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Because nobody else is buying this stuff?
And they'd like to have a new sales cycle just like all the other technology firms. I have never doubted the tech firms would like to sell "security solutions". The fact that they have had to resort to "trumpeting...a mere pizza chain" (as you put it) speaks to the lack interest of more credible enterprises. But, hey, ICBW.
dig space: The extensive use of a pizza chain...
as some sort of validation of the TPM concept moving into actual enterprise adoption is, frankly, beyond pathetic. I don't know why anyone would be all that concerned about super-protecting shipping addresses (who the heck are they "shipping" pizzas to, anyway), for one thing. I remain highly suspicious of the whole Gino's-Wave connection.
This is what Papa Gino's needs to protect?
"Papa Gino's also plans to use the personal information manager applications built into the Wave ETS software. These applications help secure company data, such as account numbers, billing or shipping addresses and telephone numbers."
Account numbers? Billing addresses? Shipping addresses? Telephone numbers? This stuff needs extra-super-duper protection from hackers? Total B.S. Either Papa Gino is a paranoid nut case or the IT guy is wasting company money to expand his own fiefdom.
24601: Those who think the boys in Lee...
don't have a fall-back scenario in which they retrieve the spoils of a Chapter filing are showing their naivete.
The compensation at this company is a clear indicator that management puts itself way ahead of the shareholders. It seems ridiculous to even entertain the notion that they don't.
Of course, they may or may not be able to accomplish such a maneuver, but I seriously doubt they haven't discussed it. The beauty of it is, if they succeed it will likely be entirely legal!
When it happens, don't say I didn't tell ya so!
24601: Who was giving advice?
I don't think the touting itself would be illegal. Unless lies were told and there was intent to mislead. I never suggested you were up to that kind of touting.
Face it. You have touted the company and its road to ubiquity on numerous occasions. And who knows? Maybe one day in a decade or two you might be right.
24601: If you weren't so vague...
it would help. So you had a 40-bagger at the top? The question is, are you in the black as of today? I seriously doubt the vast majority of your cult colleagues are.
P.S. What's the big deal about your being a "tout"? It's not a crime. Heck, Matt thrives on the stock touts out there. I will concede you are somewhat less of a tout than you used to be, if that helps.
P.P.S. You deny going into Silence is Golden mode every time something comes up that you can't mount a defense for? (e.g., the Go-Kitesurf article).
MATT: This one's fer you...
http://www.mervyns.com/mstyle/men.aspx
Time for some new khakis!
24601: Nothing illegal about selling...
when Peter, et al did. Hey, you're the one who said you were 40x to the good, I'm just curious how you did it!
P.S. I don't think you've touted the stock, but you have touted the company, which qualifies you as a "tout". (Underlines mine).
tout
To foster interest in a particular company or security. For example, a broker might tout a security to a client in the hope that the client will purchase the security.
Source: Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Who called you a villain?
I merely called you a tout, which you challenged me to produce a single message to prove. Here it is, again:
"...Trippi: I agree that Wave's emergence is imminent.
Wave has the best solution for secure e.commerce. The company and its supply chain are on the road to mass deployment and eventual proliferation to ubiquity."
If that ain't touting a company, I don't know what is!
P.S. Name me one other long who is in the black in this stock, other than yourself, that is.
P.P.S. Were you selling that same day Peter and Steven and Gerard were?
24601: This looks a lot like touting to me...
To: Trippi who wrote (9278) 10/23/1999 8:22:00 PM
From: 24601 of 11385
Trippi: I agree that Wave's emergence is imminent.
Wave has the best solution for secure e.commerce. The company and its supply chain are on the road to mass deployment and eventual proliferation to ubiquity. Enough people know what that means so that the market has valued the company far beyond its current financials. When more people realize it, the market capitalization will get even farther ahead of the financials -- because people will be able to project just how big the numbers are going to get.
Wave's patented system is chip-based, residing in hardware as well as software. It is distributed, operating on client-side, at the point of consumption. It is programmable, to modulate privacy, exportability, and compatibility. It is flexible, using any payment-model: try, rent, rent-to-own, or buy. It is efficient, effecting microtransactions down to a fraction of a penny. It is adaptable, embedding inexpensively in any device: PC, STB, keyboard, PDA, media player, modem, receiver, dongle, or smart card. It is versatile, working with any network, whether by wire (cable, telephone, etc.); over the air (broadcast, satellite, etc.); or on physical media (the post office distributing CDs, DVDs). It is autonomous, operable without a tether to any network; transactions may occur offline and be stored in EMBASSY for later uploading to the WaveNet. It is comprehensive, a solution for all digital content: data, executables, audio, video, etc. It is safe, providing security services for boot integrity, e.mail, e.commerce, telecommunication. It is compatible, with capability to complement, emulate, or even run on other solutions.
