D. thesis in computer science at Harvard, he helped launch a startup called Viaweb that set up online storefronts for retailers.

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An AMA official said that Onel de Guzman had excelled in his computer courses, but dropped out after his thesis proposal was rejected as unethical.

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Their thesis is that Microsoft's domination of the computer industry has come about more through luck than strategic brilliance or exceptional ruthlessness.

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Toting around a computer filled with valuable data, however, is a growing risk: If the computer is lost or stolen, the user loses everything -- from a prized doctoral thesis to bank account numbers to records of passwords.

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