Hearthlist Digest #467 - Wednesday, July 19, 2000 Electronic PO's by "Ed Fackler" <[email protected]> What is Napster and why it matters by "Craig Issod" <[email protected]> Supplier, Manufacturers and the net... by "Craig Issod" <[email protected]>
(back) Subject: Electronic PO's From: "Ed Fackler" <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 21:37:30 -0400 Well, I've read all about how this dealer wants it and the other one hates it but where are the supplier comments? Maybe they are too busy to read all this stuff or they don't know how to field the questions. Take your pick---------but since I am almost totally computer illiterate who better to step for ward and put their foot in their mouth, than me? At the Manufacturer's HPA meeting, the last day was taken with a "Dude" who did a masterfull job of telling us what the Internet is and what it"ain't". His feeling is it is an information source the likes of which we cannot even imagine and the Company ( like Suppliers) who have the sense to use it as such will come out like "gang busters". If a Company is willing to put up, let's say, $150,000 to $300,000 over a three year period to set up a "web" where about every question anyone could dream up could contain the answer, that Company will have people lined up to buy from them at about any price. He guesses it would take two years to set it up and take two full time people to maintain it because everyday, something would change. Customers could pull up installation instructions, order information, place orders, get invoice information and credit data( on their account, only, of course) check prices, get answers to common service problems get data on new products and on and on and on. How many Companies will do it? I don't know but I know one that is started on it already! But that won't surprise a lot of people because that's the outfit that spent"a bundle" two years ago to put in the most sofisticated production scheduling system in the Industry. That,s the system that allows them to give the fastest delivery of very complicated custom products, in the shortest time of anyone around. So for all you guys and dolls that don't have anything to do but play with the computer, hang on! You're about to see some things pop up on your screen you wouldn't believe. And will this Company be willing to absorb all this extra cost without raising prices. 'Course they will 'cause they'll make it up in volume! ( and the check's in the mail!) Now don't give me all that"jazz" about spelling and typos. I don't type either and if by "bride" wasn't mad at me, I wouldn't even be spending all this time down in the basement writing this stuff!! EJF
(back) Subject: What is Napster and why it matters From: "Craig Issod" <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 21:55:07 -0400 Some folks have recently mentioned Napster and it's possible relation to the everyday world of business. In the assumption that not everyone here is familiar with Napster, I've decided to write the following piece on the technology and it's implications. Napster: The beginning of the beginning... What it it: Napster is a piece of free software (PC- http://www.napster.com |Mac - http://www.macster.com) which allows for the sharing of information and files over the internet. Instead of having one central server, as most internet sites do, every napster user who is currently online can share their files with other. In this case, the files are MP3 Music files. Let's say I have a song on CD that I want to share with others. I simply insert the CD into my computer, drag the song to a program that turns it into an MP3 file, and then store it in a folder on my disk that is avaialble to others. The central napster computer keeps track of when I am online, the speed of my connection to the net, and the songs available. Others can then grab the MP3 off of my hard drive. I have Napster running as I write this article, and it currently shows 665,000 songs available to me online. I can search by title, artist and other criteria to find what I am looking for. Once I download the song to my computer, I can play it through my enhanced computer speakers, transfer it to a portable MP3 Player or even write it to a CD for use in my car. You can imagine why some of the wealthy big-wigs in the Music Industry are upset about this...Napster is being sued left and right. I've thought the issue over, and I have to come down on the side of napster for the following reasons. 1. I already own most of the music I download - Yes, the record companies never complained when I first bought Jimi hendrix in Vinyl, then in Cassette, then in CD...and then lost it and bought it again! It is rather obvious that once I've paid for the music once, I should own it forever. 2. CD's are a pain - They are big and require large players to use them. If I like one song on o CD I still have to buy and load the whole thing up...MP3 allows me to collect ONLY my favorite tunes. 