@LARGE

A tech industry wish-list

By Scott Kirsner

Two weeks ago, I asked readers what they thought might help the tech industry break out of its current funk -- aside from a miraculous overnight economic rebound. Here's what they said we need to get back on track:

A commitment to simplicity

Robert Wright observes that technology companies often whine about slowing momentum after they've saturated the early-adopter market, without considering what they might do to make their offerings more friendly to the less-sophisticated masses. "It is fashionable to look down on these folks as Luddites, morons, or worse," he writes. "However, [they are the largest pool] of new customers [for technology companies]."

Wright's solution? "Give all the engineers a week off, talk to people outside the industry... [and] find out what they want. I would guess what they want is a device no more difficult to use than the phone, the toaster, the refrigerator."

High-tech parks in the inner city

Steven Winnett of Brookline proposes a state-sponsored fund for start-ups that would do two things: encourage smart, creative people who now find themselves unemployed to stay in Massachusetts, and get them to situate their new companies in economically-moribund neighborhoods.

"Is it really a good thing for the state to have all new high-tech activity out by Route 495?" Winnett asks. "Why not take advantage of this downturn to revitalize [Boston's] economy? And why not link that to a concerted effort to encourage the use of public rather than private transportation -- which the current high-tech industry's geographical configuration generally does not do. Imagine, if you will, the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan High-Tech Parks."

Responsible venture capitalists

"All of us in high-tech are slaves to the VC gods," writes Catherine Marenghi, who runs a Westwood-based public relations firm. "Last year, the industry got fat and happy, gorging on easy venture capital. Now, like vengeful gods of the harvest, the same VCs are wreaking famine."

Marenghi continues, "We in high-tech PR are on the same demonic yo-yo diet as the rest of the technology industry, and guess who's behind it? The same VCs who told their portfolio companies last year to hire PR agencies at any price -- driving agency fees through the roof in the process -- are now advising companies not to hire PR firms at all."

"It's time for the VCs to fess up to their bad advice and promote responsible business practices," she concludes. "Only they can stop the insanity."

A time machine

The VCs, in turn, say it's not their fault. They blame the IPO market. Michael Frank of Advanced Technology Ventures writes that we need a time machine "to beam us ahead to a time when the IPO market is once again alive and kicking."

More robotics start-ups

John Chamberlain of Natick writes, "In computers, the U.S. leads the world, but in robotics Japan and even possibly Germany outclass us. This may radically change the balance of wealth in nations because it means that nations [with more advanced robotics capabilities] will be able to vastly out-produce other nations."

Increased support for telecommuters

With gas prices, housing costs, and commute times all climbing, Aaron Read thinks it'd be wise for more Massachusetts companies to encourage and support telecommuting. "It's going to be impossible for companies to stay inside Route 495 unless they offer telecommuting as an option," he writes. "Employees won't be able to afford to live anywhere near their office, and they won't put up with the awful commutes around here."

Better broadband

Several readers wrote in to gripe about the lack of availability -- and often, low service-quality -- of broadband Internet access. It's an essential tool for both telecommuters and people who operate home-based businesses. "Where I live, [in southern New Hampshire], the cable modem service is so bad that many people are switching back to 56k modems, or not switching to cable in the first place," writes Guy Praria. DSL isn't much better, with small providers going out of business, and larger companies moving slowly. "Without high-speed Internet service, development of Internet businesses will stagnate," Praria contends.

Exuberant financiers

Carl Youngman offers a contrarian perspective. The managing director at Triumph Capital, a Boston-based investment firm, says that the tightly-shut faucets of capital need to be wrenched open, right now. "All industries need excessively exuberant supplies of money," Youngman writes. "There is NO banking system in New England today. There is a current slowing of funding for early-stage deals in the VC, angel, and other communities. New England has historically depended on [newer types of ventures] for its growth, [but] it is not likely in today's environment that [young companies] can get enough air in their balloons to get off the ground and stay there."

A new name

By the time the Mass Telecom Council, Mass Software and Internet Council, and three other trade groups got together to create and publicize the "Dot-Commonwealth" brand for Massachusetts," dot-coms had started to lose their luster. Now, Ted Kochanski suggests that maybe we should play the name game again. Kochanski says we need a name that encompasses all the technologies being developed in the region, like software, fiber optics, bioinformatics, carbon nanotubes, medical devices, and robotics.

"New Techland" is the new moniker that Kochanski puts forward. "New Techland is, in effect, the equivalent of a Greek city-state, with its capital of Boston and ever-expanding rings of inter-related technoburbs," Kochanski writes.

Stop dishing

Let's put things in perspective, says Barry Cavanaugh of EMC Corporation. Small companies usually fail, and big companies sometimes have to trim their staffs. Cavanaugh, like me, is getting tired of the virtual rubber-necking that happens on sites like F---edCompany.com and digitalMASS when a tech company declares bankruptcy or initiates layoffs. "Every article that I read...seems to dish dirt," he writes. "You guys are like a bunch of gossiping church women."

More understanding partners

Silicon Valley, writes NetGenesis co-founder Matt Cutler, has "a considerably larger set of established companies that still remember their start-up roots and are more willing to make bets and take risks with younger ventures." Cutler says that Massachusetts could use more "early adopter" companies, willing to step up and partner with less-proven companies, or serve as beta customers. "These early-adopter organizations understand that they play a vital role in the development and refinement of early stage technologies," Cutler writes. "Massachusetts needs many more large companies that are willing and able to build collaborative working relationships with young companies."

Smarter kids

State Senator Richard Tisei writes, "One of the things the Massachusetts high-tech industry needs right now is an increased number of students pursuing a career in information technology." He cites Youth Technology Entrepreneurs -- which trains students to be systems administrators and computer support people -- as a program that can spark an interest in the field of high-tech.

"In Haverhill, YTE students refurbish laptops and train their teachers how to use software. In Malden, YTE students networked and launched the community's first free Cyber Café," Tisei writes. And, he adds, "This fall, 100 percent of YTE's first senior class will be attending college."

If you have other ideas about what the Massachusetts high-tech sector needs right now, I'd like to hear them.

Scott Kirsner is a Boston freelance writer and a contributing editor at Wired and Fast Company magazines.