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Blair outbids Gates on Net platitudes

Stop talking, and get Oftel on the case, Our Graham recommends

Bill Gates made another sales call on Tony Blair yesterday in Downing Street to see how he was progressing with his computer lessons (Blair admits to being a two-fingered typist and technophobe), and perhaps to find out whether he was going to mandate the use of Microsoft software for UK Ltd, starting in the schools. To Bill's chagrin, Tony hasn't even started his computer lessons, despite having promised to do this a month ago. Nonetheless, a confident prime minister was able to reassure the nation that Britain can "lead the world in exploiting e-commerce, but only if we act now. Government is committed to playing its role, and business must do the same, seizing on the new opportunities with imagination and ambition. Too often in the past, Britain has made a good start in new industries only to see others overtake us. We cannot afford to let that happen again." Who writes this stuff? And who pays any serious attention to it? Appointing an Internet Czar does not exactly switch the country to Net commerce. A tougher stance on telecom pricing by Oftel could do more for e-commerce than all these platitudes. Gates also addressed a meeting of "top executives" and gave them the benefit of his experience in these matters. Since MSN is a flop, and Microsoft itself was a late Internet starter, this was a bit rich - but maybe that is the point. Tevye remarked in Fiddler on the Roof that "When you're rich, they think you know." Robin Bloor of Bloor Research sagely remarked that it wasn't Bill Gates evangelising that would wake up CEOs: it would be the deterioration of their competitive positions. ®

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