Ten things that won't survive the recession

Infoworld ^ | Dec. 23. 2008 | Mike Elgan, Computerworld

[netguide]

Ten businesses and business models that will soon be history.

[conservativeharleyguy]

ping

[Volunteer]

Sorry, but IPhone stinks.

[Uncle Miltie]

Our F500 company switched to IP phone. Now, people go home and call from their land line.

[tubebender]

Toys R us folded. Great opportunity for Mom and Pop small stores...

[the_Watchman]

Great article. Thanks!

[Revolting cat!]

11. (Let us hope) Stupid articles predicting the future.

[max americana]

Yahoo will finally disappear? Been using their e-mail for a decade but at least those obvious pro-Obama headlines of their s will finally stop.

[2banana]

7. Palm Inc. Elevation Partners, which has among its principals U2 lead singer Bono, pumped a whopping $100 million into the failing Palm Inc. this week.

The idea is to give the company time to release its forthcoming Nova operating system, which will take the cell phone world by storm and give Apple a run for its money. It would have been far more efficient, however, to just flush that money down the toilet. With the iPhone setting the handset interface agenda, BlackBerry maker RIM kicking butt in the businesses market, and Google stirring up trouble with its Android platform, this is no time for a clueless company like Palm to be introducing a new operating system. By this time next year, Palm will be gone. And so might Elevation Partners.

Bono to get blasted...

[EricT.]

This prediction of satellite radio dying out fails to take into account a possible “fairness doctrine” resuscitation destroying political talk radio on FCC controlled airwaves.

[GRRRRR]

iPhone works just fine. Had one for over a year now...nice technology, it just works!

[bpjam]

I don’t think landlines are going to disappear in the next couple of years. These guys apparently don’t realize how many landlines there are or how many people tried and hate Vonage, Cox and AT&T.

But on the rest of these, I’m in total agreement. I hate to lose XM but since they were forced into having to merge with that ahole who runs Sirius (who overpaid Howard Stern by a few hundred million) the industry is underwater at best. I can’t wait to get the new replacement for satellite radio which has even more features and things like books-on-tape or shows on demand and/or can integrate Itunes.

[Salvation]

Free tech support

Wi-Fi you have to pay for

Landline phones

Movie rental stores

Web 2.0 companies without a business plan

Most companies in Silicon Valley

Palm Inc.

Yahoo

Half of all retail stores

Satellite radio

[Myrddin]

I'm already seeing the local mall depopulated one store at a time. If you can't make a go of a mall at Christmas, you're screwed. We don't have a decent bookstore in Pocatello. Amazon, B&N and Borders websites get 95% of my book buying business. There are a few vanity titles that I purchase directly from the authors...and get signed copies too :-)

If the "fairness doctrine" is resurrected and gets applied to satellite radio, I'll be another of the vanishing customer base. I have both XM and Sirius radios. The Sirius was a part of my Mercury Mariner Hybrid entertainment system. The XM was something I carted along in the previous Ford Escape. I don't give a rip about sports programming. If the good news/talk content goes, I'm gone. If the "fairness doctrine" turns Fox any more left, the DishNet subscription goes too.

I'm still using the Palm III I purchased in May 1998. No need to upgrade. The later versions aren't much better.

[gracesdad]

“This prediction of satellite radio dying out fails to take into account a possible “fairness doctrine” resuscitation destroying political talk radio on FCC controlled airwaves.”

Won’t happen.

[nodumbblonde]

Exactly what I was thinking when I read it! :)

[Myrddin]

This prediction of satellite radio dying out fails to take into account a possible “fairness doctrine” resuscitation destroying political talk radio on FCC controlled airwaves.

The radical left wants the fairness doctrine applied across the board. Radio, TV, cable and satellite. Perhaps even website content.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

When I was in telecom (wireless), one of the questions back in the late 90’s was why we weren't marketing to eastern Europe. The response was that first we had to build their landline network before they'd think about wireless. They were so far behind technologically that vast tracts didn't have a copper network.

I, too, find it hard to believe that landlines will be going away anytime soon.

[TonyStark]

Here's my alternative list:

1) Newspapers

2) Broadcast network news

3) American manufacturing (of anything)

4) Diet foods/programs (hard to get fat with too little food)

5) Malls

6) Starbucks

7) NASA and Defense-related supply (drastically reduced)

8) Home-building businesses

9) "Green" businesses that rely on commercial profitability instead of government subsidies

10) Hedge and private equity funds in America

[Balding_Eagle]

You left out conversations around the water cooler