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Guess what's taking over the Internet

It's about the Evernet, a buzzword you need to pay attention to. It'll make the Internet more useful for consumers and more profitable for businesses.
Written by Jesse Berst, Contributor
If you think high tech is in trouble, you haven't heard the buzz in Silicon Valley. It's about the Evernet, a buzzword you need to pay attention to. It'll make the Internet more useful for consumers and more profitable for businesses.

You know why they call them buzzwords right? Because the buzz from the newest tech fad feels great for a while. But soon you've got a headache to deal with along with whatever bad decisions you made while you were buzzing.

Consider wireless. That was the buzz a year ago. Three-quarters of the companies that launched in the buzzword haze earlier this year will be in trouble this time next year.

Today I'll tell you about a buzzword that's worth getting excited over. It's the Evernet. The Evernet is the natural outcome of the cross pollination of broadband and the Internet.

The Evernet
The Evernet is the place where the Internet, broadband and the growing range of Internet devices intersect. Ubiquitous broadband means always-on connections in millions of homes and businesses and on billions of devices.

The key, of course, is the always-on aspect of the broadband connection, not the speed. This leads to real-time computing on a scale we haven't seen before. Real-time access to information and communication.

Among the first to identify the possibilities was Mark Anderson of Strategic News Service. He called it Always On Real-Time Access (AORTA). Bill Gates has mused about it. Now Red Herring points out that big league investors such as John Doerr and Roger McNamee see it -- and the companies that will build it -- as the next big growth area for the Net.

What does it mean?
The Evernet isn't just around the corner. But it's where we're all going. And it means different things for different people.

Investors moping about the latest slide in tech stocks should take heart. As Red Herring points out, there's still big money to be made in the technology companies that will supply the software and hardware for this next phase. They separate them into two groups, the old guard companies and the potentially more profitable new guard.

Old Guard: Cisco Systems and Oracle
New Guard: Corvis, Sycmore Networks, Extreme Networks, Ariba, Epiphany and others

Consumers will get the benefit of a myriad of appliances, not just PCs, in whatever room of the home or office they want them. Consider the things you'll be able to do without sitting down and booting up a computer, logging on and entering your password:

  • Place orders
  • Send messages
  • Jot notes
  • Get information

    Don't get too buzzed over the Evernet. There'll certainly be some headaches along the way. But don't doubt for a second that that's where we're headed.




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