With all the knee-jerk Gates-bashing going on in Washington and Silicon Valley, it’s refreshing to read a book that sheds light on technology’s wunderkind without taking sides. Seattle journalist Paul Andrews, who co-authored the best-selling “Gates” six years ago, now chronicles Microsoft’s remarkable repositioning of itself in “How the Web was Won” (Broadway Books, $27.50).
Full of well-drawn personalities and he-said-she-said details, the book recounts how Microsoft’s internally competitive culture led the company to turn itself around when Gates realized that Microsoft was missing the boat on capitalizing on the World Wide Web.
Why, Microsoft turned itself into a Web browser company so fast that even the government noticed.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
OF COURSE IT IS
A suburban Philadelphia company that promised in March it would give away 25,000 computers to people who signed up for Internet access has yet to give away a single machine.
The Philadelphia Inquirer said the company, DirectWeb of Mt. Laurel, N.J., also changed the terms of its offer, requiring people to sign a three-year Internet service contract at $19.95 to $49.95 a month.
Gee, a free computer for only $1,798.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
ECONOMIC FREEDOM
To America’s merchants, the great tragedy of modern technology is that one of the biggest and fastest-growing groups of World Wide Web users aren’t allowed to spend a dime on Internet shopping. That’s because they are children, a handicap that BlackBox Internet Group hopes to overcome with iCanBuy.com.
Billed as “an on-line money management tool for teens and kids,” the site lets parents add cash to a child’s account and monitor her spending so she can learn about “money management, smart shopping and charitable gift giving.”
And if Mom and Dad are too stingy to let you buy whatever you want, just tell Grandma you’re registered at iCanBuy.com’s WishList and they can use their credit cards to order gifts directly from on-line stores.
Y2KORNER
COMPLIANT FASHION
Lots of people are getting their shorts in a knot over the Millennium Bug, but some take a longer view. Such as people whose calendar goes back nearly 6,000 years instead of a mere 2,000.
Chicago’s Why2K Shirt Company is offering a $25 T-shirt it guarantees is Y2K compatible at www.why2kshirt.com.
The front of the shirt tells everyone what year this is in the Jewish community, as they see the numerals 5-7-5-9 centered in a Star of David. The message on the back reads, “Been There; Done That!”
