In 1995, Quicken, Money, and Managing Your Money already had the ability to dial-up to banks, retrieve your balances, and even move money around. In 1995, ther

In 1995, Quicken, Money, and Managing Your Money already had the ability to dial-up to banks, retrieve your balances, and even move money around. In 1995, there was already airline reservation capability on CompuServe, AOL, and the like. I don't remember if you could actually buy the tickets, or if you had to call in your credit card number. But that's just a detail. The thing that really disintermediated the travel agent is the ability to search through the listings. I think the people you talked to simply had a vested interest in the existing way of doing things. They were in the banking and the travel industries. The tech industry, by contrast, already had other ideas.