Red Hat Inc fka RHT

[Joemoney]

But rumors can cause buying and who knows, a lot of times rumors turn out to be true.

Joemoney

[Koikaze]

Oh, my goodness, Joe. I wasn't questioning the synergy!

Actually, I wasn't saying much of anything ... unless it is that (a) the rumor has been around for a while, and (b) rumors are generally an unproductive source of investment information ... except for the mongerer.

Fred

[Joemoney]

On Saturday, the Washington Post quoted unnamed sources ``familiar with the matter''
saying that AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL - news) was in talks to buy Red Hat. The
thinking went: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Red Hat sells Linux, an alternative
operating system to Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT - news) Windows. And AOL (which
owns Netscape, the rival Web browser to Microsoft's Explorer) views Mr. Softee as an
arch-nemesis.


Take it easy freddy boy.

[Koikaze]

They say NOT, Joe.

Do you have any views on the relationship of smoke and fire? Or is it more likely that someone was trying to start a fire with wet matches?

Fred

[Joemoney]

AOL Time Warner was in talks to buy Red Hat?

http://biz.yahoo.com/smart/020123/20020123one-wond.html

[Koikaze]

OT: Ehhhyaaah. A long time ago, though.

And ... for all my yippin' about the cold, I think those who live where there are no real seasons miss a lot. City folk, too (which now I are one).

The wonder of spring ... the magic of new life ... the joy of summer ... the flourish of fall ... and, yes, even the rest of winter ... keep one in touch with beauty ... in a way that machines can never equal.

Oh. Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to get carried away. Still ... I often feel that way.

Fred

[Janeecanuck]

OT: Bugle Boy, so you grew up on a dairy farm? Funny how those NNW winds are so welcome in summer to cool things down. Have really noticed increasingly hot temperatures in summer and fall. In fact, now I always do my pickling in the dead of winter (freeze the stuff in the Fall.) Nothing nicer than having your house very warm from all the heat in the kitchen and the whole place smelling of pickle juice, while the wind whirls the snow around outside. (This works until the high winds inevitably blow down a few power lines.)

[Koikaze]

Janee, re: "Big storm today--everything is shut down and high NNW winds." ... shades of my tender years! Have to get the team harnessed and hooked to the bobsled so we can take the milk out to the main road (3 miles). Ahhhh, the unpleasantness of it all.

And, yet, in the summertime, it (Warsaw, New York) is a genuine Eden. The town, itself, was beautiful in the winter because it was down in the valley. We were up on the west hill, where those NNW winds came straight out of your backyard.

It was so bad that Bird X's snow folks wouldn't even consider it. 'Course, inside, now that's another matter.

Fred

[Janeecanuck]

Good Morning, Fred. Funny how when liability issues come to the fore it begins to focus the thinking. I'm amazed Microsoft never challenged Symantec or McAffee (?) in production and distribution of virus protection software. Msft could provide solutions to problems created as a result of their own sloppy coding. Browsed some of other articles as well. Liked Dodge commentary and the comparison of 802.11a to .11b. Have been following wireless as well--security issues still big there too.

Big storm today--everything is shut down and high NNW winds. Power and internet could go down at any time.

Jane

[Koikaze]

Hi, Janee. Our local paper ran an article similar to the one your quoted from The Inquirer ... and I'd have guessed that their data processing expertise required taking off their shoes.

Here's the quote I referred to yesterday. This is from an article entitled "Software Liability Gaining Attention" in the January 14th issue of eWeek.

" ... the National Academy of Sciences last week released a report that called for the government to sanction vendors whose software is breached. The report's authors looked at several similar studies done over the past 10 years and concluded that the state of network security had deteriorated in that time."

If you are interested, you can find the full article at:

http://www.eweek.com/article/0,3658,s%253D701%2526a%253D21030,00.asp

Isn't it interesting that, for political effectiveness, you must avoid naming names. I prefer calling a spade a spade. A shovel is not quite the same thing.

Fred

[Janeecanuck]

From today's Inquirer:

"An unknown number of Windows users can't download a fix for a major security mess in its operating system because Microsoft has fouled up on delivering patches for its own Web server."

This also extends to Win98 and WinSE

http://www.theinquirer.net/15010201.htm

The Inquirer's great--they diss everybody equally--they also are not beholden to anybody.

BTW, thanks Fred. Owe you another coffee.

Jane

[Koikaze]

Janee, I may have some more information on this, later on. I read something about it in eWeek this morning, and when I get a chance I'll excerpt part of the article.

Fred

[Koikaze]

Ahhh, Joseph. None are so blind as he who will not see!!

If you do not understand the seriousness of Microsoft going into a user's property (their computer), analyzing what it finds there, and altering the software and data without the user's knowledge or consent, there is little I can say to enlighten you.

Fred

[Joemoney]

Giving them a pipeline into my machine is Terrifying!!!!

Why would you fear MSFT? I don't believe they mean to do any harm.

"... that we have no objection to billionaires--in fact, we like 'em" ... yeah, like children, they should be seen and not heard.

