
Bust finally reaches technology industry - jbrun
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/15/technology/dotbust.php
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zmimon
I don't think too much should be drawn from the October sales figures. In my
own tiny business I saw sales die completely in October but they have come
back in November. I interpret that as basically that nobody was buying
anything at the peak of the crisis - the whole world was basically having a
seizure. Now people are seeing that they still have their jobs, their lives
and they still need to move forward with their plans and that means purchasing
stuff.

See what happens in November.

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iigs
_The plunge is so severe that some executives are comparing it with the dot-
com bust in 2001, when hundreds of companies disappeared and Silicon Valley
lost nearly one-fifth of its jobs._

I had never heard that statistic before... Interesting.

The article had my internal monologue going "ok, where would be better, what
move could I make to avoid the fallout from this?" and it occurred to me that
there's probably not going to be any industry that makes it out of this
unscathed.

I suppose it's a good reminder that as an individual you should invest in high
risk things in good times but also have a sound strategy for minimizing your
risks in the event of serious economic troubles. Maybe it's a lot easier to
say that on a web forum than to practice it in real life, though.

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sahaj
i think a lot of <traditional> companies will not stand this storm. the
biggest factor in the "financial crisis" that has been underlooked is the
death of the traditional media. we are amidst a huge culture switch from from
newpaper to feedreader, from retail stores to estores, from calling your
broker to etrading. there is a lot of industry that is built around the old
model of storefronts that simply can not sustain and compete with a spaceless
model.

as far as the tech industry goes, i think the desktop makers <and desktop chip
makers> and the smaller web startups that don't bring in any cash are screwed.

while there will always be a need for desktop computers and server grade
hardware, people are now more interested in buying mobile computers. most
people only check their email and visit a few other webpages (youtube,
facebook, etc.), and this need can be fulfilled from anywhere with a small
handheld computer (iphone, g1, blackberries) and a mobile internet connection.

the small web startups are in trouble because not only do they are not bring
in any cash, it will be harder for them to get cash from VCs. i'm sure some
will weather the storm, but i can also see a lot of them not being able to do
so.

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mattmcknight
Which of them didn't see this coming for months now? People need to cut their
debt.

