Media Development Industry Analysis Essay Example

Minneapolis-based company hosted in Europe can be visited by a customer in Canada. However, most marketing media development companies prefer conducting business within their respective metro areas, despite being able to reach customers worldwide. Due to the confusion surrounding the Internet and its technology, customers still prefer personal contact. It is easier for service providers to understand and meet the exact desires of customers who are located nearby rather than those across the country. In August 1962, J.C.R. Licklider of MIT wrote a series of memos describing the potential social interactions enabled through networking. He introduced the concept of a globally interconnected system of computers, allowing quick access to data and programs from any location.

The concept, similar to today's Internet, was pioneered by Licklider when he became the head of the computer research program at DARPA in October 1962. During his time at DARPA, he persuaded his successors, Ivan Sutherland, Bob Taylor, and MIT researcher Lawrence G.Roberts, of the significance of this networking idea. On October 24, 1995, the FNC unanimously approved a resolution that officially defined the term Internet. This definition was created in collaboration with members of the internet and intellectual property rights communities.

RESOLUTION: “The Federal Networking Council (FNC) agrees on the following definition of the term 'Internet'. The 'Internet' refers to the global information system that (i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons; (ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and (iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high-level services

layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein.”

The Internet has undergone significant changes since it was first created two decades ago. Initially designed for time-sharing purposes, it has adapted to accommodate personal computers, client-server and peer-to-peer computing systems, as well as network computers. It has also incorporated new network technologies like ATM and frame switched services despite being developed before LANs were in existence.

The Internet was originally designed to support various functions such as file sharing, remote login, resource sharing, and collaboration. It has given rise to electronic mail and more recently, the World Wide Web. Crucially, it originated from a small group of dedicated researchers and has now become a lucrative industry with billions of dollars of annual investment. For more details, please refer to the attached Internet Timeline. In the marketing media development industry, competition is increasing every day.

Software advancements have simplified the process of creating materials for customers, leading service providers to adopt more innovative strategies for their products and services. In order to remain competitive and sustain their operations, providers are enhancing their marketing media tools. The CityBusiness Book of Lists features the top 25 Internet media development firms in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, including their 2002 annual revenue and areas of expertise. The list starts with Javelin Solutions from Minneapolis, with an annual revenue of $13,500,000, specializing in enterprise applications, integration, and JAVA development.

Imaginet-Minneapolis offers $13,400,000 in E-business solutions for fortune 100 customers. Larsen Design + Interactive-Edina provides $9,098,585 in branding, identity, and design services. Wizmo Inc. in Eden Prairie specializes in the management and delivery of information technology with a budget of $8,750,000. Charter Solutions in Minnetonka

aims to develop value added business solutions with a budget of $7,600,000. Lastly, Martin/Williams Advertising in Minneapolis offers traffic enhancing programs and e-commerce with a budget of $7,400,000.

Zentropy Partners-Minneapolis$6,470,000 - specializing in information architecture and online marketing.
Cornerstone Consulting-Edina$6,449,000 - known for rapid development and application testing.
Fourth Generation Inc. -St Paul$4,647,900 - experts in JAVA and e-commerce applications.
Greenbrier ; Russell Inc.

-Plymouth$3,500,000 -E-business strategy and integration. Management Specialties-Blaine$2,621,987 -Web-site planning and online branding. Aveus-Minneapolis$2,500,000 -Strategy and web development strategies. The Nancekivell Group-Minneapolis$2,400,000 -Web audit and integrated communications. Colle ; Mcvoy Inc- Minneapolis$2,200,000 Web-site design and online branding. Informat-St.

Paul has a salary of $2,200,000 and has expertise in HTML, Cold Fusion, ASP, and Oracle. He works at Periscope Interactive in Minneapolis. Periscope Interactive specializes in web design/development and interactive marketing and has a salary budget of $2,165,000. B-Swing, another company in Minneapolis, has a budget of $1,946,518 and specializes in efficiency procedures. Centrifusion, also based in Minneapolis, has a budget of $1,900,812 and focuses on application delivery and globalization. Another company, Bitstream Underground Inc., is not mentioned with a specific salary or expertise.

