I think the touchstone is to give consumers a full, fair choice without the power of a monopoly operating system pushing them in a direction that free competition might or might not achieve.

One of Netscape's main attractions to customers from Day One is that we provide alternatives. And that's cherished by many customers - certainly not all.

We also provide a lot of services with our consulting group that allow people to take maximum advantage of the Net economy. Those all seem to resonate with customers and are providing a good strong base going forward.

If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have are opinions, let's go with mine.

Where we can compete on merit, we do very well.

There are no pat answers - we're pushing through some new frontiers, and lessons of the past don't always apply.

In my column series 'The Main Thing,' I often talk about how Internet technology can improve the way people communicate - both within a business and between a business and its customers and partners.