Word: ideas
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...national borders have bred such strife, what is the likelihood of erecting, let alone maintaining, a much larger tent? The idea might well remain a mirage, and Kabila may not be up to the challenge. But if anyone is ready, it is Uganda's Museveni, an ex-Marxist who has spearheaded one of the most remarkable economic and social comebacks in the world. Not only has Museveni reinvigorated a country that was once a synonym for horror, but he is also exerting profound influence across the breadth of sub-Saharan Africa. Old friends, proteges and disciples have either gained power...
...begun to look toward posterity. For the better part of 18 months he flirted with the idea of buying troubled Apple Computer, a deal that fizzled last week when Ellison said he was backing off, at least for now. Instead, Valley insiders say Oracle, with close to $1 billion in cash on hand, is considering a rich joint venture with Korean conglomerate LG Electronics. Both are ambitious deals, carefully calibrated to morph Oracle from a corporate-software provider into a consumer-electronics powerhouse. Says Evan Bauer, a vice president at GIGA Information Group, a Connecticut consulting firm: "Larry...
...alternative, Ellison has been pushing hard--not that he could do it any other way--for a new generation of inexpensive, easy-to-use network computers, the so-called NCs. The idea is simple enough: build an inexpensive box (under $500) that combines the best of a PC (some processing smarts, a screen, a modem) with the best of the Net (tons of information, most of it free). Behind the scenes, database software (Oracle's, of course) will make all this goodness transparently simple to navigate. On the front end, in Ellison's vision, might be Apple's famously friendly...
Gates is not as enthusiastic about that particular idea. Though he tucks his ambition behind wire-framed glasses and a mop haircut, he is intent on moving in on Oracle's database business. After all, it's hard to imagine a task more important to the information future than data management. Microsoft has hired away some of Ellison's brightest engineers, though the impact on Oracle's business has been negligible...
...cigarette sales by 8%. That would be O.K. with investors, who would gladly accept a smaller revenue stream so long as profits were protected against lawsuits. But any big increase above that starts to make the industry's economics go awry, including its 30% operating margins. I have no idea where the breaking point is but there surely is one. To me, $300 billion is a lot of money, no matter who's paying. If Big Tobacco can afford a bit more, fine. But if this is about money--which it seems to be--it's a mistake to suddenly...