All this grew out of an almost ludicrously elementary business plan hatched in 1995 by Ross Garber, a software marketing executive, and Neil Webber, an MIT-educated computer scientist.

FORBES: Automating the Web

"It's part of a growing trend to integrate hardware, software and services, " says Ross Rubin, director of consumer technology industry analysis for the NPD Group.

FORBES: Imagine A Web Site For Your Toaster

According to Rony Ross, founder and executive chairman of Panorama Software, a provider of business intelligence software to 1, 600 customers in 30 countries, the secret to successful negotiating is to take the ego out of the equation.

FORBES: The Secret Art Of Negotiating: Take Your Ego Off The Table

Not only did her negotiating approach work, Ross ended up with a decades-long partnership with the software giant.

FORBES: The Secret Art Of Negotiating: Take Your Ego Off The Table