“It’s the equivalent of shaking hands, looking people in the eye, and knowing you have a deal.”
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, general manager of IBM’s Internet division, explaining why his company’s new Vault security technology would give consumers and merchants as much confidence in online transactions as they have in real-world ones, Reuters/Wired, 8 June 1998
“We can count on the fact that the spread of strong encryption is going to mean that lives are going to be lost.”
Robert Litt, principal associate deputy attorney general at the US Department of Justice, engaging in some hyperbolic flourishes to attack encryption stronger than that which a bored college student could break, Wired News, 8 June 1998
“The acquisition of ICQ technology dramatically increases our presence on the Web.”
Steve Case, CEO of America Online, fumbling at an explanation for why his company spent $287 million to acquire a revenueless Israeli startup with a chat technology AOL’s techies had already duplicated, TechInvestor, 8 June 1998
“VCs don’t sign NDAs.”
Andrew Anker, amateur pundit at VC firm August Capital, explaining how tech financiers avoid the burdens of nondisclosure agreements, Silicon Spin on ZDTV, 27 May 1998
“This is a branding deal for CNET. We’re going to be the supplier of computing- and Internet-related content for a dominant resource for millions of Internet users.”
Robin Wolaner, CNET’s executive vice president of technology publishing, on the no-money-down deal her company struck with Netscape to republish CNET content on Netcenter, News.com, 27 May 1998
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