Netbooks? Hard to use. Google? Get ready for adolescence. What about green tech and Web 2.0? Are they real?
It's time for a new discussion of online privacy, says John Markoff
The Silicon Valley press had its say Wednesday evening at a Computer History Museum event entitled: the Media Predicts 2009. Here is what we learned:
“If you look at TechCrunch, I’ve scrubbed the word Web 2.0 from the site,” said J. Michael Arrington, the founder of the site that (at least up to now) has chronicled the rise of Web 2.0. Suggesting there was little substance behind the flash, Arrington added, “I don’t know what Web 2.0 was.”
Not surprisingly, his views met with disagreement from other panelists. Web 2.0 is open interfaces and open tools that have allowed people to “put things together in lego-like fashion,” ventured John Markoff of The New York Times.
And with ultra-low cost publishing and some interactivity, it has changed politics, the media and next it will change the way people will do their jobs, said others.
Netbooks are hard to use, says J. Michael Arrington
What about green-tech investing? “It’s going to grind to a halt for some time,” predicted Mark Veverka, the West Coast editor at Barron’s. “(Investors) are not going to find it to be as successful” as investing in information technology.
However, “I don’t think the Yahoo deal (with Microsoft) is dead,” offered Veverka. “There’s no reason why this goes away.”
On the subject of netbooks, toast of the computer industry and the recent bright spot in an otherwise dull market, panelists found more agreement. “There will be hundreds of millions of them in a year,” if smart phones such as the iPhone and Android-based models are included, said Arrington. But “it’s probably not good news for Microsoft.”
Low-cost netbooks often don’t use Windows or opt for an inexpensive version of the operating system.
Next year could be a tough year for Microsoft, concurred Markoff. Windows revenue may not go up for a long time.
But netbooks are hard to use, Arrington shot back. The screens are small, video is jerky and their keyboards are difficult to navigate.
On a more sublime topic, Markoff suggested it is time for a new discussion of online privacy – not individual but group privacy as companies such as Google mine large amounts of search data for market intelligence.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