In Minneapolis, Ruckus Interactive provides web-based interactive solutions, with a total revenue of $1,708,000.
In St. Paul, Ciceron Interactive Solutions specializes in e-business solutions, intranets, and extranets, achieving a revenue of $1,683,129.
Also in Minneapolis, Ciceron Interactive Solutions generates revenue of $1,568,059 through e-commerce and site traffic generation.

Designstien Inc-Minneapolis$1,526,949 -Managing corporate brand identity. Datacom Consulting Corp. - Bloomington$1,501,000 -Business and technology solutions. Atomic Playpen-Minneapolis$1,500,000 -Information architecture and usability research. Artropolis Interactive Design - St. Louis Park$1,380,000 -Content management tools and interactive/flash integration All 25 companies are privately owned; thus, the stock market cannot be

used to determine whether investing in the marketing media development industry is wise or not. However, analyzing their previous years' annual revenues reveals an evident trend: all 25 companies, except one, showed revenue improvements.

Some companies have improved their ranking on the list by up to ten places because they have implemented new technology and made continuous efforts to enhance.

The Importance of Success and Growth

The economy is a critical factor in determining whether service providers succeed or fail. During periods of economic downturn, customers in the marketing media industry are less inclined to invest in innovative technology. This was demonstrated in 2002 when consumer spending on advertising decreased by 16% due to the challenging economy.

Between 2001 and 2002, revenue grew by 3 percent, leading to a $6 billion increase. This growth was driven by the introduction of high-speed Internet options like cable and DSL, as well as the progress in wireless technology. These advancements allowed users to access the Internet while on-the-go, resulting in a significant increase in high-speed Internet customers during 2002.

In 2002, content spending reached $1 and experienced a 7% increase in high speed Internet capabilities, enabling service providers to expand options and upgrades for Internet access. Moreover, users are increasingly willing to pay for content.

The increase in e-commerce spending offers service providers a thrilling opportunity to develop inventive solutions for customers and generate revenue. Moreover, consumer spending on e-commerce has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, with household expenditure reaching $45 billion—an astonishing surge of 88.3 percent.

Music downloads experienced a significant increase in spending in 2002, reaching $5 billion, which surpassed the previous year's total of $35.9 billion. This indicates that consumers are not only

using the Internet for research but also to download music, a rapidly growing sector online. Legal pressures from the RIAA have compelled platforms like Napster and Kazaa to make changes to their services in order to comply with copyright regulations. Consequently, successful providers such as Apple's iTunes, MusicNet, and Rhapsody have introduced subscription-based and fee-based music download platforms. By 2003, spending on music downloads had risen even further to $40 million, representing an impressive 60 percent increase compared to levels observed in 2002.

It is predicted that music download revenues will reach $145 million by 2007. The marketing media development industry, which includes the music industry, is affected by changes in both the national and global economy. This economic reliance applies to all sectors of the marketing industry.

The decrease in advertising and marketing budgets during an economic downturn is a common occurrence. However, when the economy is on an upturn, these budgets tend to rise significantly. The marketing media development industry does not experience distinct peak seasons. Nevertheless, retail businesses tend to spend more on advertising and marketing in the months leading up to the holidays. Similarly, customers offering seasonal products also allocate higher budgets for these activities.

Spending in the industry can fluctuate with the changing seasons, as consumers adjust their purchases based on their needs (e.g. hockey equipment or summer clothing). The industry's lifespan is brief and heavily reliant on technology, with advancements like HTML being replaced by newer languages such as DTML, XML, JAVA, and most recently Flash.

The lifecycle is brief but sequential, presenting a distinct challenge for providers and customers alike. Customers are unwilling to gamble on outdated technology for marketing purposes while

their rivals embrace newer advancements. Consequently, providers must swiftly master the latest technology or risk losing customers to their competition.

Financial Data

Establishing a pricing framework is challenging due to the absence of a universal pricing standard.

The pricing models in the industry must frequently adapt due to the rapid pace of technology changes. In many cases, consumers are purchasing the service provider's time, with little material costs involved. As the majority of companies in this sector are privately owned, determining actual profit is challenging. However, operating costs can be estimated more easily by considering material and hardware expenses. Measuring a company's viability can be best achieved using its annual revenue as an indicator.

