[Info-vax] Compaq before the HP merger

[Neil Rieck]

On Sunday, May 23, 2021 at 9:23:00 AM UTC-4, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Neil Rieck <n.r... at sympatico.ca> wrote: 
> >I had never heard the name "Zip2" before ( https://www.sitebuilderreport.co= 
> >m/origin-stories/elon-musk ) but wondered why Compaq acquired it for more t= 
> >han 300 million. It made Musk an instant 22-millionare (which he then parla= 
> >yed into PayPal) but does anyone here now what became of ZIp2 inside Compaq= 
> >? 
> 
> ZIP2 provided an online city guide with a map that was linked to a database 
> of businesses. It was bought by Compaq in order to integrate it with their 
> Altavista web site. I assume that it went along with the rest of Altavista 
> to Yahoo which ruined everything they touched. 
> --scott 
> 
> -- 
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Back in the day I thought that AltaVista was one of the most useful tools ever. You are correct. If Yahoo had properly developed - then monetized - AltaVista there would have been no Google

food-for-thought: I use stuff every day that Google developed then gave away (AngularJS is one). I also use Python3 every day which Google developed from Python2 after hiring Guido van Rossum. We all use Google Maps and Google Street View. Google also provides the Android OS for any phone manufacturers part the the handset alliance. The world would be a different place without Google (so: "thank the deity for mistakes made by Compaq + Yahoo"?)

Neil Rieck
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
http://neilrieck.net/