Month: October 1998

“The era of the PC is over.”

IBM CEO Lou Gerstner, trying to put a stake in the heart of his company’s desktop Frankenstein so he can sell a few more servers, ZDNet/Reuters, 22 October 1998

“I have consciously avoided reading and getting involved in the politics so I could come in fresh and not be poisoned.”

Esther Dyson, technopundit and new appointee to the ICANN board, an organization meant to boost the self-esteem of people involved in domain-name governance, News.com, 21 October 1998

“It starts with email. Then you get them interested in a buddy list, so they can find their friends and family.”

Barry Schuler, president of AOL Interactive Services, on America Online’s plans to get users hooked to its programming, The New York Times, 20 October 1998

“How much do we need to pay you to screw Netscape?”

Attributed to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates by an America Online executive in testimony for the Department of Justice’s antitrust case, as the companies were negotiating to have AOL use Microsoft Internet Explorer instead of Netscape’s Web browser in 1996, Wired News, 19 October 1998

“Simplicity is now a jihad at Microsoft.”

Microsoft spokesperson Greg Shaw, issuing a fatwa on feature bloat, U.S. News & World Report, 19 October 1998