The Future

According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), the B2B sector is expected to have a positive "immediate future" with an increase in global spending. Although there have been declines in certain areas of B2B media, such as magazines and trade shows, over the past two years (a decrease of 8.7% in 2002 after a decline of 12.7% in 2001), there is projected to be a growth of 4% in annual media spending.

Between 2002 and 2007, the online advertising market saw an 8% increase. Despite a difficult economic environment, it is expected that the industry will continue to grow steadily and improve in the coming years. Projections from 2003 estimated that internet advertising would reach $6.7 billion, indicating a 10% increase from the $6 billion spent in 2002. According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson's forecast, online expenditures are predicted to reach $8.6 billion by 2007 with an anticipated compounded annual growth rate of 7% for advertising revenues during this period.

As technology advances, the marketing media industry must

constantly find new ways to electronically market products and services. This will undoubtedly involve subscription-based content, as end users increasingly demand higher quality content due to the dramatic increase in data transfer speeds. According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson communication forecast, spending on games and music content was projected to reach $2.2 billion in 2003 and $5.4 billion in 2007.

By 2007, the number of internet users reached 5 billion. The effectiveness of simple static websites in attracting customers has diminished. It is challenging to predict the future of this industry due to its early stage. The "Dotcom Era" began as a frenzy but quickly crashed. Nonetheless, the Internet and its marketing tools continue to thrive, highlighting its effectiveness. To assess the viability of a service provider as an investment, their adaptability to changing conditions should be considered.

The first factor to consider is the state of the economy. It is important for the service provider to be able to position themselves as indispensable even during an economic downturn. Additionally, the ability of the service provider to quickly and effectively embrace new technologies is crucial. Failing to do so will result in a loss of market share.

The Internet Society provides a brief history of the Internet on their website (Leiner, 2003).The website isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#leiner> and the book "CityBusiness: Book of Lists 2001-2003" by Amy Kamenick (page 184) provide information.

Veronis-Suhler-Stevenson. Communication Industry Forecast. <http://www.veronissuhler.com/> 20 Feb 2002 Zakon Robert "Hobbes' Internet Timeline v7.0" 25 Oct 2003 ;http://www.zakon.

Org; Hobbes' Internet Timeline v7.0 1960s

1961 Leonard Kleinrock, MIT: "Information Flow in Large Communication Nets" (May 31) •First paper on packet-switching (PS) theory

1962 J.C. R. Licklider & W.Clark, MIT: "On-Line Man Computer Communication" (August)

•Galactic Network concept encompassing distributed social interactions

1964 Paul Baran, RAND: "On Distributed Communications Networks" •Packet-switching networks; no single outage point

1965 ARPA sponsors study on "cooperative network of time-sharing computers"

•TX-2 at MIT Lincoln Lab and AN/FSQ-32 at System Development Corporation (Santa Monica, CA) are directly linked (without packet switches) via a dedicated 1200bps phone line; Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computer at ARPA later added to form "The Experimental Network"

1966 Lawrence G.Roberts, MIT: "Towards a Cooperative Network of Time-Shared Computers" (October) •First ARPANET plan

1967 ARPANET design discussions held by Larry Roberts at ARPA IPTO PI meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan (April)

ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (October) •First design paper on ARPANET published by Larry Roberts: "Multiple Computer Networks and Intercomputer Communication

•First meeting of the three independent packet network teams (RAND, NPL, ARPA)

National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Middlesex, England develops NPL Data Network under Donald Watts Davies who coins the term packet.

The NPL network, which was an experiment in packet-switching, utilized 768kbps lines during the 1970s. In 1970, the original ARPANET Host-Host protocol was first published by C. S. Carr, S. Crocker, and V. G.

