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As reports have it, the European Parliament is ready to disclose Echelon shenanigans in a special report due out this week. Of course the masters of Echelon probably already knew that.

Dumb and Dumber

I'm not afraid to admit when I've blown it -- and this next item is a prime example. Two years ago I thought competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs for short) were really going places. After all, who didn't want DSL? Covad was at the top of my list of winning companies. Now I feel dumber than a teenage pop star over the latest news. This "winner" lost one and a half billion clams last year. The loss was based on about $150 million in revenue. The company lost ten bucks for every dollar it took in.

Scavenger Hunt

Speaking of CLECs, AT&T is picking at the bones, having just spent $135 million for the carcass that was NorthPoint. This is my greatest fear. The incumbent carriers -- the RBOCs -- put the CLECs out of business through sheer stubbornness and ill will. Then the big guns, RBOCs or whatever, make billions off the remains.

You've Got Success

I've got a mixed track record when it comes to AOL. I figured AOL would have to be king of the dot-com stocks. It has more subscribers than anyone by a long shot, and Time-Warner gives it more content than any mortal would know what to do with. Despite these strengths, AOL's stock tanked like everyone else's. But in recent days, the online titan has proven my original point by making all the right moves. Microsoft has come crawling, seeking to bundle an AOL client with the upcoming Windows XP -- an operating system from Microsoft that I may actually be happy using.

And how's this for irony? While all of us who made diddly because we had no stock options laugh at the dot-com collapse, AOL numbers paint a different picture. E-commerce is alive and well, at least according to Steve Case, who says his subscribers spent nearly $7 billion in the first quarter of this year. And we thought no one could log on!

All this has AOL feeling pretty cocky -- cocky enough to raise its rates two bucks a month, some 10 percent, well above our meager rate of inflation. For two bucks a month, are today's teens going to give up their buddy lists and Instant Messages? I doubt it.

Chambers Had It Made

John Chambers used to be invincible. He could buy anybody, beat anybody, and give a flawless, two hour speech without cue cards. Now Cisco's CEO is filling out pink slips and watching his company's stock plunge into the abyss.

Content Schmontent

Over the last few months I've met with a ton of content management/delivery outfits. Even though most were startups, none of them showed any fear of the recent Novell spinoff -- Volera. Many felt that Novell waited too long to spin off the once-hot content operation. With some 10 percent of the Volera crew now looking for gainful employment, it appears those observers were right.

Gap Bridging

I've always been a huge advocate for bridging the Digital Divide. Poor folk in this country and around the world are getting the shaft because they can't access technology. Despite these heartfelt feelings, I still can't imagine how people in the third world will make use of the Simputer, a PDA built in India and aimed at the third world. The PDA, built on Linux and equipped with a browser, will cost about $200. Much as I'd like to, I just don't see this happening.

Valley Kids