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Presents an excerpt of Randall E. Stross' book ' eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work,' which focuses on David Beirne, a partner in the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital.

Focuses on Bill Gates and Microsoft. Netscape Communications' charging Microsoft with monopolistic practices; The investigation of Microsoft by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division; The status of Microsoft; Myths about Microsoft; Bill Gates' shifting the focus of Microsoft; Jokes at the expense of Microsoft. INSET: The case against Bill (monopoly & Microsoft), by Ted Gest.

Considers the changes in Yahoo! from its beginnings as an Internet search site to its becoming the next America Online. The history of the company and the story on its founders Jerry Yand and David Filo; The influence of Yahoo! as a Website; The flawless marketing of Yahoo!; The number of people who visit the Website in a month; The role of Tim Koogle; The advertising campaigns that distinguish it form the competition.

Reports that Microsoft Corp. wants to develop a research organization which will design the future of computing. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates' assertion that the computer of the future will talk, listen, see, and learn; Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's chief technology officer; Computing problems being addressed by the researchers; The greatest research labs in the United States.

Reports on the growth of Hewlett-Packard (HP) to become the third largest computer company, behind COMPAQ and IBM, in 1997. How the company has had to change; How Hewlett-Packard will have to succeed in all the industry's segments in order to maintain its status; Steps HP must take in order to do this; HP's work in personal computers (PC); How laptops are a growing concern; Price competitions.

Examines the sales of United States computer software in Japan as of June 2, 1997. Japan as the most lucrative overseas market for companies like Microsoft Corp. and Netscape Communications Corp.; Predictions about the rise of Japanese software which never came about; The role that written language played in the US dominance of the Japanese software market; The growth for networking software and E-mail; How software sales in Japan affect the US trade deficit.

Discusses the high school careers of successful computer executives. The education of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, and Paul Allen; The state of public schools in California in the late 1960s compared with the 1990s; The status of Jobs and Wozniak's high school Homestead High in 1997.

Discusses sex-related material that is available on the Internet. United States Supreme Court arguments about the 1996 Communications Decency Act which made posting indecent material on the Internet illegal; Internet filtering systems which allow adults to exercise their First Amendment rights and also restrict children's access to sexual material; Various filtering software including SurfWatch, Cyber Patrol and Net Nanny.

Features the chain of consumer electronic stores called Fry's Electronics. Their acquisition of six of Tandy Corp.'s Incredible Universe stores; A description of the Fry's store; The uniqueness of its mixture of merchandise; Its history as a chain; The essence of Fry's appeal being choice.

Reports that PointCast has reinvented the business of screen savers, commanding the attention of computer users, investors, advertisers, media conglomerates, and other software companies. Pointcast easily bringing news to the computer screen; Popularity of the screen savers; Why advertising companies are interested. INSET: Pointcast profile.

Reports on the reasons behind the 1998 decision of Netscape Communications to give away its Internet browser and its `source code' free of charge. Financial problems Netscape is experiencing; Importance of source codes; What has to happen in order for this plan to succeed.

Discusses the high demand for computer engineers in California. The low supply of engineers; The Westech Career Expo, a job fair for hardware and software engineers in Santa Clara, Calif.; The low unemployment rate for technical specialties; The difficulty in employers making up for the local shortfall of employees

Presents an excerpt from the book "The Microsoft Way."

Points out the reasons for the decline of the Apple Computer Inc. in the U.S. computer industry. Losses disclosed by the loss in the second quarter of 1995; Background of the company; Details on the factors that made the company successful; Strategy employed by company founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak that guaranteed it success; Suggestion on how can the company prevent its decline.

The article discusses American inventor Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph. When Edison created the first phonograph in 1877 he did not have a clear purpose for the machine and did not consider that it could have commercial appeal. Edison did not attempt to perfect the phonograph until 1889 when he faced competition from other inventors who were hoping to turn the phonograph into a commercially-marketable sound recording machine. Edison believed that the sole use of the phonograph would be for business, which allowed his competitors to expand on his original design, creating a recording disk which resulted in the birth of the sound recording industry.

