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Dear Mr. Berko:

What innovation would you look for in the information technology field that could be the next Microsoft or Dell? Are there two or three companies you would own that could be the next big IT winner? What do you think of Vonage, which I bought against your advice) as an initial public offering at $17 a share? Finally, would you prefer to own 100 shares of the New York Stock Exchange or 300 shares of Nasdaq?

F.G., Durham, N.C.

Dear F.G.:

I believe the next blockbuster breakthrough in information technology will be an instantaneous, fully functional, easy-to-use voice-recognition program that will make the keyboard as obsolete as the buggy whip. Laptops and personal computers will become smaller, but smaller is becoming a nuisance. Today’s computers can match and identify the voice patterns of millions of different people in a nanosecond, so instant, error-free VR software is just around the block.

The company that perfects voice recognition programs will be hailed as czar of the world while companies like General Electric Co., AT&T Inc., Intel Corp., Apple Inc., IBM Corp., etc. kneel in awe and praise.

However, it’s those huge companies and other billion-dollar revenue giants that are searching for the Holy Grail, and they are the best leads I can give you. Yes, there are myriad small software outfits and a few may find it first; a good number would have you believe they are a few months away from the perfect program. I’ve heard a few names but won’t share them with you because those with which I’m familiar are anxious to scam investors like us. So stick with the big boys.

Vonage is in big trouble and Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG-$3.09) was in big trouble long before its IPO, which was a huge bust. Citigroup, UBS and Deutsche Bank, VG’s over-greedy underwriters, certainly knew this issue was in trouble; heck, even members of the selling groups and sophisticated investors knew VG was a bust. Good gosh, even I knew that VG was in deep doo-doo, that the voice over Internet protocol competition was white-hot and accelerating, that VG’s financials were verging on disaster, that VG’s co-founder had violated Securities and Exchange Commission trading rules and that Verizon Communications Inc. was claiming VG had infringed on its VoIP patents. Prominent members of the New York “Schlock” Exchange certainly knew this, too. Because IPO investors were treated like suckers, the NYSE ought to insist those underwriters reimburse you for your losses. Sell the stock.

I would prefer to own 300 shares of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ-$29.89) rather than 100 shares of the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE is a self-important, bloated, inefficient platform that is overstaffed with incompetent, overpaid people, few of whom I’d trust to give me change for a dime.

Meanwhile, the NDAQ is run by bright, hard-charging businessmen who delight in tweaking the noses of NYSE officials. I think the NDAQ has better long-term pros-pects because it has competent professionals running the show.

The NDAQ is a speedy electronic exchange where investors can trade 3,300 listed Nasdaq firms as well as stocks listed on other exchanges. In recent months, the Nasdaq handled 15 percent of the trading in NYSE listed stocks. Some believe that by 2015 the NDAQ will handle about 25 percent of NYSE trades.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, Fla. 33429 or e-mail him at malber@adelphia.net.© Copley News Service