3. Most of the cost of CDs and cassettes is in the distribution. Since there is no distribution cost over the internet, songs could cost MUCH less than they do now, and the artists can still make a buck. 4. The distribution of music by lesser known and startup artists is much easier over the internet. Finally, we won't just have the Spice Girls and other such "made up" acts thrust onto our fragile ears. It's the democratization of music! ......Anyway, this has little to do with the effect of Napster and the Internet on our business....but here's where it ties in. We've all heard the expression "two heads are better than one". Napster and other such program let us all share information in real time. Example: Pretend for a moment that I'm a poet. I could have all my poems in one folder on my disk which is available to the ENTIRE WORLD simply by them searching by keyword or phrase. Closer to home, a hearth dealer might post all the excess inventory they have on their computer and every other hearth dealer in the US could have access to it! It goes without saying that a hearth dealer would have immediate access to all manuals, service bulletins, etc from their major manufacturers... The Next Step.... This form of "distributed computing" is just the beginning. As many of you might know, the processor in your computer sits idle most of the time you are at your machine....it usually doesn't even approach 5-10% usage. There are already programs on the net which allow you to make use of others (they give permission) processors to solve complicated problems. As a for-instance, if you wanted to do some fancy 3-D rendering that normally would take overnight, these programs could send thousands of little pieces of the problem all over the internet and return the completed work to you in minutes! Deep stuff, for sure! The bottom line is that we haven't even thought of the possible uses of all this technology and computing power. One thing for sure - we live in interesting times! ------------------------------------------------------ Craig Issod HearthNet at http://www.hearth.com [email protected] Everything your Hearth Desires ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------
(back) Subject: Supplier, Manufacturers and the net... From: "Craig Issod" <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 22:13:45 -0400 At 5:31 PM -0700 7/18/00, Ed Fackler wrote: > >At the Manufacturer's HPA meeting, the last day was taken with a >"Dude" who did a masterfull job of telling us what the Internet is >and what it"ain't". His feeling is it is an information source the >likes of which we cannot even imagine and the Company ( like >Suppliers) who have the sense to use it as such will come out like >"gang busters". He is right about this. However, whether the suppliers and others will use it correctly is another thing altogether... Ed, tell us a little more about what he said RE: "what it"ain't" > >If a Company is willing to put up, let's say, $150,000 to $300,000 >over a three year period to set up a "web" where about every >question anyone could dream up could contain the answer, that >Company will have people lined up to buy from them at about any >price. > He guesses it would take two years to set it up and take two full >time people to maintain it because everyday, something would change. This is a very low price compared to the many millions being invested by most of the serious web players. That kind of $$ won't even buy one ad on the Super Bowl. One problem with much of this technology is that, if you spend two years implementing it, it's often already obsolete by the time it's online! > >How many Companies will do it? I don't know but I know one that is >started on it already! But that won't surprise a lot of people >because that's the outfit that spent "a bundle" two years ago to put >in the most sofisticated production scheduling system in the >Industry. That's the system that allows them to give the fastest >delivery of very complicated custom products, in the shortest time >of anyone around. > >So for all you guys and dolls that don't have anything to do but >play with the computer, hang on! You're about to see some things pop >up on your screen you wouldn't believe. And will this Company be >willing to absorb all this extra cost without raising prices. >'Course they will 'cause they'll make it up in volume! ( and the >check's in the mail!) I think many companies will slowly move to the web-based "intranet" model...but, more importantly, how are they using the web to drum up business for the dealers that they serve? Great technology for dealer communication means nothing if the dealer doesn't have any sales...and B to C (Business to Customer) is really what the web is mostly about! It's my guess that very few manufacturers in our industry will do the right thing with the net. Most simply don't "get it" and those that think they do might be even more dangerous that those that don't! As an internet consultant, I've advised clients for years that "The Internet is like the Wild West...plenty of opportunity, but even more snake oil salespeople ready to take your $$ with big promises. I've had clients that I've bugged to get on the internet for 5 years....they resisted...then, after resisting all that time, they suddenly "know better" and are ready to thrown money away on projects that are doomed to failure - Ah, but that's the way of the world. Companies AND dealers in this industry are drastically under spending on this medium. I agree with Ed that those who are smart about their investment and do things right will rise to the top. ------------------------------------------------------ Craig Issod HearthNet at http://www.hearth.com [email protected] Everything your Hearth Desires ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------