None of the above

5 NETNEWS MARCH 2002 n W T he Chinese calendar has the Year of the Rat, the Year of the Ox, the Year of the Tiger, etc., and they run in a nice, repeating cycle. In techno-land we have seen the year of ATM, the year of ISDN, the year of DSL, etc. These never repeat, as one technology supplants another and the pundits leap to proclaim the latest “paradigm shift” or “killer app.” Whatever happened to “push technology,” anyway? So, will this be the Year of Convergence? Will it be the Year of Broadband? Will it be the Year the Internet Brings Universal Prosperity, Understanding, And Peace? The Year of Perfect Software? “Some, all, or none of the above” is the only safe answer, but “none” is probably the right one.