A Tiny Bit of AltaVista.com History
January 3, 2010
I was skimming “The Twelve Most Tarnished Brands in Tech,” The points made resonated with me. I did want to point out this passage, which I think is one of those moments when AltaVista.com’s pivot point becomes visible. Technologizer writes:
When brands get sold, they usually get damaged in the process. AltaVista had five owners in five years: Digital (1995-1998), Compaq (1998-1999), CMGI (1999-2003), Overture (2003), and Yahoo (2003-present). It grew less relevant with each change of hands; if you weren’t aware it’s still with us today, I’m not surprised. But here it is.
Look at the fateful years, 1998 and 1999. In that 24 month period, Hewlett Packard muffed the bunny. Some key DEC engineers flew the coop and landed at Google. This talent infusion gave Google the raw material to begin its tech build out which was mostly in place by 2006. What if HP actually knew what AltaVista.com had devised?
Stephen E. Arnold, January 3, 2010
A freebie. I will report to the White House next time I get a jingle.
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