They are inspirations to the ambitious, like myself. I look up to (most of) them. Don't be jealous of them, lol.

Do you know of any security vulnerabilities in any of the recently released Linux OSs? Is it worst or better than MSFT?

Joemoney

[Koikaze]

Janee, re: "Whenever do you get the time to practice the bugle?", are you suggesting that I like to blow my own horn???

re: "to address our complaints to our respective government departments and ministries about the security issues in XP as a platform (which have been well documented)." This, at least, has the benefit of being a politically correct complaint. I'm not much good at politics, lack of respect, I suppose. I wonder who it would be best to address? The Defense Department is currently ascendant.

re: "as well as the wisdom in letting one company, with all of its flaws, control so much of the volume of electronic information (through IE, Outlook Express, MSM and so on.)" ... not to mention the requirement that anyone buying XP is REQUIRED to register with Microsoft, electronically. Giving them a pipeline into my machine is Terrifying!!!!

re: "... that we have no objection to billionaires--in fact, we like 'em" ... yeah, like children, they should be seen and not heard.

Thanks for your note.

Fred

[Janeecanuck]

Wow!! Fred!! You turn up all over the place. Whenever do you get the time to practice the bugle?

The November, 2000, issue of "Wired" had a very interesting article by John Heilemann, 'The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth: The Untold Story of the Microsoft Antitrust Case' which gave a lot of background on the DOJ vs MSFT case. However, there does seem to be a decreased capacity for outrage on monopolistic practices--let alone on Operating Systems Behaving Badly. I wonder if it would be useful, given the increased interest in security, to address our complaints to our respective government departments and ministries about the security issues in XP as a platform (which have been well documented) as well as the wisdom in letting one company, with all of its flaws, control so much of the volume of electronic information (through IE, Outlook Express, MSM and so on.) Just so they take us seriously, we'd have to make it clear at the get-go that we have no objection to billionaires--in fact, we like 'em--but we have grave security concerns.

FWIW,

Jane

[Koikaze]

Janee, I have no feelings about the article you referred to. As I remarked (to you) in another venue, I can't read financials, and haven't had much luck trusting other people's interpretations, either.

I'm responding because of your comment, "I can't believe that XP is the big money-maker they claimed it would be. Anecdotally, I know of too many organizations that are refusing to upgrade."

I'm confident you're right. Microsoft has a well-developed ability to manipulate public opinion (not to mention our government). They are deceitful, to use the nicest term I can apply. I want to see other companies get a reasonable chance to compete in the personal computer market.

The public comment period is still open on the monopoly case. I want to let the (so-called) Justice Department know just how outraged I am that they are giving Microsoft a free rein to continue raping me. The problem is that I'm just a single individual, and no-one really cares about my opinion.

I wonder if anyone on this board can come up with an idea of how we could catch the Justice Department's attention.

Fred

[Janeecanuck]

Hello all,

Anyone hear of this before?

http://www.billparish.com/msftfraudfacts.html

Scary stuff about MSFT's financials. It's old information but found it recently posted. Don't know enough about how revenues and expenses are calculated (or played with) to be able to evaluate it. Intuitively, though, I can't believe that XP is the big money-maker they claimed it would be. Anecdotally, I know of too many organizations that are refusing to upgrade.

Janeecanuck

[Joemoney]

RHAT vs. MSFT - Last 6 Months

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RHAT&d=c&k=c1&c=msft&a=v&p=s&t=6m&l=on&...

They do seem to follow each other. Look at the fall of '01.

Joemoney

[Janeecanuck]

Matt, thanks for the info. Will check out the AAPL board. Good point about Mandrake--other Linux stocks like Caldera seem to be doing well. Had been following (but didn't invest in,thank heavens) a company called Blue Point. It was a Chinese Linux company but it seems to have all but disappeared. A Linux company called Red Flag (I swear I am not making this up) seems to be used more and more by the Chinese government.

[Mattu]

>> Transplanted myself to Macs two years ago, just because they are so well behaved. <<

I've been rambling about some ideas regarding Macs/Linux over on the AAPL board. I'd love to hear your comments.


>>Was even thinking of investing in MandrakeSoft--I think it was about 4.7 Euro a share.<<

From what I understand, it was a very hard IPO and aftermarket stock to go into and still is for us American investors, becuase of the exchange and broker requirements. You'd thought they'd IPO in the market where their market is the largest! <g>

>>Have you heard of a Canadian company called Merlin Software Technologies? They make something called Perfect Backup for Linux and have some other add-ons.<<

Never heard of them.

[Janeecanuck]

Matt,

Have heard good things about Mandrake. I grew up on the Unix homeworld myself (internet in the early '90s) and always wanted to get into Linux. Transplanted myself to Macs two years ago, just because they are so well behaved. Was even thinking of investing in MandrakeSoft--I think it was about 4.7 Euro a share. Have you heard of a Canadian company called Merlin Software Technologies? They make something called Perfect Backup for Linux and have some other add-ons.

BTW, thanks for running such a great site.

Janeecanuck

[Mattu]

I run a Linux box, for various reasons.

My choice distro is Linux Mandrake though, right now.

