Ready, Fire, Aim! - Mihail's Public Blog

With a transit strike looming in NYC, this Wall Street Journal column covers the issues related to telecommuting...something 30 million Americans do at least one day a week (according to the International Telework Association and Council):

Telecommuting, the fancy word for working from outside the office, was coined in 1973 by consultant Jack Nilles. Nearly three decades later, there are lingering doubts about its viability. Some people can pull it off and be quite productive. But our sense is that if allowed to work at home outside the boss's watchful eye, the threat of the Chokey and the predictable rhythms of Office Space culture, most employees would be quickly reduced to a steady routine of cheese-food slices, eBay lurking and ceiling studying.

Of course, this could be nothing more than stereotyping -- if so, we blame television. Dot-com retailer Beyond.com did telecommuting culture (and its own sales) no favors when its ads featured a naked telecommuter signing for computer-gear deliveries in the altogether. (Along with Outpost.com's "shooting gerbil" ad, this spot has to stand as one of most memorable but least effective pitches of the Web boom.)

In an effort to help its merchants eBay has been playing a more active role in helping merchantes identify potential big sellers this season according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):

Hunting for a FurReal Friend, the $35 robotic cat from Hasbro Inc. that purrs when you pet it? Forget about trying to find it in a store -- they sold out in most places weeks ago.

But go online to eBay and you'll find more than 5,100 for sale -- selling for as much as $119 each.

How did eBay's sellers, usually mom-and-pop merchants, manage to latch on to one of the hardest-to-find Christmas gifts before it sold out? Credit a combination of advance planning, intuition -- and advice from eBay Inc. itself. In late October the Web site sent its merchants a list of 20 toys it expected to be big sellers, including FurReal Friend, and encouraged them to stock up.

Yahoo's Terry Semel reports on its continuing success at a media conference sponsored by CSFB this week according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):

In the third quarter, Yahoo's ad sales accounted for 59% of total revenue, down from 90% in previous quarters. That business, which includes both traditional brand and newfangled sponsored-search advertising, grew by 22% year over year. Sponsored searches are targeted ads on search pages generated by particular terms.

But the "listings and fees" business, which includes Internet access and premium services, more than doubled and accounted for 34% of total revenue. Yahoo's transactions business also more than doubled.

...Yahoo still expects to reach two million paid users by year's end and 10 million in three to four years. Slightly more than 1.5 million of Yahoo's 200 million users were paying service fees at the end of the third quarter. The company hopes to bring in $5 to $10 a month per paid user.

A bill introduced by Senators Barbara  Boxer and George Allen, and the FCC, are looking for ways to address the shortage of the unlicensed spectrum appropriate for Wi-Fi networks according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):

Mr. Allen and the FCC take different approaches, each with their own difficulties. Mr. Allen's bill calls for the FCC to set aside for Wi-Fi a significant amount of contiguous spectrum -- 255 megahertz, or more than is currently available for digital wireless phones.

Finding that amount of spectrum will be difficult, said Peter Cramton, a spectrum expert at the University of Maryland, even though the bill allows the FCC to look in less popular spectrum "neighborhoods" where there are fewer conflicting services.

Higher frequencies aren't as useful for some applications. Wi-Fi currently operates in the popular 2.4 gigahertz range; at frequencies above three gigahertz, trees, buildings and even raindrops can cause interference, Mr. Cramton said.

Mayor Bloomberg announced his vision for Lower Manhattan creating a direct challenge to the Port Authority's uninspired commercial space-centric plans according to this New York Times story (registration required):

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday offered his vision of the future of Lower Manhattan: a collection of neighborhoods stitched together by large parks and broad pedestrian walkways, with a direct mass transit link to Kennedy Airport via a new tunnel under the East River.

Under Mr. Bloomberg's plan, Lower Manhattan would essentially be transformed from an ailing financial center with pockets of residential developments into an urban hamlet of housing, schools, libraries and movie theaters, as well as other businesses, some of which would benefit from a generous new federal tax package.

