Look Out, Bill: Here Comes Martha Stewart She's done a magazine. She's done Kmart. Imagine what she'll do for software.
By Jodi Mardesich

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Never content to let other people do what she can do better, Martha Stewart has made it known that she is creating her own personal organization software. Yes, the Goddess of Good Taste could be America's next computer mogul!

Her spokeswoman confirms that Stewart is working on the project but declines to say anything more. So, since Martha won't talk to me about it directly, I'm left to imagine the possibilities....

For starters, Martha's software would be simple and elegant. And customizable. It would offer subtle wallpaper for my computer desktop--not photos of circuitboards or piles of rocks. Martha's wallpaper would be a faint blue or green, like her custom paints inspired by the eggs she harvests from her Araucana hens.

Martha's help program would give useful tips, not pointless advice. It wouldn't be like that annoying animated character in Microsoft Office, who asks stupid questions like "Did you know that typing control-alt-delete will restart your computer?" It would talk about what I really need to know. For example, it might ask, "Did you know you can get the ink stains off that shirt?"

Martha's daily tips would be calendar-linked, intelligent enough to give me seasonal hints. In early October this message would pop up as I turn on my PC: "Did you know that today is a good day to plant grape hyacinth bulbs?"

And she would know how to integrate the Internet into her product. I'd be able to buy the grape hyacinth bulbs at the Martha Stewart E-commerce Website, just a single mouse-click away. Stewart's software would also link to a local weather Website. If it happened to be raining, the program would suggest I reorganize my closets instead.

MarthaWare would populate my calendar with all the suitable events taking place in my neighborhood. It might even tell me what Martha's doing today. Oh, the glory!

Since she's terrifically smart, Stewart will also develop software for portable devices, like the Palm III. That way I'd be able to compile a list of what I'm buying while I'm shopping at the grocer's, and sync that list with my PC when I got home. Just think of it: this software could always know what I have in my pantry! It could suggest recipes that use only the ingredients I have on hand!

I have so many questions. Will she stop at software, or will she popularize the ever elusive kitchen computer too? Will she do it on her own or partner with an established software company? After all, Martha has been romantically linked by the gossip pages to Charles Simonyi, a pioneering computer programmer who works for Microsoft.

What I do know is that it's about time this happened. Martha will know how to market to consumers, especially women. She even made Kmart a cool place to shop. Why should we let the guys in Silicon Valley, who took 20 years to realize that computers can come in colors, be the sole designers of our technological future?