Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Atheist who wrote (5262)	6/28/1999 1:31:00 PM
From: Craig Jacobs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13157

The Broadband Bridge to the Next Millennium URL: chkpt.zdnet.com Berst Alert Jesse Berst, Editorial Director<BR>ZDNet AnchorDesk Monday, June 28, 1999 I'm on stage this morning to keynote the Interactive Broadband Services Technology Summit, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you a heads up on an important new trend. Perhaps the most important trend of the next decade. Question: What do Brooklyn, the Golden Gate and broadband Internet access have in common? Answer: They're all famous bridges. Broadband won't get you to Manhattan or Marin County, but it will soon bridge incredible gaps. To connect places and people in powerful new ways. Right now, less than half of 1% of American households connect at broadband speeds (200 K or greater). According to Forrester Research, however, 25% of all online households will have broadband access by 2002, with more and more to follow. Here are seven gaps that will soon be bridged by broadband. As these changes occur, new fortunes will be made. Old fortunes -- and old brands -- will be destroyed. Even government is not immune. Between user and content. Today, TV networks, movie theaters, record companies and print-media publishers decide when you can see their content. With broadband, you'll choose what you want, when you want. The evening news at 8:17, for example. And you'll choose who you want, selecting content from sources you know, like and trust. As content becomes a commodity, the differentiating factor will be the who and the how of the delivery. Between coworkers. Videoconferencing will replace audio-only conference calls. We'll still need to travel -- because strong relationships depend on in-person rapport -- but broadband videoconferences will revolutionize employee training, executive speeches and analyst briefings. Between friends. Broadband isn't just about work. Russell Horowitz, CEO of Paul Allen-blessed portal Go2Net, tells Business Week multiplayer games will be the first killer app of the broadband world. Likewise, teenagers will be early adopters of home videoconferencing. The Clearasil set already digs conference calls and is sure to embrace the visual element. -- Page 2 -- Between advertisers and consumers. Rich-media advertising over fast pipes. Advertisers will deliver "infotisements" you'll be thrilled to sit through. Really. If you're, say, a golf fanatic, you'll eagerly sit through a commercial for a club-design breakthrough. Or if you're car shopping, you'll appreciate 360-degree images of vehicles. With an exterior color of your choice. Or, better yet, test drives along interchangeable virtual roads. Between entertainers and consumers. Film, music and video distributors are at the end of their lifecycles if they don't jump on the broadband bandwagon. Otherwise they'll be Dell-ed. Media companies who market direct to customers -- and provide customized products -- will replace them. Between desire and purchase. You're watching MTV and see an artist whose CD you'd like to buy. Today, you'll schlep to the store. Broadband will close that gap. You'll see the video and purchase the CD with the click of a mouse. Between haves and have nots. Don't believe the doomsayers who claim technology will widen the gap between rich and poor. Technology won't solve the problem... but it will improve it. A century ago, third-world residents who wanted to better themselves had to emigrate, then find a way to finance an education. Usually it took two generations or more to make the climb. In the broadband future, ambitious people will no longer need to leave poor countries to get an education. They'll simply need access to an Internet terminal. It's not the whole answer... but it's an improvement. Like its brick and metal predecessors, the broadband bridge will span incredible gaps to bring people together. And also to reach the full potential of the Internet. Remember: Less than 1% of households have broadband access. The best is yet to come. And the Best is yet to come as well. Coming to a computer screen near you in full broadband, rich audio, 30 frames per second glory. Someday in the next decade.