provisions and language that would give law enforcement agencies
the ability to obtain a single nationwide court order for wiretap investigations
OpenTV Files To Broaden
Patent To 1-Click
OpenTV, maker of software for digital interactive television,
said it had filed a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to broaden
the scope of one of its patents to include so-called 1-Click shopping technology
for television
Commerce Department Proposes
Belgian Algorithm As New Encryption Standard
The Commerce Department
is proposing the work of two Belgian cryptographers for the nation's new Advanced
Encryption Standard, which is to be used in federal computer systems and in the
private sector to protect sensitive information.
Protecting E-Copyrights
Jack Valenti believes in the unlimited right of movie studios to control
the distribution of their work. But professor Lawrence Lessig says, ''I believe
in the right to hack,'' even if that results in breaking codes that safeguard
new movies on DVD discs.
Dot.eu on the way
The ".eu" domain name as an alternative for European business to dot.com should
be operational early in 2001
A Closer Look At The
E-signatures Law
Analysts, software vendors and users examine the impact
of the new e-signatures law on e-commerce
Privacy Concerns Extend
Beyond Online Transactions
Legislative and regulatory interest in privacy
may soon broaden beyond online transactions to include wireless networks and off-line
databases,
More Mixed Reviews for
UK E-Commerce
Adding haze to what is already a cloudy picture, a trio
of new reports asserts that slow delivery, security fears and pricing problems
will continue to hamstring e-commerce in the United Kingdom...
Senate Passes Net Liquor
Ban
Legislators unanimously approve a bill that enables states that ban
online alcohol sales to prosecute firms outside their jurisdiction from selling
inside their borders.
Local Politics Key to
E-Biz Bliss
Though California's Silicon Valley is famous for being the
world's haven for e-business, local governments need to better help industry management
and employees deal with the many challenges of life in the area
Not Everyone Has to Be
Everywhere
Doing business across Latin America used to be an imperative
for Internet firms. Times sure have changed.
RIAA Unveils Digital
Music ID Plan
With an eye toward improving its ability to monitor online
music downloads, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced
Thursday that it is working with other industry groups to develop a standardized
system for identifying digital files of songs...
Different B2B standards
could complicate things
Groups of companies such as the RosettaNet organization
are starting to implement business-to-business standards for exchanging data across
supply chains. But enforcing a single set of B2B standards may not be easy.
Technology Bills Fall
Short in Congress
The annual congressional circus of debating bills at
the last minute with little or no formal reflection is here again, but this time
Internet and telecom issues are taking center stage.
Ailing Corel's shares soar on Microsoft infusion
Ailing Corel's shares
soar on Microsoft infusion Shares of Corel jumped 83 percent after rival Microsoft
invested $135 million in the struggling software maker.
Lucent, Sanyo join forces
for U.S. 3G wireless market
Sanyo Electric Co. and Lucent Technologies
announced Thursday that they are teaming up to develop third-generation (3G) cellular
phones for the U.S. market.
USA Networks-NBA deal
foreshadows Diller's ambitions
USA Networks will flip on the switch for
its partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), giving fans the
chance to buy tickets and merchandise online and over the phone
Maxtor To Acquire Quantum
Disk Drive Group
Maxtor Corp. and Quantum Corp.'s Hard Disk Drive Group
today announced they will merge their disk manufacturing companies into what they
say will be world's leading disk drive company.
'Drowning Ruth' Is in
the Stream
An alliance between Random House and Audible.com will make
audio books available for streaming and download. Also from M.J. Rose's notebook:
Free books without the pirates, and a search for the perfect plot.
Amazon.com Selects SAS
e-Intelligence
The destination of choice for more than 20 million online
shoppers, Amazon.com has selected SAS as its 'vendor of choice' for e-intelligence.
The five-year deal arms the e-tailer with software to forecast and measure the
impact of strategic decisions.
InterVoice-Brite, SpeechWorks
Team Up on Thomas Cook Voice System
InterVoice-Brite and SpeechWorks
International have joined forces to deliver a speech recognition system for Thomas
Cook Global & Financial Services. Dallas, Texas-based InterVoice-Brite
Microsoft, Partners Open
Technology Lab
Microsoft, along with technology partners led by Dell,
today opened its second technology center in Austin. The Microsoft Technology
Center (MTC) - Austin combines a team of consultants, a powerful development environment,
and a group of technology partners headed by Dell.
Chevron and Texaco confirm $100 billion merger
he two oil companies
said the new company, to be called ChevronTexaco Corp., will create the world's
fourth-largest energy company. The companies also would cut 4,000 jobs or 7% of
their combined workforce.
Internet Home Alliance
Unveiled
Sun Microsystems Inc. and others have formally disclosed the
creation of the Internet Home Alliance. The coalition of retailers, utilities,
and high-tech companies hopes to promote the use of networking technology in the
home.
IBM Inks Workstation
Deals One By One
In an ad hoc sort of way, IBM is signing up ISVs to
partner on software-bundling deals targeted at vertical workstation markets like
video production, software development, engineering and finance.
Dangerous Liaisons
Hundreds of old-economy companies are joining up
with longtime enemies to battle the Internet's biggest B-to-B marketplaces. But
can companies who have slugged it out for so long finally learn to play nice?
Bank of America signs
outsourcing deal with Exult
Bank of America has signed an agreement with
Exult Inc. to outsource its human resources operations.
P2P Developers Stand
Up To Intel
More than 300 people converged on the San Jose to attend
the first meeting of Intel's peer-to-peer computing working group. But right from
the get-go, conferees made it clear they were not there to take orders from their
host.
Applix Expands Customer and Partner Bases
Applix, Inc. has announced
that it added several new key clients and strategic partners during the third
quarter of this year.
