Andreessen Knocks Would-Be Google Competitors - Page 2

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What if there was no Netscape?

Andreessen started off talking about his early days in the industry in the early '90s and noted the Netscape browser was actually the third business plan he and co-founder Jim Clark wanted to pursue.

The other two were Interactive TV (a much-hyped idea in the 1990s that never took off) and online multiplayer games, which has finally rocketed the last several years with Xbox Live and other Internet-connected platforms.

And while enterprise technology drove innovation in the 1990s, Andreessen said there's been a dramatic shift since then.

"Businesses have gotten incredibly conservative; it's hard to find the early adopters," Andreessen said.

"PCs? Businesses now buy the $800 beige box that can be locked down, and consumers are buying the $3,000 PCs."

Andreessen now sees an "inverted" technology market. "Consumers lead, and businesses follow. Or don't."