Cerf, "HOST-HOST Communication Protocol in the ARPA Network," in AFIPS Proceedings of SJCC (:vgc:) First report on ARPANET at AFIPS: "Computer Network Development to Achieve Resource Sharing" (March) ALOHAnet, the first packet radio network, developed by Norman Abramson, Univ of Hawaii, becomes operational (July) (:sk2:) •connected to the ARPANET in 1972ARPANET hosts start using Network Control Protocol (NCP), first host-to-host protocol First cross-country link installed by AT;T between UCLA and BBN at 56kbps. This line is later replaced by another between BBN and RAND. A second line is

added between MIT and Utah 1972 Ray Tomlinson (BBN) modifies email program for ARPANET where it becomes a quick hit.The @ sign was chosen from the punctuation keys on Tomlinson's Model 33 Teletype for its "at" meaning (March) Larry Roberts writes first email management program (RD) to list, selectively read, file, forward, and respond to messages (July) International Conference on Computer Communications (ICCC) at the Washington D. C.

Hilton organized a demonstration of ARPANET between 40 machines and the Terminal Interface Processor (TIP), with the involvement of Bob Kahn. This event took place in October. The first computer-to-computer chat also occurred at UCLA during this time, and it was repeated at the International Conference on Computer Communication (ICCC). The chat involved PARRY, a program at Stanford, discussing its issues with the Doctor, a program at BBN. In October, the International Network Working Group (INWG) was formed as a collaborative effort to advance networking technologies. Vint Cerf was appointed as the first Chair. In 1974, the INWG became IFIP WG 6.1 (:vgc:). Another important development in 1974 was the efforts led by Louis Pouzin in France to create their own version of ARPANET called CYCLADES. That same year, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn published "A Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection," which presented a detailed design of a Transmission Control Program (TCP).

[IEEE Trans Comm] (:amk:) BBN inaugurates Telenet, which is the initial public packet data service (a commercial adaptation of ARPANET) (:sk2:) in 1975. The operational management of the Internet is transferred to DCA (now DISA). Steve Walker establishes the first ARPANET mailing list, called MsgGroup, and Einar Stefferud soon takes over as moderator since the list initially

lacks automation. During this time, the most popular unofficial list is SF-Lovers, which focuses on science fiction. John Vittal creates MSG, the first comprehensive email program with features such as replying, forwarding, and filing. In addition, TCP tests are conducted over satellite links crossing two oceans (Hawaii and UK) by Stanford, BBN, and UCL in 1976. On March 26th, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, sends an email from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in Malvern. UUCP (Unix-to-Unix Copy) is developed at AT Bell Labs and later distributed with UNIX in the following year.

In 1979, a meeting between the University of Wisconsin, DARPA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and computer scientists from various universities was held to establish a research computer network for the Computer Science Department. This meeting was organized by Larry Landweber. During this time, Tom Truscott, Jim Ellis, and Steve Bellovin established USENET using UUCP between Duke and UNC. All original groups were part of the net.* hierarchy. The first MUD, MUD1, was created by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw at the University of Essex. Additionally, the Packet Radio Network (PRNET) experiment began with funding from DARPA.

Most communications occur between mobile vans. The ARPANET connection is made via SRI. On April 12, Kevin MacKenzie suggests adding emotion to email by using emoticons such as -) to indicate sarcasm. Despite initial backlash, emoticons become widely used after Scott Fahlman suggests using :-) and :-( in a CMU BBS on September 19, 1982. In the 1980s, ARPANET experiences a complete halt on October 27 due to a status-message virus accidentally spreading. The first C/30-based IMP is implemented at BBN. In 1982,

DCA and ARPA establish TCP and IP, known as TCP/IP, as the protocol suite for ARPANET. This leads to the definition of an "internet" as a connected set of networks using TCP/IP and "Internet" as connected TCP/IP internets.The Department of Defense (DoD) has declared the TCP/IP suite to be the standard for DoD. As a result, the European UNIX Network (EUnet) is created by the European UNIX User Group (EUUG) to provide email and USENET services. In 1985, original connections were established between the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and the UK. Additionally, the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL) was started, and the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) at USC was given responsibility for DNS root management by the Defense Communications Agency (DCA), with SRI handling DNS NIC registrations. The domain "Symbolics.com" was assigned on March 15th, making it the first registered domain. Other initial registered domains included "cmu.edu", "purdue.edu", and "rice".

edu, berkeley. edu, ucla. edu, rutgers. edu, bbn.