Focuses on Demo 97, a computer industry conference held in Cannes, France which consists solely of wall-to-wall demonstrations and sales pitches for products that may be months away from release. Attendance which is limited; Concerns of the industry; Efforts to reduce both price and complexity of personal computers; Software and imaging issues; Various products unveiled at the show.

Discusses the financial condition of Apple Computers in 1996. The struggles the company has been having; Impact of the success of Be on Apple's future; Be as being founded by Jean-Louis Gassee, a former director Apple's research and development; Apple's planned operating system Copland.

Presents the dispute between the United States federal government and the Microsoft Corp. Information on antitrust regulations; Details related to the computer and software industries; Benefits to consumers claimed by Microsoft. INSET: Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp. . . gulp..

Reports on the growing competition between online book sellers. How the Barnes & Noble online site is quickly catching up to the success of Amazon.com; Amazon.com's mystique as fading; Differences between the Barnes & Noble site and Amazon.com; Pricing wars; Other national bookstores planning online sites.

Discusses the book `The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates---A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present,' by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther. The ranking of wealthy Americans according to the percentage of the nation's gross national product (GNP); The faulty logic which links personal wealth to the GNP; The book's ranking of Bill Gates as the 31st wealthiest American; The contention that Bill Gates is the wealthiest American ever.

Criticizes the investors their irrational attitude toward the initial public offering of Internet-based software company Yahoo! Services provided by the company; Speculative nature of the stock purchases; Brief information on the company's background; Risks for the investor who purchased Yahoo! stocks; Record set by the company's stock performance.

Presents some of the memos that appear on the Web site, InternalMemos.com, which invites submissions from anonymous insiders and charges a fee to subscribers. How WorldCom chief executive officer, John Sidgmore, reported fictitious earnings and the company's bankruptcy to employees; Visit of KPMG chairman Gene O'Kelley to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission because of alleged complicity in the Xerox accounting scandal; Martha Stewart, Mark Mays of Clear Channel, EDS Chairman Dick Brown, and others.

Discusses investments in stocks in light of stock market rallies. Advice to ignore short-term market rallies; Comparison of saving and investing; Impact of individual retirement accounts on the stock market; Thoughts on a commercial which was run by the company Merrill Lynch.

Examines the personal finance and business history of United States President George W. Bush, in light of allegations that he participated in insider trading at Harken Energy Corp. Education of Bush; Experience of Bush in the petroleum industry; Addresses made by Bush concerning corporate crime; Experience of Bush with the Texas Rangers.

Offers satiric suggestions for casting corporate America in television programs. Use of ex-chief executive officers in NBC's 'Crime & Punishment'; Home makeovers for former Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski for TLC's 'While You Were Out'; Script for NBC's 'Meet My Folks,' written by the Rigas family of cable firm Adelphia Communications.

Reports on the success of Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based doughnut maker Krispy Kreme since its initial public offering in 2000. Potential weekly revenue of a Krispy Kreme store; Outlook for growth of the company; Opinion that Krispy Kreme uses its own history shrewdly in marketing retro design in its stores; Failure of DigiScents, maker of the iSmell Personal Scent Synthesizer.

Presents a commentary on the compensation of chief executive officers (CEO). Witty remarks based on analogies to 'Star Wars'; Ability of CEO to dictate their compensation.

Offers questions and answers on foreign tax havens. Benefits of a U.S. corporation forming a shell and reincorporating in Bermuda; Enron's so-called subsidiaries abroad; Discussion of the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act, which prohibits U.S. firms seeking tax havens to receive government contracts.

Mentions the decision of television talk show host Oprah Winfrey to end her book club. Claim of Winfrey concerning the content of books; Effect of the club on book sales; Efforts of celebrities to popularize reading in the United States; Mention of comments made by Jonathan Franzen when his novel 'The Corrections,' was selected for the club.

Discusses the state of air travel in the United States and suggests that the return of business travelers will help the airline industry. Idea that businesses pay for undiscounted air travel tickets; Costs of air travel tickets; Idea that travelers will pay different prices for identical tickets.

Reports on McDonald's Corp., which has suffered declining sales. Efforts of McDonald's chief executive Jack Greenberg to expand the McDonald's brand to other areas; How countries where McDonald's restaurants have been opened have never fought wars.

