The service, AmazonTote, is currently available only around Seattle, where the company is based. The program offers customers a free weekly delivery on a specified day and doesn’t require a minimum-order size.

The AmazonTote website said the program “will be expanding soon.” However, that notice was removed later Monday. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.

Such an expansion could be risky. One pioneer of online grocery shopping, Webvan Group Inc., went bankrupt in 2001 and is considered one of Silicon Valley’s biggest busts.

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The last time the industry saw this kind of growth was in 2000, when its revenue spiked 36.7 percent, driven upward by the same forces that made selling 50-pound bags of kitty litter from Pets.com or putting money into the Webvan.com IPO seem like a wise idea.

This year, though, the fundamentals driving growth are far more solid–strong PC, cellphone and LCD television demand and an overall rebound in spending on consumer electronics.

Said iSuppli’s Dale Ford: “Building on the continuing expansion in sales that followed the downturn in late 2008 and early 2009, the semiconductor industry is set to achieve remarkable revenue growth and record size in 2010.”

Still, it’s worth noting that revenue growth in 2010 will be “remarkable” largely because of a favorable comp to 2009, which was a truly crappy year for the semiconductor industry.

And it’s worth noting too that iSuppli’s currently rosy outlook could change with economic conditions. “The economy represents the biggest wild card in iSuppli’s 2010 forecast,” Ford cautioned. “While many indicators have shown sustained improvement, there are, however, a number of financial and economic trouble spots that could endanger the continued growth in the market before the end of 2010.”

Back then, dozens of dot-com companies–from Pets.com Inc. to Webvan Group Inc. to smaller start-ups–went belly up after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars. Their downfall was swift; virtually an entire sector of dot-coms was wiped out in a matter of months. Silicon Valley went on to lose 185,000 jobs, or one in five, between 2001 and 2005.

This time, the damage from the recession has been widespread rather than confined to technology. In addition, many tech start-ups appear to have learned from the free-spending mistakes of the dot-com era and have hoarded their cash. As a result, venture capitalists such as Promod Haque at Norwest Venture Partners argue that “we’re not seeing the kinds of [start-up] shutdowns we saw in 2000 in terms of the volume.”

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Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell (pictured here) is leaving the software giant at the end of the year and will be replaced by longtime Microsoft finance exec Peter Klein.

A Microsoft (MSFT) spokesman said Liddell wants to pursue jobs beyond his finance role outside the company.

Liddell, 51, arrived at Microsoft in 2005 and many of his years at the company have been tough ones financially due to the weak economy. It was up to Liddell to deliver the bad news at quarterly earnings calls.

Still, BoomTown always enjoyed his adorkable New Zealand accent, even when he was talking econalypse 24/7, as well as about layoffs and cost cutting.

One post from last spring, for example, was titled: “Glum Chris at the Recessiondome.”

Klein (pictured here), 47, has been at Microsoft since early 2002 and currently serves as CFO of its Business Division, which is one of the company’s largest units.

Here is the official press release:

For Release 2 p.m. PST

Nov. 24, 2009

Microsoft Announces Chief Financial Officer Transition

Chris Liddell to leave Microsoft Dec. 31; Peter Klein assuming CFO role.

REDMOND, Wash.–Nov. 24, 2009–Microsoft Corp. today announced that Chris Liddell will be leaving the company at the end of 2009, and named Peter Klein as the company’s new chief financial officer.

“Chris and his finance team have accomplished a great deal over the past four and a half years. The team is deep and strong, and has an excellent record of building value for our shareholders,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive officer. “Peter brings great finance and operations expertise and a deep understanding of the company, and I am looking forward to a smooth transition that continues our commitment to cost containment and finance excellence.”

In the past fiscal year, Microsoft reduced costs by $3 billion compared with its original plan, and returned $14 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buy-back.

Klein, 47, joined Microsoft in February 2002 and currently serves as CFO of Microsoft’s Business Division, overseeing all financial strategy, management and reporting for the $18.9 billion business with 7,800 full-time employees. Previously, Klein served three years as CFO of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business.

“My time at Microsoft has been an outstanding experience, and I am delighted to be leaving the company in such great shape,” Liddell said. “We have built a world-class finance team and established strong internal accountability. Microsoft is coming out of the economic downturn with not only great product momentum but also strong discipline around costs and a focus on driving shareholder value.”

Liddell, 51, joined Microsoft in May 2005 after serving as CFO at International Paper Co., and chief executive officer of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., then New Zealand’s second-largest listed company. He said he is looking at a number of opportunities that will expand his career beyond being a CFO.

Liddell will continue at Microsoft working closely with Klein through Dec. 31, to ensure a smooth transition.

Before joining Microsoft, Klein spent 13 years in corporate finance, primarily in the communications and technology sectors: McCaw Cellular Communications; Orca Bay Capital, a private equity firm; and several startups, including HomeGrocer.com, where as vice president and treasurer he helped lead an IPO and subsequent acquisition by Webvan.

“I’m honored to take on the role of Microsoft CFO. I’ve learned a lot working with Chris, and I’m excited about the opportunities ahead for Microsoft,” said Klein. “We have an incredible pipeline of products, we have strong financial and operational accountability, and we are well-positioned for growth as the economy recovers.”

Klein holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Washington. Outside of work, he is an avid sports fan and serves on the board of NPower Seattle, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the effectiveness of nonprofit service providers through technology. He and his wife have two sons.

In just two years, Twitter has raised roughly $155 million in venture capital, including $135 million this year. That’s a staggering sum for a revenue-less company that operates on the Web where capital-efficiency is underscored and technology costs are falling.

It’s even more unbelievable when you look at where Twitter ranks in the annals of venture funding.

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Point taken. Certainly, we’re not going to see the recession inspiring companies to suddenly shutdown their e-commerce operations or disable Salesforce in aid of their longevity. But that doesn’t mean the Grim Reaper of the “Next Economy” isn’t going to sweep this latest crop of Webvans and Scients off into the abyss, and from there into the pages of a 2013 Fast Company article.

That said, take it from Colony: Don’t worry, be happy.

[Image Credit: Sequoia Capital via VentureBeat]

Point taken. Certainly, we’re not going to see the recession inspiring companies to suddenly shutdown their e-commerce operations or disable Salesforce in aid of their longevity. But that doesn’t mean the Grim Reaper of the “Next Economy” isn’t going to sweep this latest crop of Webvans and Scients off into the abyss, and from there into the pages of a 2013 Fast Company article.

That said, take it from Colony: Don’t worry, be happy.

[Image Credit: Sequoia Capital via VentureBeat]