A Bit of Perspective on the Dot-Com Backlash (NY Times - free subscription required) - The faulty premise to the anti-Net backlash is that the Internet's transforming power is negated by some investors' failure to profit from it. One forgets how many railroads and radio manufacturers failed in their day. Moreover, the Internet by its very nature was never going to provide an easy venue for people to make money, once you set aside the Ciscos and others who sell the materials to build the network, and the AOL's and others who charge for access to it. The Internet is all about democratizing access to information and breaking down geographic barriers — two threatening developments for any seller's profit margins.