On April 24th, com; on May 23rd, mit. edu; on May 24th, think.com; in June, css.gov; and in July, mitre.org and .uk were all connected to NetNorth. This effort took one year and coincided with the 100th anniversary of the last spike being driven on the cross-Canada railroad. The goal was to achieve coast-to-coast connectivity for the last Canadian university.

In 1988, on November 2nd, an Internet worm caused damage to approximately 6,000 out of the 60,000 hosts on the Internet. This incident led to the formation of CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) by DARPA, in order to address the emerging needs. In the same year, the only advisory issued was related to this worm. Additionally, Susan Estrada founded CERFnet (California

Education and Research Federation network). Jarkko Oikarinen developed Internet Relay Chat (IRC). And in Canada, ONet joined NSFNET via Cornell, RISQ joined via Princeton, and BCnet joined via the University of Washington. Furthermore, FidoNet became connected to the Internet, enabling the exchange of email and news. The first multicast tunnel was established between Stanford and BBN during the summer of 1988.In 1989, the number of hosts on the Internet broke 100,000. This was also the year when the first relays between a commercial electronic mail carrier and the Internet occurred. MCI Mail through the Corporation for the National Research Initiative (CNRI), and CompuServe through Ohio State University were involved in this development. Additionally, the Corporation for Research and Education Networking (CREN) was formed by merging CSNET into BITNET in August. Clifford Stoll's book, Cuckoo's Egg, was published, which tells the real-life story of a German cracker group infiltrating multiple US facilities. In August, UCLA sponsored the Act One symposium to celebrate ARPANET's 20th anniversary and its decommissioning.

Moving on to the 1990s, in 1990, ARPANET ceased to exist. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded by Mitch Kapor during this period. Peter Deutsch, Alan Emtage, and Bill Heelan released Archie at McGill, and Peter Scott released Hytelnet at the University of Saskatchewan. The World became the first commercial provider of Internet dial-up access through its online presence (world.std.com). Another significant event took place as John Romkey introduced the Internet Toaster, which was the first remotely operated machine connected to the internet and controlled via SNMP. This happened during Interop.

In 1993, the InterNIC was established by the NSF with the purpose of providing specific Internet services. These

services included directory and database services provided by AT&T, registration services by Network Solutions Inc., and information services by General Atomics/CERFnet. During this time, the US White House also made its debut online through its website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/). The contact email addresses for President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore were president@whitehouse.gov and vice-president@whitehouse.gov, respectively. Additionally, there were new types of worms spreading on the Internet known as WWW Worms (W4), along with Spiders, Wanderers, Crawlers, and Snakes.

Internet Talk Radio begins broadcasting (:sk2:) United Nations (UN) comes on-line (:vgc:) US National Information Infrastructure Act Businesses and media begin taking notice of the InternetMosaic takes the Internet by storm (22 Apr); WWW proliferates at a 341,634% annual growth rate of service traffic. Gopher's growth is 997%.

In 1995, thousands in Minneapolis-St. Paul (USA) lose Net access after transients start a bonfire under a bridge at the Univ of MN causing fiber-optic cables to melt (30 July). Additionally, a number of Net related companies go public, with Netscape leading the pack with the 3rd largest ever NASDAQ IPO share value (9 August).

Moreover, registration of domain names is no longer free. Beginning 14 September, a $50 annual fee has been imposed, which up until now was subsidized by NSF. NSF continues to pay for.

The Vatican (http://www. vatican. va/) and the Canadian Government (http://canada. gc. ca/) both come online, with temporary registration for .gov domains. In a significant achievement, the Secret Service and DEA successfully conduct the first official Internet wiretap, leading to the arrest of three individuals involved in illegal manufacturing and sale of cell phone cloning equipment and electronic devices. Richard White becomes notable for

being the first person to be deemed a munition under US arms export control laws due to an RSA file security encryption program tattooed on his arm (:wired496:). In 1996, internet phones gain attention from US telecommunication companies, prompting them to request a ban on this technology, despite its existence for several years already. The US Communications Decency Act (CDA), an immensely debated legislation, is passed to prohibit the distribution of indecent materials over the internet.

