At one end of the scale there are the 'silver surfers', those with large disposable income and lots of leisure time - for them the internet is a great way of satisfying curiosity for learning, accessing new experiences and, of course, shopping!
And even when the item to be traded has been fully defined, there is still the question of the terms and conditions of a sale. Now that is a difficult and controversial question and without an acceptable answer there will always be a gulf between...
The main priority now," he concluded, "is to get the staff fully trained up in using the new systems. But in this case, they just weren't able to do so - they had no experience of working with these systems in live conditions," he said.
The company has recorded net income of $729m, in contrast with a net loss of $2.79bn in that troubled third quarter last year. Cisco has to be admired for this turnaround, especially considering the backdrop of difficult economic financial conditions.
The "bottom of the pyramid" consists of the two thirds of humanity - four billion people - whose income is less than the $1,500 a year considered the minimum to sustain life and who are currently invisible to the world's businesses.
In 2002, Intergraph's income from operations was $10m but its net income including legal settlements was $378m. And the plan is moving quickly, beginning with a mechanism by which companies may license supporting Unix software 'libraries' that let...