With all this talk about big/small business I felt I had to come
out of the lurker closet to make a comment.  Small business is actually
good for something. :) Anywhere where innovation and nimbleness is
nessecary, small business comes out on top.  For example, anyone in the
computer industry will attest to big businesses inability to compete
against smaller companies.  The only way big companies survive is that
they have three distinct advantages which soley comes from thier size.
They can afford the lawyers to defend thier ambigious patents, the
control the means of distribution, and they can afford to buy out
thier smaller competitors and assimilate thier technology (and
developers).  In the computer industry at least, throwing more
money (and hence people) at a problem does not solve it.  The
beauracracy of a large oraganization stifles creative energies of
the engineers, which is the main efficiecy for technological production.

Personally, I see a great future for small business in the technology
sector, especially now that the Internet is removing the greatest
hurdle for a small technology business, distribution.



-------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Tomljenovic                    [log in to unmask]
Software Engineer
Neoglyphic Media Corp.               773-395-6247

          If you're a real programmer,
               code is your documentation
                 -- a well-known Be engineer