With Google expected to go public next year, its entry into the lucrative ecommerce sector should better convince investors of its viability as a standalone business, according to this New York Times story (registration required):

The Froogle site says it intends to make money by selling advertising above and to the right of the shopping search results, as Google does on its main site.

Online stores find that paying shopping sites to list their products is among the best ways to attract shoppers. DealTime, for example, expects $30 million in revenue this year, double last year's pace. DealTime and BizRate are among Google's biggest advertisers; they use ads on searches by Google users for product names to lure people to their sites. They are paid as they send users off to stores.

Google continues its expansion with the quiet launch of a shopping site on Wednesday according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):

The site, at froogle.google.com, uses Google's existing search technology to find and list the most relevant product links from retailers, and will run clearly marked text ads alongside the search results. The "ranking algorithm" for products is based on the same technology that powers Google traditional search service, according to a spokeswoman.

...Keyword ads currently appearing on the main Google search pages are slated to appear on Froogle as well. For example, ads from Gateway Inc. that appear on the main search page when a user types "digital camera" into the search window will also appear when a user searches for "digital camera" on Froogle. The site won't initially sell ads tied specifically to the shopping service, but left the option open. "After we've evaluated the service, we'll look into doing a specific ad program for Froogle," the spokeswoman said.

Reasonably priced bistros are thriving in San Francisco, providing French food with a West Coast accent, according to this New York Times story (registration required):

The bistros are appearing at a convenient time, too. "The San Francisco economy has been completely decimated in the past two years," said Meesha Halm, the editor of the San Francisco Zagat guide. "Our two biggest industries are high tech and tourism, so the high tech industry was gone before, and then 9/11 destroyed tourism. So basically we lost the out-of-town diners as well as the big expense accounts in the local economy."

...If I were surviving on my last few stock options, I would make Chez Papa Bistrot in Potrero Hill my cafeteria.

Marcos R. Lara, active in establishing free Wi-Fi access in New York, drove along nearly every street in Manhattan over the summer to map out the presence of Wi-Fi nodes with some interesting results according to this New York Times story (registration required):

A recent survey of Wi-Fi networks, however, revealed not only the extent of Wi-Fi adoption - covering more than 14,000 business and personal networks - but also the apparent laxity of users about Wi-Fi's built-in security. Nearly 70 percent are using the networks in ways that, without other security measures, could expose every word and digit sent or received to potential interception and allow others to piggyback on their Internet service.

...Why are so few of those using Wi-Fi at home bothering with its built-in security? Probably because in most systems, it is cumbersome. Many Wi-Fi programs require passwords up to 26 figures long, mixing numerals and letters. And it may take several typo-plagued attempts before the password is successfully entered.

This sounds like me when I was between startups...and hung out at cafes, first using my Ricochet, and then my MobileStar subscription and a (at the time) free Surf and Sip connectio. This New York Times story (registration required) on the spread of paid-for and free Wi-Fi across the country:

Wi-Fi is also changing the way that people - at least some young, technologically adept people - go about their work. In Philadelphia, Yvonne Jones, a 33-year-old freelance copywriter, moved her base of operations to a Starbucks about a month ago and said she quickly became "a thousand times" more productive than she was when working at home. "It's not your house, and you are there for a specific purpose, so the 'distractions' aren't that distracting," she said.

...Security concerns will become more important as public Wi-Fi networks spread and more people use them. Statistics on use of the technology are elusive, but according to Gartner, a consulting company in Stamford, Conn., the number of Wi-Fi cards sold in North America this year is on track to jump 75 percent over 2001, with another 57 percent gain over this year expected in 2003. William Clark, research director at Gartner, said that the number of frequent Wi-Fi users was expected to grow to 1.9 million next year from 700,000 in 2002, with the number of public hot spots in North America likely to nearly triple by the end of next year from about 3,300 now.

