Author: Matt

“The problem we had with Napster was that they never asked us or other artists if we wanted to participate in their business.”

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, on settling his group’s lawsuit with Napster, E! Online, 12 July 2001

“Silicon Valley is like a magic circle run by 2,000 or so people and Susan is one of those.”

Moreover.com founder and former journalist Nick Denton, on giving up the reins of power to new CEO Susan Atherton, The Guardian, 9 July 2001

“All I can say is that I am astonished at how staggeringly incompetent [the Webvan management has] proven to be. In our wildest dreams we never imagined that they would be this bad.”

HomeGrocer.com founder Terry Drayton, on the only way in which the acquirers of his company exceeded his expectations, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 July 2001

“This enterprise is about self-expression. The money is an added benefit.”

Libertarian writer Virginia Postrel, on the nonfinancial perks of vanity publishing on the Web, The New York Times, 9 July 2001

“We just don’t feel comfortable with our five largest competitors providing information about our company. We felt … Orbitz was misrepresenting the true picture of Southwest Airlines.”

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Ginger Hardage, on the company’s move to yank its fares from Orbitz.com, where it faced the risk of having its three-connection routes directly compared with three-connection routes from other airlines, News.com, 6 July 2001