I tried RedHat and didn't care for it too much. Not as friendly as Mandrake. Mandrake reminds me of my old Mac computer, which was very stable and easy to use.

>>and I saw it there in a box and thought of buying it<<

I really have no idea how these Linux companies plan to make a profit unless they are selling full, turn-key services and apps to companies. And even at that, you still have a couple more years before people are going to consider dumping MS stuff for Linux equipment. Just not 'standard' enough yet, except amoung underground users. They sure won't make it off the end-users/normal consumers. You can download any Linux distro for free -- it's required as part of the GNU. Open source.

I do like Linux though. Takes a while to learn, but I find it to be rock solid and very secure.

MB

[Joemoney]

I was at NFM yesterday buying the new Frontpage (v2002), and I saw it there in a box and thought of buying it, but that's about as close as I've came to using it. I can't use all the programs I need on linux. I need frontpage to use my website, I need Age of Empires and Flight Simulator for entertainment - linux (i don't believe) supports that.

Why?

BTW, I have however, invested heavily in RHAT right after it's IPO. I sold when it topped out and started to tank. That's why I'm interested in it.

Joemoney

[Mattu]

Have you used Linux before, Joe?

[Joemoney]

The Intel Itanium Processor - if anyone doesn't know, is uses primarily for workstations. IBM uses them in their high end workstations.

Joemoney

[Joemoney]

Red Hat Announces Red Hat Linux 7.2 for Intel Itanium Processor

Red Hat Linux 7.2 Supports 64-Bit Architecture, Offers Increased Scalability and Flexibility for the Enterprise

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2002--Red Hat, Inc. (Nasdaq: RHAT - news), the leader in developing, deploying and managing open source solutions, announced today the availability of Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Intel® Itanium(TM) Processor.

Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Itanium Processor features the Red Hat Linux 7.2 operating system with the 2.4 kernel and ext3 journaling file system. This configuration supports the very large address space of Itanium-based systems and scales efficiently to eight or more Itanium processors running as a single system image. A more complete set of configuration tools and security enhancements are also available in this new release from Red Hat.

Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Itanium Processor is designed for developing and porting applications that require superior performance on high-end servers and workstations. This release is equally suited to porting 32-bit UNIX(TM) applications to Itanium-based systems, as well as developing new applications for Itanium-based systems that are designed for superior performance on high-end servers and workstations for mission-critical reliability.

``Red Hat continues to deliver Red Hat Linux operating system releases that support platforms from embedded devices, high performance workstations and servers, such as Intel's Itanium-based system, right up to the world's largest mainframe computers,' said Michael Tiemann, CTO, Red Hat.

``With the release of Red Hat Linux 7.2 for Itanium-based systems, developers will have access to the technology and support necessary to successfully develop, deploy, and manage 64-bit Linux applications and services,' said Lisa Hambrick, director of Enterprise Processor Marketing, Intel Corporation.

New Features and Benefits of Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Itanium Processor:

The 2.4.9 Linux kernel for increased scalability
ext3 journaling file system for data reliability
Network Configuration, User Management, and Hardware Viewing
tools for infrastructure and development

Firewall Configuration during installation and Red Hat Network for added security
Improved USB support
Nautilus file manager
Latest versions of the GNOME and KDE desktop environments
Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Itanium Processor is now available for purchase or download and from hardware partners in the coming weeks. For more information on Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the Itanium processor, please visit http://www.redhat.com/software/linux/7-2_itanium.html.

About Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat is the leader in developing, deploying and managing solutions built on the benefits of an open source platform. More information about Red Hat is available at www.redhat.com. Red Hat is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and has offices worldwide. For investor inquiries, contact Gabriel Szulik at Red Hat, 919/547-0012, ext. 439.

Note: Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Red Hat, Inc.
Melissa London, 919/547-0012
[e-mail]
or
Schwartz Communications
Maribel Lopez, 781/684-0770
[e-mail]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020107/72149_1.html

[Joemoney]

my opinion and a quarter might get you a cup of coffee, but I sure do like the charts.

LOL. I haven't charted RHAT in a while, but I can say that I'm glad you did.

With a little bit of bullishness in the tech sector, RHAT could go much higher. It was trading at like 150 about two years ago - I don't see why it wouldn't go to 20-30 soon. The company isn't in financial trouble: http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/011218/n18261332_2.html - unlike many of the stocks I've been watching.

Joemoney

[wjs]

Joe:

Well, my opinion and a quarter might get you a cup of coffee, but I sure do like the charts.

Short term:
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.web?c=rhat,uu[l,a]daclyiay[db][pb10!b18!b50!h.02,.20!f][vc60][...


And long term:

http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.web?c=RHAT,uu[l,a]waclyiay[df][pb10!b18!b50!h.02,.20!f][vc60][...

[Joemoney]

Shows what the analysts know.

RHAT was downgraded September 21, 2001 (http://biz.yahoo.com/c/r/rhat.html), but here is a 6 month chart:



RHAT cannot be judged based on it's P/E or current income. This company is battling MSFT for business and it must be given time.

Joemoney