E-Commerce Commission Press Kit

ENDNOTES1. “Monetary Policy Testimony and Report to the Congress.” Testimony of Alan Greenspan,Chairman, Federal Reserve Board. February 24, 1998.Http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/boarddocs/HH/2. Schwartz, Peter and Leyden, Peter. “The Long Boom: A History of the Future, 1980-2020.” Wired. Issue 5.07. July 1997. Http://www.wired.com/wired/5.07/longboom.html3. There is an ongoing debate on IT’s contribution to productivity. Some believe that IT hashad a positive impact on productivity, yet it does not show up in government data becauseof inadequate measurement techniques. Others believe that IT has not had a measurableimpact on productivity because businesses have not yet reorganized their operations inorder to take advantage of information technology. They note that the lag betweeninvestments and their full payoff generally takes many years.4. NUA Internet Surveys estimate that there were between 23-33 million Internet users in theU.S. in 1996, representing 83 percent of all Internet users. Using that calculation,between 28-40 million people around the world were using the Internet in 1996. By theend of 1997, NUA estimates that 101 million people were using the Internet.Http://www.nua.ie/surveys5. Network Solutions, Inc. Private communication received February 1998.6. Inktomi Corporation White Paper. 1997. Paper cites data from UUNET, one of thelargest Internet backbone providers. Traffic is measured as the total amount ofinformation - - bits - - going across the network.http://www.inktomi.com/Tech/EconOfLargeScaleCache.html7. Gordon, John Steele. “What has Watt wrought?” Forbes. July 7, 1997. pp.144-171.Thomas Newcomen developed the first practical steam engine in 1712, used primarily forpumping water out of mines. This engine was only practical near a source of wood orcoals. James Watt’s steam engine of 1769 added a separate condenser which increased thefuel efficiency by a factor of four. Due to this addition, a steam engine could be putanywhere and the fuel hauled to it. In 1782, Watt modified the engine by introducing arotary motion that could turn a shaft.8. Michael Faraday first harnessed electricity in 1831 by means of motion in a magnetic field.Forty years later, Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan invented the incandescent filamentlamp.52