If you asked me for a single link outside of wave.com, I would choose the white paper that is on the Hewlett Packard website:
http://www.hpconnect.com/versecure/html/hpwavewp.html
If I could add a news link, to boot, it would be either this:
http://www.wave.com/press_archive/990419intelecast.html
or this:
http://www.wave.com/press_archive/990929cybercomm.html
Best wishes,
24601
http://members.theglobe.com/parlex
24601: I imagine there were both types...
participating in the Mossberg fun and games. Hey, maybe I should try that! I could email him a link to the CAD-CAM Forum and that article written by the eminent "staff writer" who likes to complain about journalistic ethics and then doesn't bother to mention that he has a huge financial interest in a company he's reporting (and I use the word very loosely) on.
Naaaah. Too much to do right now. I'll leave the cult to its own self-destructive devices.
24601: Looks like the Wavoids followed my advice...
and went ahead and inundated Mossberg anyway. I only hope Go-Kite gave him a link to that article in the CAD-CAM Forum! Perhaps Snackman led the charge with some of his spectacular "DD".
Only a cult...
DIG: Could you please inform Weby...
that his analysis is quite brilliant, but for one thing,"...Some time ago I posted what I thought was a logical relationship.
about 25 cents share increase for each million dollars of revenue based on having to make revenue of 80 million dollars to get a dollar a share in earnings and a dollar a share woould get us a price of $20."
The problem is, with more than 80 million shares outstanding, how do you get $1 per share in earnings when you don't even have that much in revenue? Seems like you need zero overhead and a margin slightly over 100% to get there!
P.S. To Matt - the cult ain't too good with figures. I have to help them out from time to time.
24601: You sidestepped the Go-Kite article...
in your PM entirely. Since you otherwise defend anything even marginally (in your judgment) defensible, I must assume that you agree that little stunt was indefensible. I don't envy you the role of Defender of the Cult.
I hope y'all don't wuss out...
and go easy on Mossberg. I suggest Go-Kite write one his withering critical analyses. Maybe post it in the Cad-Cam Forum, which probably reaches almost as many readers as the WSJ. Perhaps he could cast aspersions toward the man's journalistic ethics. You know, like he did to Ellen Sheng. (This slightly before penning an "article" without attribution touting WAVE with zero disclosure of the author's material financial interest in the company.) As I recall, that brilliant stunt resulted in one of your retreats to Silence Is Golden mode.
24601: What's wrong with the cult inundating Mossberg?
I think it's a capital idea. Perhaps he could be directed to his journalistic colleague, Go-Kitesurf's, brilliant article in that pillar of business journalism--The Cad-Cam Forum! I'm sure he'd be extremely impressed.
WAVE NEWS!!! - PAPA GINO'S HACKED BY PIZZA PIRATES!
LEE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 2005-- Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX - News, www.wave.com - News) announced
today that its most important "enterprise" customer, Papa Gino's Pizza, has been victimized by what they characterized as a vicious gang of Pizza Pirates believed to be operating out of New Delhi. The insidious thieves were able to crack into the portion of Papa Gino's system not protected by Wave's vaunted secure software platform when a junior marketing expert fell asleep in the New Delhi airport and his laptop was filched.
"Unfortunately Stewart Singh's laptop was not one of the "protected" computers and the thieves were able to penetrate Papa Gino's system and remove the names and addresses of everyone in Waltham, MA who ordered a pizza in the past seven months. This is a devastating loss to us," said Chris Canthailhim, spokesperson for Gino's. "We've been expecting an attack for some time now and we've recently improved our system by adding WAVE systems biometric authentication features to most of our laptops. Unfortunately, Mr. Singh has been traveling for the past seven months and his was not one of the laptops replaced."
Mr. Canthailhim indicated that the company was already paying the price for not having insulated itself against such acts of piracy. "My God, all our customers are getting crank-called by crazy Indians offering them large pepperoni pizzas for a dollar twenty! Delivered! Believe me, our customers are not happy when the pizza doesn't show up!"
The pizza chain indicated it would hasten its conversion process and protect all laptops as soon as possible. Canthailhim also explained that earlier reports mentioning the existence of a Domino's call center in New Delhi were not meant to cast aspersions.
Note to the fingerless quarterback...
