Senate approves ban on Internet taxes.

On Thursday, the Senate renewed the ban on Internet taxes. Congress approved the same bill about a month ago but the Senate finally passed the bill to be sent to President Bush (who favors the ban on Internet taxes) next week. A 1992 Supreme Court decision prohibits states from collecting taxes on transactions unless the retailer has a physical presence in the state (something that catalog retailers like LandÕs End and Sears have lived by for years). However, when the dot-com boomers started making billions in IPO money, the states without Internet businesses cried foul.

Now that few Internet retailers are making money, Congress has decided to back off on the whole tax thing in an effort to kick-start the economy. I think this is a lesson for not just American leaders, but legislators worldwide: The fewer taxes an economy has, the better the economy does.

TechTV and Yahoo cut jobs.

TechTV, the 24-hour tech cable TV channel owned by Paul AllenÕs Vulcan Ventures, is cutting 25% of their workforce citing Òpoor economic conditions and the significant downturn in the technology sector.Ó Yahoo, the Internet portal stalwart, restructured its business by cutting 400 jobs and paring its 44 business divisions down to six. YahooÕs CEO said YahooÕs new strategy is to offer content fundamentally for free, but we will offer additional options for pay.Ó TechTVÕs CEO said their strategy will Òfocus on what is best for our business success, while at the same time do our best to have the least possible affect on our associates."

If youÕve ever watched TechTV or used Yahoo, it is easy to see what this really means. For TechTV, they will have to find a broader audience than stereotypical white male geeks. Even though Paul Allen is the second richest man in America and a Microsoft co-founder (who no longer works at Microsoft), the bulk of TechTVÕs shows are anti-Microsoft. Anyone who has suffered through an episode of the call-in tech support show The Screen Savers hosted Leo and Martin can testify to this. The fact is that most home and business computers in the world are running some flavor of Microsoft Windows. Although youÕll get a correct answer to your questions about Windows if you call The Screen Savers weeknights in prime time, youÕre guaranteed to get a condescending ÒYou know, if you used a REAL operating system like Linux, you wouldnÕt have these problemsÓ from one of the hosts. TechTV should not be a mouthpiece for Microsoft, but it also should not be blind to the fact that Linux companies and users donÕt spend any money (thatÕs the big reason for even using Linux ø certainly not because of itÕs broad software application support and ease of use). ItÕs in TechTVÕs best interests to be a little friendlier to the people that PAY.

Yahoo is a classic example of a slow burning dot-com bomb. ÒWe will give away all of our services to create loyal customers. When we start to charge for our services, the customer loyalty weÕve inspired from our freebies will make us extremely wealthy.Ó ThatÕs a really sad business plan because it goes against human nature. People are going to get all they can for free and move on when the free ride ends. Free hot dogs and Cokes at the car dealership get you in to look at the new models, but how many people do you know that arenÕt in the market for a car and still showed up looking for free food? Unfortunately, I see the same thing happening to Yahoo. IÕm not saying Yahoo is going to go out of business, but they will never be back to the $200+ stock price of 1999.

I was right all along.

For those of you that missed my October 22, 2001 column, I exposed the hypocrisy behind the multi-billion dollar video game industryÕs love affair with unspeakable violence but refusal to portray terrorist villains as Arabs. I ended that column with: ÒWe all know that Islam is a peaceful religion given a bad name by brutal leftist radicals like Osama bin Laden. Is it wrong to make a video game with villains that are brutal leftist radicals or is it just not politically correct under any circumstances? Regardless of what the unwritten politically correct rule is, the first company to sell a game that allows players to blow up Osama bin Laden's terrorist camps will be a huge hit - no matter who complains.Ó

I am happy to report that I am the first with this opinion and have backing from Madison Avenue. Respected advertising executive John Leslie Jr., chairman of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, testified before Congress that a Òpro-bin Laden videogame [is] becoming popular in many Islamic countries.Ó Mr. Leslie suggested that we possibly counter with Òour own video gameÓ to counter the virulently anti-American propaganda. This doesnÕt mean that the US should have state-sponsorship of video games or any other media. The West is most famous for its commitment to the free market of ideas as well as goods. I stick by my original assessment: The first company to sell a ÒBlow Up bin LadenÓ video game is going to make millions. You heard it from me at the World Tribune almost a month ago. Comment on this Week In Review column by emailing me scott@worldtechtribune.com.
<>

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts