International Data Corp.(Brief Article)
INTERNATIONAL DATA CORP. analyst Dan Kusnetzky on Microsoft's
strategy of continuing to add features to Windows: "I wonder when
it will dawn on Microsoft that they can't be everything . . .
VALUE AMERICA.(Brief Article)
VALUE AMERICA chief executive Craig Winn on the value of Web store
pilot projects: "It's an absolute waste of time and energy.
E-commerce is all about money. It takes tens of millions to . . .
MICROSOFT.(Brief Article)
MICROSOFT chairman Bill Gates on his belief that Web stores will
use personalization technology to customize prices as well as product
selections: "Sellers will use technology to extract the . . .
PERSONALOGIC.(Brief Article)
PERSONALOGIC chief executive Steve Tomlin on the market's
limited understanding of Web personalization technology:
"Personalization to many Web sites means, 'How can I sell you
out to an advertiser . . .
Datapoints: technology investments by region.(Industry Trend or
Event)(Brief Article)
[CHART OMITTED]
This time the popular wisdom is dead right: Silicon Valley is where
the action is for venture-backed technology companies. According to the
latest PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree . . .
The economics of Web-based support.(Company Business and
Marketing)
Although it's possible to set up a decent Web support site for
under $50,000, most software companies these days end up spending much
more--in some cases, upwards of $500,000 for a site that . . .
How to get paid faster.
A "simple but powerful" way to free up working capital,
says channel management consultant Bruce Stewart, is to take a close
look at the invoicing process. Delayed billing, faulty invoices, . . .
SMARTERKIDS.COM: AN EXPERT-BASED WEB STORE.(Company Business and
Marketing)
Thirteen years ago, David Blohm co-founded MathSoft, a company that
developed software tools for mathematicians and engineers. When the
consumer marketplace began to heat up, Blohm joined a . . .
IBM.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
IBM Software Division general manager of sales & marketing Mark
Elliot on a brand-image survey his group conducted: "The survey
came back and told us we didn't have an image. In the 1993 time
frame . . .
U.S. CONGRESS.(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
U.S. CONGRESS representative Rick White (R-Wash) on why technology
companies should try to resolve public policy issues without involving
the federal government: "We're the decision maker of . . .
l DATAPOINTS: DEVELOPER CHANNEL PREFERENCES.(Internet/Web/Online
Service Information)
[CHART OMITTED]
More bad news for traditional retailers: The latest survey data
from Evans Marketing Services shows that 54% of professional developers
now say online channels have become their . . .
CHECKLIST: ENVELOPE OPENABILITY.(Industry Trend or Event)
Why do some direct mail offers end up in the trash, unopened and
unread? With the help of a consumer research firm, Pitney Bowes has just
come up with a ranking of factors that yield the "most . . .
A NEW FOCUS FOR THE SPA.(Industry Trend or Event)
Like many of its member companies, the 14-year-old Software
Publishers Association has watched much of its traditional
business--membership dues, conferences, anti-piracy settlements--slowly
erode. . . .
HOW TO BOOST SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC.(Internet/Web/Online Service
Information)
"Virtually everyone begins their Web browsing at one of the
ten major search engines," says online marketing consultant Fred
Marckini. "A top ranking in a major search engine such as Yahoo!,
Lycos, . . .
POSTSCRIPT.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
As you've probably noticed, we've come to rely a great
deal on e-mail communication with Soft-letter readers for editorial
tips, survey data, and even--we blush to say this--to pass . . .
GLOBALIZATION GLITCHES.(Industry Trend or Event)
When U.S. developers modify software for overseas markets, OneRealm
president Sunil Prakash points out, language translation usually
represents only about half the cost of localization. "The . . .
MANAGING MARKETERS: SUITS, PONYTAILS, AND PLODDERS.(Industry
Trend or Event)
"The people who start high-tech companies often have a blind
spot about how to manage marketing employees," says Kristin Zhivago
of Zhivago Marketing Partners. "At first that's okay, because
few . . .
BENCHMARKING: A NEW METRIC FOR R&D QUALITY.(Industry Trend or
Event)
New York City's mayor Ed Koch was fond of asking everyone he
met, "How'm I doing?" That's not a question
technology managers seem to ask- -perhaps because the answer has always
involved more . . .
DATA POINTS: RETAIL CONSOLIDATION.(Industry Trend or Event)(Brief
Article)
It's no secret that retail software channels these days are
dominated by a few best-sellers that routinely produce the bulk of all
sales dollars. Less obvious is the consolidation trend among . . .
SIX WAYS TO MINIMIZE ONLINE CHANNEL CONFLICT.(Internet/Web/Online
Service Information)
Why don't more people buy software online? A new survey from
Jupiter Communications reveals the obvious answer: Web prices are too
high. More than 77% of Jupiter's "browsers" (people who
visit . . .
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