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Strategies & Market Trends : Keep Your Eye On The Ball - Watch List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CanynGirl who wrote (1247)	6/12/1999 1:35:00 PM
From: CanynGirl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2802

Links to some good stories below in case you missed them this week. June 12, 1999 Who says chutzpah doesn't pay? By Charles Cooper, ZDNN From worms to antitrust, all the world's a stage Watch for a star-studded gathering of tech and politico heavy hitters to gather in Washington, D.C., next week -- including the likes of Alan Greenspan, Bill Gates, and Lou Gerstner. This national tech summit is modestly billed as a forum at which the great minds of our time will chew the fat -- no doubt sitting around the campfire singing Kumbaya - as they hash over issues of tech and national policy. But the real action in Washington -- now that Monica's out of town -- may come from Utah Sen. Bob Bennett. Word on the street is that the good senator intends to ask the government to exempt the high-tech world from antitrust legislation jurisdiction. Now I'm sure that proposal would warm the cockles of Mr. Bill's silicon heart, but the resident trustbusters in Janet Reno's antitrust department would clearly like it not. Hey, who says chutzpah doesn't pay? Just think of the campaign donations that will flow in? I don't know who will have more reason to celebrate -- the Java heads or the MP3 legions who will each convene their separate conclaves next week. They both survived the cut and -- despite inevitable ups and downs -- are on their respective ways as industry standards. So for a complete look at the week ahead, go to our programming guide and editorial calendar. The week that was: In all the well-publicized angst surrounding the rapid spread of the ExploreZip worm, why did so many (supposedly) tech-savvy folks get snookered into launching strange file attachments? (See: Whacked by a worm) I had a chat with a Microsoft PR-meister who swears his company creamed IBM's Garry Norris on the witness stand this week. But few people outside Redmond shared the same sentiment. Big Blue thus becomes the first computer maker to rat out Microsoft in public. Now that it's safe, you gotta believe others will follow. (See: Microsoft on trial) One day -- maybe -- the hired help in Washington will stop playing politics and get around to dealing with Y2K legislation. But at this rate, expect the first bill in 2001. Better late than never, eh? (See: Senate rejects White House Y2K plan) With untold millions in potential PAC money still up for grabs, House Democrats are getting religion about the interests of their tech constituencies. Long before the next round of elections, you should expect the folks on the other side of the congressional aisle to keep right in step. (See: House Dems form high-tech forum) Forget the recent blather about Amazon.com's imminent immolation. The Bezos brigades will weather the Wal-Mart threat as well as any other challenges from brick-and-mortar-cum-Web wannabes. Simple reason: Amazon moves faster and smarter than the competition. (See: Amazon to add free music, toys) zdnet.com And with all things Internet seemingly falling out of favor, here's another reason to keep your powder dry: Web sales numbers are soaring into the stratosphere. (See: Net economy pegged at $300 billion) zdnet.com The same goes for America Online. What's more, 18 million people cut a check each month to use its service to log onto the Net. But we live in a time when nitwit day traders go ga-ga over the likes of Drkoop.com and other money-losers. Go figure. (See: AOL shares off on analyst note) zdnet.com But here's a case in which a company's just asking to get spanked. Who knows? Considering the ridiculous valuation attached to eBay, the online auctioneer's embarrassing inability to rid its system of glitches may actually induce a measure of sanity -- however temporarily. (See: No sale! eBay goes down again) zdnet.com First there was celebrity journalism. Then there came celebrity Web-ism. Good luck to Lou Dobbs and his new venture, but I'm still not sure what the hubbub is about. (See: Lou Dobbs splits for new cyber venture)