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MAY 29, 2006
By Maria Bartiromo Green: The Next Big Thing Bill Joy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (SUNW ) and now a partner at storied VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is one of Silicon Valley's most original and respected thinkers. You'll be surprised where he thinks the next Google (GOOG ) will be found. Here's a hint: On May 18 and 19, Kleiner Perkins brought about 50 people from outside the firm together at the Greentech Innovation Network conference in San Francisco. He was on his way there when I caught up with him. So what is the Next Big Thing? [Kleiner partner] John Doerr said to me: "Are we going to have any more Googles?" And I said: "You're damn right we are, because we are at the point of new wealth creation when it comes to green technology." John used to say Google is the greatest legal creation of wealth, and I think the greatest legal creation of wealth today is in the green area -- not just in the U.S. but in the developed world. We have been looking at a lot of things related to new fuels, such as ethanol, fuel cells, advanced battery technology, and new ways of using biotech to make fuels.... There will be an enormous amount of new [green] technology, new wealth, and we are trying to create the Googles, the Microsoft (MSFT )s of the new era. [Even] the garbage stream has a high value. Do you think the PC era is over? We had this slogan at Sun that the network is the computer. I think that is manifesting itself in what you are seeing at Google. The problem with the PC is the lack of innovation, and the quality has not kept pace. Apple (AAPL ) and Linux show you the things that are possible. Desktops and laptops are extremely powerful, but the software doesn't really give you access to that kind of power. Take game machines. It's not that they're much more powerful than a PC, but look at the quality of the user experience. You have a 3D experience [vs.] scrolling windows. Search is nice, but it's been a decade since search came out, and we haven't had any other major improvements in the way we manage information. Some say it feels like the bubble of 2000 all over again with so many Internet companies trading at high prices. I'm very optimistic about the Internet: It's transforming entertainment, education. But in all aspects of the Internet, there is a lot of opportunity.... Just look at smart phones. I'm talking to you right now on a Treo (PALM ).... The services that will be available on these devices are [what's] important: People will just give the phones away because the revenues of the services [will be] so substantial. You co-founded Sun Microsystems. What went wrong? I think the company faced a perfect storm when the bubble burst and the two largest markets it had -- financial services and the telecom companies -- were hit. It was sized based on what appeared to be the case in 1998 and '99. The company built its body to that opportunity, and when that went away, it was difficult for the vertical integration to shrink. In retrospect, they should have been quicker. You mentioned Microsoft. Why hasn't its stock done anything in six years? What's wrong there? A monopoly is a mixed blessing because it takes the emphasis off innovation. I remember a few years ago someone asked [Chief Executive Officer] Steve Ballmer what his three goals were, and he said market share, market share, market share. Well, he got the market share, but the innovation stopped. The challenge for Microsoft is to convince themselves that they can innovate and not risk the monopoly. If they don't innovate, the Windows monopoly won't be worth much. Microsoft should try to build something really great as opposed to something that is just more Windows. If I said to you, "Bill, I have $5 million to invest in a startup," what advice would you give me? If I were doing the portfolio, I would say $1 million in IT, $1 million in an Internet business, $1 million or $2 million in green technology, and $1 million in the life sciences, and green tech and life sciences would be somewhat blurred. We see incredible businesses that cut across these different disciplines.  Maria Bartiromo is the host of CNBC's Closing Bell
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