Deem

(NYT42) FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Dec. 12, 2008 -- SOFTWARE-SECRETARIES-ADV14 -- Patrick W. Grady, founder of Rearden Commerce at the company headquarters in Foster City, Calif., in December 2008. Rearden's Web-based "intelligent" personal assistant for businesses is aimed at travel and entertainment. A new generation of Internet technologies, coupled with the investment of more than a third of a billion dollars, may be making meaningful progress in this industry. (Peter DaSilva/The New York Times)Photograph by Peter DaSilva — The New York Times/Redux