A few months later, a three-judge panel imposes an injunction against the enforcement of a certain law. In 1997, the Supreme Court unanimously rules that most of this law is unconstitutional. As a result, 272 organizations find themselves unlisted after the InterNIC cancels their name service due to non-payment of domain name fees. This leads to extended service outages for various ISPs, raising concerns about their ability to accommodate the increasing number of users. Specific ISPs like AOL experience 19 hours of outage, Netcom experiences 13 hours, and AT;T WorldNet experiences 28 hours but only for email services. Additionally, the domain name "tv.com" is sold to CNET for a price of US$15,000. The Internet Ad Hoc Committee then announces plans to add seven new generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) including ".firm".

store, eb, arts, rec, info, nom.

The IAHC plan proposes the establishment of a global group of domain registrars. In the world of USENET, a harmful cancelbot is unleashed, resulting in the deletion of over 25,000 messages. The conflict between Netscape and Microsoft in the WWW browser wars has ushered in a new era of software development. This entails quarterly releases of new versions that are tested by enthusiastic Internet users

(beta versions). RFC 1925, also known as The Twelve Networking Truths, provides guidelines for networking practices. Various countries have imposed restrictions on Internet use: China mandates registration with the police for both users and ISPs; Germany blocks access to certain newsgroups on CompuServe; Saudi Arabia limits Internet access to universities and hospitals; Singapore requires registration with the state for political and religious content providers; and New Zealand classifies computer disks as "publications" that can be subjected to censorship and confiscation. In 1997, Eugene Kashpureff, the owner of AlterNIC, hacks DNS in a protest against the DNS monopoly, redirecting users from www.internic.net to www.internic.net.

Alternic. et and Domain name business. com were sold for a total of US$150,000. This transaction occurred early in the morning of 17 July due to human error at Network Solutions. The error resulted in the DNS table for .com and .

In 1998, millions of systems were rendered unreachable due to the corruption of net domains. During this time, Push and Multicasting emerged as Technologies of the Year. Network Solutions achieved a significant milestone by registering its 2 millionth domain on May 4. Additionally, electronic postal stamps became a reality, allowing users to purchase and download stamps for printing from the Web. Compaq acquired altavista. com for a sum of US$3 million. On November 2, ABCNews. com accidentally posted test US election returns prematurely. The top 10 domains by host number were com, net, edu, mil, jp, us, uk ,de, ca, and au. Noteworthy hacks in that year included those on the US Department of Commerce (on February 20) and the New York Times (on September 13). E-Commerce, E-Auctions, and Portals were hailed

as Technologies of the Year, while E-Trade, XML, and Intrusion Detection were identified as emerging technologies. In 1999, Internet access became available in Saudi Arabia.

Sa) In January, the first full-service bank available only on the Net, First Internet Bank of Indiana, opens for business on 22 February. IBM becomes the first corporate partner approved for Internet2 access. Business.com is sold for US$7.5 million (it was purchased in 1997 for US$150,000) on 30 Nov. The top 10 TLDs by host number are com, net, edu, jp, uk, mil, us, de, ca, and au. The hacks of the year include Star Wars (8 Jan), .tp (Jan), USIA (23 Jan), E-Bay (13 Mar). The technologies of the year are E-Trade, Online Banking, and MP3. The emerging technologies are Net-Cell Phones, Thin Computing, and Embedded Computing. The viruses of the year are Melissa (March) and ExploreZip (June).

2000s: In 2000, the US timekeeper (USNO) and a few other time services around the world report the new year as 19100 on 1 Jan. A massive denial of service attack is launched against major web sites, including Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay in early February. Various domain name hijackings took place in late May and early June, including internet.com, bali.com, and web.com.

After a series of legal actions, the French court orders Yahoo! to prevent French users from accessing hate memorabilia on its auction site (Nov). Since Yahoo! is unable to implement this block on the Internet, it decides to remove those auctions completely (Jan 2001). Eventually, the case is dismissed (Feb 2003). Notable hacks in the year include RSA Security (Feb), Apache (May), Western Union (Sep), and Microsoft (Oct). The technologies of the

year are ASP and Napster, while emerging technologies include wireless devices and IPv6. Love Letter is named the virus of the year (May), and significa