(aka Stephen K. Sprague): Y'all might want to think about ratcheting down expectations pretty soon. WAVX watchers with any objectivity realize that Cryptas-style announcements mean just one thing: The revenue cupboard is bare! Unfortunately, the cult hasn't learned anything from the first hundred-and-twelve iterations of this PR and think it portends wonderful things to come!
That's three and out fer HhH.
P.S. to Matt: Another big sale at Mervyns this Saturday!
P.P.S. to Snackman: Having second thoughts about that $40 million prediction of yours? Just push it back a decade or two.
I have nothing against Mom and Pop...
and, okay, Gino's has evolved somewhat beyond that, but the point remains. There is nothing in their database of special interest to the hackers out there. Just wait till they have a system crash and they can't figure out how to retrieve their "secured" data. The boys in Lee will no doubt be on their quarterly Poker hiatus and it will be system-down for a week!
Nothing inconsistent in that...
TPM is a Trojan Horse, the purpose of which is to allow these gorillas of yours to tweak their revenue streams. That doesn't mean it's gonna work! I seriously doubt the folks holding the enterprise purse strings are gonna fall for it!
Phone numbers and CC numbers?
Heck, John, you can buy that sort of thing. You got to do better than that. There's nothing in the possession of this Pizza chain that anybody really wants. The hackers got bigger fish to fry. The whole "you-gotta-have-security" sales pitch is a Trojan Horse so Microsoft (among others) can get paid for every copy of Office that's out there. (Not that I blame them for that.)
Typical cultist response...
I think it's a central issue--what the standard "enterprise" actually needs security-wise. Papa Gino's has nothing in its database, I'm willing to bet, that requires extraordinary protection. Nobody gonna hack into some mom and pop outfit's system to lift their secret sauce recipe. The whole thing's ridiculous.
Greg: I thought the Gino's PR was bogus...
the minute I read it. Not that some guy didn't actually splurge for a handful of TPM-equipped laptops and some WAVE software. That I can believe.
To me it smelled like one of Go-Kite's pseudo-journalism pieces. You may or may not recall the "article" posted on the eminent CAD-CAM Forum that touted Wave's products rather forcefully. As it turned out, the article (which carried the anonymous by-line of "staff writer") was written by none other than the Wavoids' own Go-Kitesurf. The auther not only did not identify himself, he did not disclose that he had a significant financial interest in the subject of his article. (Incidentally, this same author was the one who screeched the loudest about actual journalist Ellen Sheng's article on Wave being somehow unethical--yet another example of the monumental hypocrisy the cult members exhibit on a frequent basis.)
Given past history, one might suspect an undisclosed connection between the Gino's person and Wave Systems. Of course, it's possible that the story was on the up-and-up, given that it was actually publicized by Wave itself. I have little respect for the management acumen of the boys in Lee, but I don't think they are as brazenly unethical as certain cult members. On the other hand, I simply don't trust these folks. Too often, they've shown a propensity to mislead.
I will go even further out on a limb...
and predict that within two years the TCG movement will be viewed as an industry-wide debacle on a scale with Intel's blunder of a few years back (the name of which escapes my aging memory at the moment).
The technology world is attempting to remake itself in such a way that is more controllable and hence more profitable for them. This involves layering in some functions that allow someone other than the enterprise itself to police the enterprise's systems. Once the enterprise world is conquered, the consumer market will be forced to acquiesce. In order to sell this Brave New World, the tech boys are using "enhanced security" as their generic red herring. However, it's my opinion that the potential buyers of this technology are going to want something other than generic security blather to seal the deal. Frankly, there ain't enough there to make the sale.
You will see sales of TPM-equipped systems, especially if it doesn't cost materially more to have one. But what will happen is everyone will wait for the next guy to actually flip the switch. Nobody (except, apparently, for Mr. Cahalin) wants to be a pioneer. Enterprises will not be sold, they will not opt for the police state, and the entire movement will morph into some other next big thing.
As usual, ICBW.
dig: I understand the difference...
between safeguarding one's assets and providing a vehicle to recover "lost" files. The issue I was addressing had to do with the Gino's need to protect against lost data. I seriously doubt that Gino's has large databases of credit information or anything else that presents a realistic possibility of economic loss to their chain. Gino's is not B of A. Nor are the vast majority of "enterprises" that Wavoids seem to believe need foolproof, failsafe encryption.
Here's the deal, in my opinion, dig. TCG is touting security, but what it really wants is control. The member firms want to lock up a world that is presently out of their control. They want to be able to charge for stuff that they can't presently charge for. They want to be able to police their customers' systems. The world, I continue to believe, is going to see this red herring for what it is. That is why I think the entire TCG movement is going to crash and burn.
