“People take a real leap of faith when they come to a Web site. You don’t have the face-to-face contact you get in a store, but people still feel like they have a relationship with you, and it’s more intimate than it would be with a sales clerk.”
Pets.com CEO Juie Wainwright, comparing the intimate skills of e-commerce Web studs to bricks-and-mortar drones, ZDNN, 25 June 1999
“There are nutty judges in the country to start with. Let’s start with that premise.”
Microsoft chief financial officer Greg Maffei, trying to win friends and influence jurists in his company’s multiple, ongoing legal battles, Seattle Times, 24 June 1999
“The idea that we’re going to go into the 21st century hauling our most valuable documents and information around in plastic boxes is crazy. The proper place for important data is in a mountain somewhere with guys in white coats taking care of it.”
Gilder Group analyst Spencer Reiss, pontificating from his bunker in the hills as he waits for the nice men in white coats to come check up on him, News.com, 24 June 1999
“We think we’re improving the overall privacy needs of consumers.”
Microsoft COO Bob Herbold, on his company’s plans to cash in on privacy concerns through invasive products that stimulate consumer demand for it, San Francisco Examiner, 23 June 1999
“Traditional companies are in a real dilemma, because if you start an Internet activity, it’s a drain on your earnings.”
Michael Dell, CEO of the eponymous computer manufacturer, managing to discuss the Internet without noting that aside from some light order-taking and tech support, Dell isn’t trimming back its earnings to invest a lot in the Net, USA Today, 21 June 1999
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