A spate of technology firms notified federal regulators of their intentions to go public late last year, sparking some industry insiders to speculate that 2007 could bring the biggest rush of companies adding their names to the ticker list since Nasdaq's dot.com meltdown in 2000.

There were 56 IPOs in 2006, according to market research firm Dow Jones Venture One, foreshadowing that after a long winter, investors may be warming up to the idea of technology stocks.

But gone are the gold rush days of the 1990s when investors and entrepreneurs chucked caution to the wind in a rush to get a leg up on startups -- some of which were little more than an untested idea.

Back then, all a budding firm needed was a unique business model, said attorney Erik Kline, who was on law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius' Pittsburgh team that worked with FreeMarkets on its stratospheric Nasdaq debut in 1999, when it was valued at nearly $10 billion the first day of public trading. "People gave [the companies] the benefit of the doubt and said, 'Who knows?' "

Following the dot.com bust, cooler heads and wallets have prevailed and the new tech marketplace insists on a good mix of steadily rising sales, a solid stream of customers -- and most importantly, a product.

Well, most of the time.

Some of the most highly anticipated public offerings in 2006 have failed to deliver, namely much-hyped Internet-based phone service provider Vonage Holdings Corp., whose poor showing on the Nasdaq during its May debut and beyond has prompted fears that expectations of technology's IPO revival might be overblown.

There also are the concerns about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals and establishes standards for all publicly traded companies.

In the tech's high-flying heyday, Sarbanes-Oxley now makes it cumbersome to be a publicly traded firm.

"It's a tough thing to comply with if you're a public company," said Jeremiah Garvey, an attorney at Downtown law firm Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney PC.

The salve for any wounds caused by Sarbanes-Oxley is the cash raised from a public offering of shares -- money that not only lines the pockets of investors and shareholders, but also funds a growth spurt. IPO proceeds often go toward hiring people, building new facilities and creating more products to sell, said Mr. Kline.

Beyond the financial rewards, IPOs generate excitement for a promising young firm.

Publicly trading a firm's stock requires a level of transparency that can bring legitimacy to a company -- sort of the business equivalent of the "Good Housekeeping seal of approval."

The company's leadership and employees know how the rest of the world is valuing your company, said Mr. Garvey. "The most public entity has spoken to your company worth."

Some on the local tech scene are wondering what all the buzz is about.

"Sure, the market may have been strong in recent months, but the reality is, the Nasdaq is half of what it was years ago," said Gary Doyle, a FreeMarkets veteran who is now chief financial officer at a growing, but privately held, technology firm in Pine, TrueCommerce.

Still, Pittsburgh could benefit from some IPOs, according to Jay Katarincic, managing partner at Downtown-based venture capital firm Draper Triangle Ventures. Publicly traded companies won't only help boost Pittsburgh's image to the rest of the world, but they'll fuel the local economy with money and jobs.

"I call it the leverage effect," Mr. Katarincic said, referring to the business professionals -- accountants, attorneys, marketers -- that firms need to help them do business.

"If a company is spending money on marketing and needs to hire a public relations firm, then that firm has to hire people to go out and do the work," he said.

It's unlikely though that Pittsburgh firms are going to join this quickening pace of companies going public. Most of the region's fastest growing and promising firms aren't quite ready.

Yet, the names of a few local firms in Pittsburgh's blossoming medical device sector have been batted around as possible contenders.

Most often mentioned is Renal Solutions, the Marshall-based medical device firm that has raised more than $40 million. Others include Vocollect, the voice-recognition firm in Wilkins, and South Side-based Precision Therapeutics, another medical device firm.

All have yet to go public with their plans.

Despite the attention given to IPOs, some investors say they prefer the simplicity of a merger or buyout.

A buyout is "simple and clear and over," said Joel Adams, managing partner of Sewickley-based venture capital firm Adams Capital Management, which has sold several firms and raised more cash to pour into new ones in the wake of the tech crash.