He graduated in 1986, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in electrical engineering and computer science. In an extensive interview last fall with several staff members of the Washington Post, Bezos discussed his next venture for Amazon-a shopping referral service to help his 4.5 million customers discover new products for sale on the Web. One service already provided to many repeat buyers is that, based on their choices, the company compiles listings of offerings they might be interested in. Another warehouse is located in Newcastle, Delaware, and a third is slated to open later this year in Nevada. Here you will find employees, mostly in their twenties, wearing comfortable clothes and sensible shoes for walking the miles of aisles to physically pick out books and CDs to fill orders.
Neckties are no-no's, but dogs are welcome to join their masters at work.
Fortunately, not everyone involved in book commerce is waiting with bated breath to see which of the cyber archenemies will emerge victorious. Marina Tristan, assistant director at Arte P blico Press, in Houston, says that on a personal level, on-line book ordering will never match the pleasure of browsing through a bookstore. Holding a book in your hands, reading excerpts. Instead, the small press, which operates out of the University of Houston, views Internet booksellers as an additional marketing tool to advertise its catalog. Consolidations of major book chains, wholesalers, and distributors have resulted in the closure of numerous independent bookstores across the country.