Argues in defense of the principle of appropriate separation of interests in the public sector with regard to advertising in the U.S. Impact of paid ads and promotions on audiences; Examples of commercial ads by such companies as Ford, Coca-Cola, and Kraft; View that sponsors can be overly zealous and go too far with their advertising efforts.

Presents a fictitious letter to Kenneth Lay, the chairman and chief executive officer of Enron Corp., commenting on the use of technology which allows companies to delete all electronic messages. How e-mail management software produced by Omniva Policy Systems works; Utilization of this software; Another fictitious letter to Harvey Pitt, chairman of SEC, promoting the elimination of the loophole that permits publicly traded corporations to destroy electronic files; View that there has been oversight of publicly traded companies.

Discusses digital video recording devices (DVR) that allow users to skip commercials when watching television. Legal issues surrounding the technology; ReplayTV, a DVR that allows users to fast forward over commercials; Lawsuit for copyright infringement against Sonicblue by major television networks.

Comments satirically on possible gifts which could be presented to Microsoft Corp. Suggestion of an oversized wallet to hold the company's assets; Mention of the antitrust settlement with the United States Justice Department, which will provide refurbished Microsoft computers to impoverished schools; Idea of giving Microsoft earplugs to silence the complaints of those who view the outdated computers as a donation of dubious worth; Books with relevant themes, including Jonathan Franzen's 'The Corrections.'

Presents speculation regarding the success of the possible merger of personal computer makers Hewlett-Packard and Compaq. Reasons why chief financial officers Carleton Fiorina and Michael Capellas are considering the merger; Weaknesses of each company.

Presents the opinion that, in light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Internet is more accurately associated with computer-aided war than peace. Suspected use of the Internet by terrorists; Mention of Internet censorship in China; Speculation regarding ways in which the Internet could assist in defeating the Taliban of Afghanistan; Opinion that one must reexamine the assumption that Internet access undermines the authoritarian state.

Discusses rumors that abound on the Internet. Example of electronic mail being sent in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States; Widely circulated warning of shopping-mall attacks and more; Hoaxes and folklore.

Reflects on the digital, computer-oriented aspects of human society compared with the tangible, real aspects in light of terrorist attacks and bioterrorism against the United States. How some view digital information as a savior for humans, capable of rendering the human race immune to biological attack; Argument that humanity cannot be changed and that digital information cannot replace the seat of human consciousness, part of which is vulnerable.

Discusses the proposal for the use of identification (ID) cards in the United States in light of security measures taken following terrorist attacks on the U.S. Proposal of Larry Ellison, corporate executive officer of Oracle, that the U.S. adopt a national ID card; Hopes of Ellison to improve airline security; View that the U.S. should use a system of biometric authentication and maintain a single database of identities.

Presents a humorous explanation of terms perceived to be associated with Microsoft Corp. and the United States antitrust investigation as of September 10, 2001. Mention of organizations and individuals including Americans for Technology Leadership and Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer; Definition of words and phrases including 'lifestyle upgrade' and 'SmartTags'; Speculation regarding the release of the Microsoft Windows XP computer operating system.

Focuses on red-light cameras which may be installed at intersections to automatically record and ticket violators. Opposition of the cameras by United States House Majority Leader Dick Armey; How the digital camera system works; Way that the cameras would record traffic violators running red lights and send them tickets for their offenses; Concerns about the misuse of the system.

Focuses on the etiquette of online advertising. Mention of advertisements from X10 Wireless Technology, which are viewed as rude; Discussion of 'pop-up' and 'pop-under' ads; Success of pop-under ads; View that advertisers will exploit any opportunity to attract attention.

Focuses on the Internet-based grocer, Webvan. Struggles the company endured before going out of business; Lack of convenience the site offered; How same-day delivery is essential, but difficult for a centralized warehouse system; Original vision held by Webvan.

Discusses Internet domain names. Trademarking of domain names by corporations; Idea that the Internet is not governed; Formation of ICANN to control Internet domain names and the extortion of companies; Domain suffixes approved by ICANN.

Comments on child computer hackers. Examples of damage caused by child hackers to web sites and Internet businesses; Technological advances which have been made in computer programs which can shut down web sites; Increase in the amount of computer crimes as of June 2001; Perceived unresponsiveness of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Infrastructure Protection Center.