Why the AOL-TWX Deal
Still Clicks
The world has changed a lot since the blockbuster merger
was announced between "New Economy" America Online Inc. and "Old Economy" Time
Warner Inc. in early January.
IBM, Agillion, Team Up
On Small Biz CRM
IBM and Agillion announced they have joined forces to
deliver enhanced CRM services to small businesses in a single offering that integrates
IBM's Small Business WebConnections with Agillion's CustomerPages.
Cisco To Acquire MTU
Software Maker
Cisco Systems forged ahead with yet another acquisition,
this time of a developer of multitenant unit software.
Toshiba Settles With
Feds Over Substandard Computers
Toshiba Corp. has settled with federal
agencies for selling them substandard computers, to the tune of $33.5 million.
Broadcom Buys Its Way
Up
Broadcom is trumpeting its emergence as a titan in the communications
chip market with its intended purchase of Allayer Communications for $262 million
- its 10th acquisition in 10 months.
Chase Manhattan Chooses Lifeminders Personalization Service
Chase
Manhattan Corporation has selected Web and wireless direct marketing company Lifeminders
to enhance communications with its more than 30 million customers in the United
States.
The
Unlikely Revolutionary
Dave Sorensen is shaking things up at General
Mills, leading the maker of Cheerios and Betty Crocker cake mixes onto the Internet.
EMI's Song to Remain
the Same
The Warner Music-EMI deal is on hold for now, which means execs
at EMI get to keep doing things their way for a while... If you think Web radio
is an alternative to traditional radio, think again....
Internet Proposals Given
To Congress
Congress should consider a voucher program to help needy
families get connected to the Internet, a scientific advisory panel
April's Internet Stock-Shock
Fallout Continues
The sudden drop in the Internet stocks market last
April continues to reverberate through the online financial markets, according
to a study released today by Jupiter
Web Has Little Impact
For Most Olympics Fans
Although operators of the official Web site of
the Sidney Olympics and the Web home of the games' US broadcaster each boasted
of traffic reaching a half-million visitors a day, a study released today says
the Web wasn't a big part of most Americans' Olympic experience
Wal-Mart No Web Mart
Sudden site closure magnifies online superiority of retail rivals
Quake rattles Japanese
telcos, chip makers
7.3-magnitude quake sends some workers home, reduces
telco capacity.
Informax takes its bioinformatics
software to the enterprise
Pharmaceutical research is changing in ways
likely to make a few software companies very rich.
California Cities Turning
Away Dot-Coms
Cities in the land of high-tech milk and honey are doing
the unthinkable: turning away Internet companies that are the cutting edge of
Silicon Valley's software economy...
IBM to build $2.5B chip
plant in New York
IBM said it plans to build a $2.5 billion chip plant
in East Fishkill, N.Y. The plant is part of its $5 billion capital-investment
plan to support its semiconductor business.
Cracked! 'World's toughest'
code broken
Swedes use 70 years of computer time to decipher 10 increasingly
difficult codes set by author Simon Singh.
Microsoft's Window Into Linux
Corel got a cool $135 million from their
former adversary in exchange for a promise to promote MS' new '.NET' platform.
But SEC documents reveal Microsoft can also have Corel develop Linux apps for
the platform
Star Wars
The
legal battle between DirecTV and its scrappy challenger over shelf space in the
nation's largest consumer electronics stores is slated for trial in December.
Key E-Business Legal
Battles Looming
The use and abuse of spam and the fight over domain names
are the subject of two lawsuits gathering steam in the courts that could affect
online business conduct in the future,
Ranking the Best Venture
Capitalists
The best venture capitalists are the ones who do well by
their companies, not just themselves. An exclusive survey ranks today's top Internet
VCs by this new measure -- and turns up a few surprises.
Lucent's management change
should have come sooner
Several analysts who follow the networking business
said today's ousting of Richard McGinn as chairman and CEO of struggling Lucent
Technologies was long overdue.
BT Claims Talks With
AT&T Continue, Despite Reports
Beleaguered British Telecom [NYSE:BT],
having seen its share price plunge from 15 to around six pounds ($22.50 to $9)
over the last year, was fighting a rear guard action after a report in Wall Street
journal
NBCi President Quits
Edmond Sanctis exits after NBC network's online unit was streamlined
UPS moving to install
wireless LANs at all delivery hubs
United Parcel Service of America plans
by mid-2002 to install advanced wireless LANs and next-generation scanners at
all 2,000 of its package-delivery hubs and sorting facilities.
Prohibition Online ?
Clinton is set to sign into law Sen. Orrin Hatch's bill against the online
sale of alcoholic beverages via the internet. This tells the net community that
the idea that the internet's inception would promote "friction-free capitalism"
was convoluted, at best.
Microsoft Urging Users
To Patch 'Serious' IIS Security Hole
Microsoft Corp. is scrambling to
alert users of its Internet Information Server (IIS) software to a serious security
flaw that has been discussed online by potential attackers for at least a week
Transmeta Debuts Crusoe
Processor
Laptop computers are continuing to become more powerful machines.
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PRISON VS. WORK from Jokeaholics.com
| In prison you spend the majority of your time in an 8x10 cell. | At work, you spend most of your time in a 6x8 cubicle. |
| In prison you get three meals a day. | At work, you only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for that one. |
| In prison you get time off for good behavior. | At work, you get rewarded for good behavior with more work. |
| In prison a guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you. | At work, you must carry around a security card and unlock and open all the doors yourself. |
| In prison you can watch TV and play games. | At work, you get fired for watching TV and playing games. |
| In prison they allow your family and friends to visit. | At work, you cannot even speak to your family and friends. |
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