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 : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (44620)	5/10/2000 2:52:00 PM
From: cheryl williamson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Jacob, Re: insecure passwords Most people who have never been burglarized don't think about security. Those who have been burglarized usually do. WRT the internet, the more you are connected, the more vulnerable you are to getting hacked. At Lockheed, back in the cold war days, they were so paranoid they used to physically shred their hard disk drives on a periodic basis to prevent break-ins. So where do you, as a consumer, draw the line??? It seems to me that if you get hacked and there's no good alternative to your Windows PC, you'll have to stick with it. There are lots & lots of people out there who won't need extensive use of a large screen for e-commerce, and if they do need one every now & then it'll be easy enough to hook up to a flat screen & keyboard. They'll wind up putting them in SUV's & on airplanes before long. Don't forget, just getting something done doesn't always require whizzy-looking and expensive 3-D graphics. Re: linespeed Cable modems have real limits. The more customers on the same line, the worse the response time, just like on an ethernet segment. A better solution for today is DSL, however, there are optical solutions now being put into place as well. Don't count out cellular technology, either. Nokia, Motorola and other telco's are getting into datacomm big time with high-speed switches & routers that hook up their telephone networks to the internet. Re: the next 5 years The emergence of the internet as a commonly-used everyday tool is still on the horizon, but the problem with time predictions is this: everything phases in. There is no "magic" moment in time when the switch is thrown and the new technology begins. Improvements in the internet and to e-commerce are happening as we speak today and the retailers in this market segment have a huge motive to push things along. My guess is that, little-by-little WITHIN the next 5 years we will see the use of PC's as the sole type of personal computing equipment lessen and the use of network appliances increase dramatically. Fortunately, there is greater incentive in Silicon Valley to make this work than there is for Detroit to make a high-quality electric car.