I'd love to put a WiFi network in place but have been concerned at the pain it'll cause me for several hours as I try to make it work...and so I was very pleased when I came across this New York Times story (registration required). While the Apple AirPort wins hands down for wireless networking at home, its cost is the highest. The popular PC options are evaluated and compared with some surprising results:

LinkSys sells more wireless gear than anyone else, but it makes no particular effort to accommodate ordinary earthlings. The NetGear products are far more welcoming and, at the moment, much less expensive.

But here's a surprise: in pure friendliness, the winner comes from Microsoft. True, its software could stand some debugging. Still, it's charming to see the mighty Microsoft so desperate to please. Maybe no company can make the joy of wireless networking altogether simple to attain, but it's nice to see somebody trying.

The best selling car in the hybrid (gas/electric) category is the Toyota Prius (currently 39,000 in the US, with a goal of 300,000/year in five years) which is attracting a range of customers that would not be as obvious, everyone who wants to make the US less dependent on foreign oil, those who care about the environment et al. according to this New York Times story (registration required):

Prius owners, predictably enough, include Hollywood celebrities who wear their environmentalist sentiments on their sleeves — actors like Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ted Danson. More surprisingly, the car is being bought by county sheriffs and bank executives intent on doing their part, as tensions escalate in the Mideast, to reduce American oil imports.

...The Prius is not cheap. Prices start at $20,500, which is $4,500 more than a similar size Toyota Corolla, though buyers qualify for a $2,000 tax deduction intended to encourage sales of fuel-efficient vehicles. Until recently, the Prius was the only four-door hybrid sold in the United States, but Honda — which has sold its two-door Insight since 1999 — recently began offering a hybrid Civic, starting at $19,550.

According to this New York Times story (registration required), Dartmouth students tried to save their swim team until eBay removed the listing because it was obvious the sellers weren't owners of the item they were selling:

Lots of unusual things show up on eBay, but Item 1976909200, listed on Monday, is a real standout: the Dartmouth College NCAA Division I swim team.

...The eBay listing, designed by the boyfriend of a sophomore swim team member, was intended to bring attention to the plight of Dartmouth swimmers and maybe raise some money. At least briefly, it seemed that some money might be forthcoming. The first eBay bid, a $211,000 offer, appeared on Wednesday. Yesterday morning, there were six bids, and a notation that the reserve — the the minimum that would be accepted — had been met. But then the high bidder, Mayday 11111, retracted a $212,099.99 bid.

I'm trying out a trial of CNN Newswatch (also available for the LA Times and a few other publications) that seems to bring back memories of Pointcast (although I never used it...so I'm not completely sure how similar these two are). Pointcast if you remember almost got sold for billions but the founders wanted a bigger payback...and then it imploded as corporations started blocking its push services as bandwidth got clogged up. This is kinda cool and brings a ticker tape like newsfeed to your desktop.

A Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) reporting on a court ruling in Australia that could have serious repercussions:

In a landmark decision for defamation law, Australia's High Court ruled that a Melbourne businessman can sue New York publishing company Dow Jones & Co. in Australia over an article published in the U.S. and distributed via the Internet.

Legal experts say the decision could have wide-ranging implications for the dissemination of information on the Internet, which publishers can't control as tightly as more-traditional methods of distributing news. The Internet's growth has created problems for libel law because it potentially makes publishers liable to varying laws from jurisdictions around the world; at the same time, more people are being influenced by material published on the Web and are claiming damage to their reputations in the places where they live, not where the offending material was published.

Yahoo launches yet another subscription-based service this time targeting small businesses according to this CNET News.com story:

Called Yahoo Web Hosting, the product brings together tools and services to allow small businesses have a Web presence. All subscribers will get 24-7 customer service, domain name registration, a business version of Yahoo Mail, access to Yahoo's e-commerce storefronts and the ability to be promoted on Yahoo. Subscribers also get Web site publishing tools, design templates for different types of businesses, PHP scripting and MySQL database services.

..."Business Starter" tier costs $11.95 a month with a $15 setup fee, 10 personal e-mail accounts, 50MB of storage and 20GB of data transfer. The "Business Standard" level costs $19.95 a month with a $25 setup, 25 e-mail accounts, 100MB of storage, 25 gigabytes of data transfer and priority toll-free customer service. The "Business Professional" tier costs $39.95 a month with a $25 setup, 35 e-mail accounts. 350MB of storage, 35GB of data transfer and priority toll-free support.

As the real estate market slows, deals are coming undone at a rate that's up to twice that of last year, as buyers get much more finicky about what they're willing to put up with when buying a home and sellers continue to expect high prices according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):

Indeed, in places like San Francisco, where high-end prices have fallen by as much as 20% during the past year, some buyers are jumping in and out of deals, looking to squeeze out concessions or score bargains. Among the more uncommon demands: A sport fisherman buying a condo wanted to put a refrigerator next to his parking space in the garage to store his daily catch. When the condo association said no, he backed out.

Then there's the boomerang effect: Anthony Papadakis, for instance, really wanted a condominium in the city's Cow Hollow neighborhood, but the one he liked was too pricey. So he went to contract on a cheaper place in the Marina district -- even putting down a $27,000 deposit and giving his friends his new mailing address. Then, not one but two buyers for the Cow Hollow home backed out, and the broker called him to let him know it was back on the market -- and marked down. Though it meant forfeiting his deposit on the condo, Mr. Papadakis leapt, getting the place for a little more than $1 million, or about $200,000 less than the original asking price. "It was too good to turn down," he says.

Handspring Inc. is offering its Treo 180 communicators (the combo phone and PDA) for $99, escalating a price war in the hand-held market, according to this Dow Jones Newswire story in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Palm had already reduced the price of the entry-level PDA with its newest $99 Zire launch.

The Mountain View, Calif., company said Monday that customers who purchase a Treo 180 or 180g with a GPRS service contract from T-Mobile can get $150 through a mail-in rebate. In late October, the all-in-one mobile phones and personal digital assistants were priced at $249, which required a service contract from T-Mobile or Cingular. Handspring's GPRS software enhances applications like e-mail and Web browsing with faster connections to high-speed data networks, the company said.

Rafe Needleman has more details on Cometa Networks strategy according to this Business 2.0 What's Next column:

According to founding CEO Lawrence Brilliant, Cometa will have 25,000 to 50,000 Wi-Fi access points in 10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2003. The goal is to put access within five minutes of every individual in the top 50 U.S. metro areas. The access points will be installed in hotels, airports, retail locations, and other gathering places.

Getting this startup off the ground was like "getting elephants to dance," because of the politics of the three giant corporate stakeholders, says Brilliant. But today Cometa is an independent company...Unlike other Wi-Fi providers and aggregators, Cometa will not sell to you and me. It is, instead, a wholesale access provider. This is excellent news for consumers -- the Cometa network will likely be resold by access providers like ISPs and cellular companies...

Even though big players are also jumping into the Wi-Fi market with the launch of Cometa Networks backed by IBM, Intel and AT&T, there are still many questions about any of the current obscure or big players surviving according to this New York Times story (registration required):

While analysts hesitate to predict that any of these companies will survive to become widely recognized brands like Netscape, the resemblance to the Internet craze of the 1990's has been widely noted.
"There is a bit of a bubble here," said Dylan Brooks, a wireless communications analyst at Jupiter Research. "We've had more than $2 billion in venture capital money flowing in, more than total revenues."

...So far, of an estimated two million potential Wi-Fi sites at commercial sites like stores, gasoline stations and restaurants, only about 3,000 have been installed, according to Sky Dayton, Boingo's founder, who spoke last week at an industry conference in Santa Clara, Calif. Some entrepreneurs say the potential market includes apartment buildings and small office buildings.