Some of the business leaders on hand were doubtless among the many who have suffered losses as cutting-edge Internet companies went belly-up and high-tech stocks plunged. . While those who joined Mr. McGee on a panel to examine the dot-com disaster were resolutely optimistic about a rebound in the sector in the long run, much has been lost in the short term that will not easily be regained. . Many of the sector's best and brightest - including some of the more ambitious, edgy, idiosyncratic minds around - have been left floating, jobless and sometimes broke, with no direct road leading back. In some ways, said Vinton Cerf, a WorldCom Inc. vice president and one of the acknowledged inventors of the Internet, the recent troubles could be likened to a forest fire that had burned off smothering undergrowth, allowing healthier, more viable, trees to thrive. . But he did not disagree with John Gage, chief researcher and director of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s science office, that the "fire" had also taken a human toll. . "Intellectual capital" is being lost as top scientists from failed start-ups, or those laid off by the thousands by companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., wait for a suitable new job, he said. . "They're frozen in place," he said, "and the money's gone away." . Some of the ideas and products those companies were producing are lost as well, including not just some marginal and unviable ideas but some very useful ones as well. Mr. Gage figures that over the flush years of Internet growth, defectors from Sun alone gave rise to about 10 new companies. But it is not always easy for those who walked away, many of them highly independent-minded to begin with, to admit defeat and return. . "People coming back say, 'Where would I fit in?'" Mr. Gage said. So in many cases, their inventiveness, ideas, energy, training and, yes, sometimes their cranky individuality, remain out there unused or underused - and in his view, starkly undervalued by the market. . "How can we reintegrate the intellectual capital?" Mr. Gage asked. But he and Mr. Cerf and Mr. McGee were upbeat about the long-term. . "We're not going to stop this technology," Mr. Cerf said. "It's going to continue and blossom." . The new business-to-business tools on the Internet, he and the others said, are making their way into almost every corner of every the economy and rooting themselves firmly. "I think there's no stopping them," Mr. Gage said, and Mr. Cerf agreed. . "The fundamentals are too strong to be ignored," Mr. McGee said. Gartner Group, the consultancy he works for, expects a turnaround to start this year, he said, but it will take time and the hurdles will be higher. "Just because you have an elegant idea," he said, "just because it's intelligent, a technical solution won't get a stamp of approval without being able to show why people want it." . He added, lest anyone misunderstood, "Never, ever, ever again." WASHINGTON "What do you call someone who was president of a dot-com company last year?" asked Kenneth McGee, a vice president of Gartner Group, before answering: "Waiter!" The joke drew rather tepid laughter at a discussion session here of the World Economic Forum last week. . Some of the business leaders on hand were doubtless among the many who have suffered losses as cutting-edge Internet companies went belly-up and high-tech stocks plunged. . While those who joined Mr. McGee on a panel to examine the dot-com disaster were resolutely optimistic about a rebound in the sector in the long run, much has been lost in the short term that will not easily be regained. . Many of the sector's best and brightest - including some of the more ambitious, edgy, idiosyncratic minds around - have been left floating, jobless and sometimes broke, with no direct road leading back. In some ways, said Vinton Cerf, a WorldCom Inc. vice president and one of the acknowledged inventors of the Internet, the recent troubles could be likened to a forest fire that had burned off smothering undergrowth, allowing healthier, more viable, trees to thrive. . But he did not disagree with John Gage, chief researcher and director of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s science office, that the "fire" had also taken a human toll. . "Intellectual capital" is being lost as top scientists from failed start-ups, or those laid off by the thousands by companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., wait for a suitable new job, he said. . "They're frozen in place," he said, "and the money's gone away." . Some of the ideas and products those companies were producing are lost as well, including not just some marginal and unviable ideas but some very useful ones as well. Mr. Gage figures that over the flush years of Internet growth, defectors from Sun alone gave rise to about 10 new companies. But it is not always easy for those who walked away, many of them highly independent-minded to begin with, to admit defeat and return. . "People coming back say, 'Where would I fit in?'" Mr. Gage said. So in many cases, their inventiveness, ideas, energy, training and, yes, sometimes their cranky individuality, remain out there unused or underused - and in his view, starkly undervalued by the market. . "How can we reintegrate the intellectual capital?" Mr. Gage asked. But he and Mr. Cerf and Mr. McGee were upbeat about the long-term. . "We're not going to stop this technology," Mr. Cerf said. "It's going to continue and blossom." . The new business-to-business tools on the Internet, he and the others said, are making their way into almost every corner of every the economy and rooting themselves firmly. "I think there's no stopping them," Mr. Gage said, and Mr. Cerf agreed. . "The fundamentals are too strong to be ignored," Mr. McGee said. Gartner Group, the consultancy he works for, expects a turnaround to start this year, he said, but it will take time and the hurdles will be higher. "Just because you have an elegant idea," he said, "just because it's intelligent, a technical solution won't get a stamp of approval without being able to show why people want it." . He added, lest anyone misunderstood, "Never, ever, ever again." WASHINGTON "What do you call someone who was president of a dot-com company last year?" asked Kenneth McGee, a vice president of Gartner Group, before answering: "Waiter!" The joke drew rather tepid laughter at a discussion session here of the World Economic Forum last week. . Some of the business leaders on hand were doubtless among the many who have suffered losses as cutting-edge Internet companies went belly-up and high-tech stocks plunged. . While those who joined Mr. McGee on a panel to examine the dot-com disaster were resolutely optimistic about a rebound in the sector in the long run, much has been lost in the short term that will not easily be regained. . Many of the sector's best and brightest - including some of the more ambitious, edgy, idiosyncratic minds around - have been left floating, jobless and sometimes broke, with no direct road leading back. In some ways, said Vinton Cerf, a WorldCom Inc. vice president and one of the acknowledged inventors of the Internet, the recent troubles could be likened to a forest fire that had burned off smothering undergrowth, allowing healthier, more viable, trees to thrive. . But he did not disagree with John Gage, chief researcher and director of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s science office, that the "fire" had also taken a human toll. . "Intellectual capital" is being lost as top scientists from failed start-ups, or those laid off by the thousands by companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., wait for a suitable new job, he said. . "They're frozen in place," he said, "and the money's gone away." . Some of the ideas and products those companies were producing are lost as well, including not just some marginal and unviable ideas but some very useful ones as well. Mr. Gage figures that over the flush years of Internet growth, defectors from Sun alone gave rise to about 10 new companies....snipped...
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