Must See VC
"Tech companies will go public. The kids will diddle with laptops in the garage. Mom and Pop will get in on an IPO." That's writer-producer Michael Chernuchin's snapshot of Bull, his TV series about a brash investment firm riding the new economy wave. (The first episode airs August 15 on TNT.) It's taken the former Law & Order producer 10 years to sell execs on a drama that doesn't feature cops, lawyers, or doctors. But now that Wall Street is within reach of anyone with Web access, Chernuchin aims to make phrases like "sell short" as well known as ER's "stat!" And while the show will have its share of cringe-inducing burn rates, the only freely flowing red you'll see is the ink on the bottom line. "No dead bodies," Chernuchin says. "At least none dead from violence."
Reeducator
"There's this public perception that if you ain't got computers, you ain't got jack," says William L. Rukeyser, director of the nonprofit Learning in the Real World (www.realworld.org). Though the government is shelling out millions of dollars to put PCs in schools, the onetime senior adviser to the California Department of Education says we're not adequately testing whether all this technology is leading to academic gains. To remedy this situation, Learning in the Real World currently funds four university research projects investigating the impact of technology in the classroom. Rukeyser isn't part of a PC backlash - he just believes tech is being sold as a cure-all. "Are computers the best way to spend a school's resources?" asks Rukeyser. "We want to make sure someone is asking the important skeptical questions."
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Handspring CEO Donna Dubinsky wants to turn her company's mighty little organizer into a full-featured handheld computer. And just in time - Microsoft's Pocket PC is gunning to become the do-it-all mobile platform of choice. Rather than bulk up, Dubinsky says Handspring's Visor will stay streamlined and inexpensive, relying on snap-on hardware modules to add wireless services and multimedia. A history of serial success is on her side:Dubinsky helped resurrect the stillborn PDA market with 3Com's PalmPilot in 1997, grabbed a third of that market with Handspring this year, then aimed for a midyear IPO. Despite the track record, she downplays her role: "I don't make anything, I don't invent anything, I don't sell anything." But apparently, she knows how to organize.
Hi Def Politics
Russell Simmons, pioneering hip-hopreneur and cofounder of the Def Jam label, is adding some bytes to his bark. Simmons' recently launched urban portal, 360HipHop.com, offers the now-standard music and lifestyle content along with ecommerce from Phat Farm, his clothing line. So what sets 360HipHop apart? Its decidedly political bent. The site's Rap the Vote initiative - the hip hop answer to Rock the Vote - encourages young adults to go to the polls this November. By tying that message to politically charged lyrics, Simmons hopes the site will enlighten while it entertains. Which presidential candidate does Simmons favor? "We don't necessarily endorse candidates," he says. "We just know that most hip hoppers don't want to fuck with Bush."
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