ASIA BUZZ
	Culture on Demand: Bridging The Gap Feng shui and technology have more in common than meets the eye - Saturday, July 15, 2000 Asia Letter from Japan: Times Are A' Changing My advice to Bill Clinton - Friday, July 14 2000 Asia Buzz: Tailor Made More bells and whistles for your mobile phone - Thursday, July 13 2000 Asia Buzz: Crying Shame The destruction and pillage of Cambodia continues - Wednesday, July 12 2000 Asia Buzz: Free Spirit Napster goes where no man has gone before - Tuesday, July 11 2000 Asia Buzz: The Name Game What would Confucius say? - Monday, July 10 2000
	ASIAWEEK
	Intelligence The story behind today's news from the editors of Asiaweek

If it wasn't for Bhatia, I doubt there'd be a cybercafe industry as widespread as it is. Bhatia, of course, was the brains behind Hotmail, the free e-mail service that more than half of the world's Internet users have signed up for. By old economy standards, it seems like a dumb idea; providing something expensive -- communication access -- for free. Where's the money in that?

But Bill Gates didn't think so, which is why he paid Bhatia and friends $400 million -- mostly in Microsoft shares -- in 1998 to propel Microsoft back into the heart of the Internet economy. It was the deal Gates had to make, coming at the height of the Netscape browser challenge. Hotmail was integrated into the Microsoft network, and now there's barely a Web user amongst us who has never received, or sent, an e-mail via Hotmail.

Gates got Hotmail cheap; The tech boom picked up in 1999, giving Hotmail a notional value at one point of about $6 billion. As well, Bhatia's Microsoft stock took off -- and so did he. The agreement provided for him to consult Gates on techie matters, but Bhatia had other ideas, one of which is generating considerable buzz just days ahead of its launch. Silicon Valley is getting all excited about Bhatia's new venture, Arzoo.com, mostly because he's a proven winner and Nerdistan (a.k.a. Silicon Valley) loves "serial entrepreneurs."

Arzoo is a Hindi word meaning "heart's desire." Its original intent was to be a buyer's guide to the Net, a super e-commerce play with live reviews of what to buy and where to get to buy it online. But along came the tech-stock crash of April and the B2C [business-to-consumer] plays were about as compelling as Singapore television.

Arzoo's business plan has since changed and it is now touting itself as an "online marketplace for intellectual capital." So it's a job search site? That's not new. The way Arzoo spins it, the site is for anyone who wants information about the techie world; building a website, fixing your home network, and the like. This is a one-stop shop for technical experts.

To someone like Bill Gates, the idea doesn't seem as immediately "gettable," or as unique, as Hotmail. But there's no doubting the need for accessible technical assistance beyond those extraordinary tomes you see geeks carting out of computer shops. I wrote last week about the need for Home CTO's, a Chief Technology Officer for the house who'll fix the increasingly sophisticated networking needs of the average family home.

The beauty of the Net will be its ability to be accessible to, and by, all. If Arzoo can help deliver that, then it will be a winner. Whether it will make money is another matter, but if someone flips out throwing a Palm Pilot against the wall in disgust because it won't synch with their laptop, then $50 spent at Arzoo might be better value than $400 for a new PDA. Keep your eye on Bhatia.

Eric Ellis is the Southeast Asia and Technology Editor of the regional finance portal AsiaWise.com

Ticked off at Asia Buzz? Turned on? Talk back to TIME
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
Search for recent Asia Buzz