But, hey, ICBW.
dig: I have a question for Pizza Man...
who is quoted as follows, "...If those back up files are ever lost or stolen, as we have seen reported in the news about other companies recently, the data would be safe because of the encryption."
What does he mean if they are ever lost? You do a regular backup and you can recover lost files. That leaves you with the possibility of having your system hacked and your data stolen. Is it possible for someone to do this? Yes, of course. Is it likely? Please. Get serious. Who in hell wants anything that Gino's Pizza has in their data base?
This guy is spending enterprise money to protect something that is at virtually zero risk of ever being stolen. It's a stupid business decision if that's all that entered into it. If, however, he basically wanted to obtain more control over the enterprise's systems and expand his own personal fiefdom, well, then installing TPMs might make some sense (from his personal view). If I were his boss, I'd want to know just what it is--precisely that requires extraordinary protection. If it's the secret sauce ingredients, I'd have his head on a platter.
P.S. Three and out for the day.
dig: mjan's IM people responded as I would expect...
prudent management people to respond. There is not enough incentive for an IM person to be an early adopter of this technology. The rewards (protection against outside hackers) are just not enough to warrant the expenditure. In addition, the enterprise is substituting one set of risks for another. The new risks being:
1. Too much system control ceded to the geeks in IT.
2. The possibility of locking up mission-critical data in a vault that may not be re-openable in the event of system disaster.
3. Run of the mill risks that go with new layers of system complexity.
4. The very real possibility that outside enterprises (MSFT?) will use your TPM to police your system--preventing uncertified documents of whatever kind from being accessed, requiring "permission" from god-knows-who-all to use documents you've used for years, charging you for all sorts of "use" fees you don't presently pay, etc., etc., etc.
No, dig, my gut tells me that non-IM (or IT or whatever they're being called nowadays) managers are going to view this TPM thing with much (and well-deserved) suspicion.
The enterprise market is years away, if it ever comes. As you know, I think it never will.
P.S. Frankly, I suspect that the actual risk of losing anything important to outside hackers--in, say, 95% of the enterprise world--is fairly remote. I think the decision-makers out there are as skeptical as I am (well, almost).
Steven K. Sprague: Fingerless Quarterback...
guaranteed to fumble.
dig: No faith in this crew...
they may have found their way to the ten yard line, but this team always fumbles. It's what happens when you have a quarterback without fingers and a coach who laces his gatorade with Jack Daniels.
P.S. They are probably the only outfit in the history of the internet who failed to make money even on porn. My guess is the guy who bought that sleazy spin-off probably stiffed them.
P.P.S. Three and out for the day!
Matt: I decline anyone's offer...
to subscribe on my behalf. Rather stay in the jailhouse than transfer money to one so devoid of scruples as yourself. I consider you on a par with, oh, Reverend Jim Jones's publicist.
You have a duty to your subscribers, I think. You are supposed to assist individuals in their investing due diligence by providing an unbiased forum. By ignoring your own TOU in order to favor one view (the WAVE moderator's) over the opposition, you have violated any pretense of standards. There is a word for individuals who sell themselves in such a tawdry manner. You know what it is.
Dig: The cult is doing cartwheels...
because Media Giant WaveXpress has rehired a person who previously worked for them. (I don't mean this a criticism of the individual. Obviously, he had no idea that the cult would be posting anything remotely spinnable into good news.) Anyway, his blog is the source for hoo-hahs about some upcoming major WaveXpress release!
This sort of dot-connecting is beyond pathetic and illustrates the depths to which Wavoid Nation has sunk. Prior "big" releases for WaveXpress included such monster hits as Ukraina TV, among others, you may recall.
My guess is the family hired another go-fer so Michael can shave a few strokes off his handicap and the next big thing for WaveXpress will involve offering TVTonic cartoons to Bolivians.
That a nearly penniless company--WAVE--continues to pour cash ($37 million at last count, not counting another $9 million in accrued interest) into such a sinkhole is beyond mind-boggling. It is purely a wealth-transfer device from completely brainwashed cult members to family members. How anyone can overlook such evidence of greed and bad faith is beyond me.
Only a cult, dig, only a cult...
Do ya ever wonder what things would be like...
if only WaveXpress had never happened? The company could have that $37 million in the bank--or, oh, 20 or 30 million shares never issued. Not to rock the boat or anything. Y'all would hate to upset the fine folks in Lee with the expectation that they actually produce something instead of squander it all while they "work" at home. It must be lovely having a cult for your shareholder base. I'm going to try it one of these days. Perhaps I can hire you to prepare charts and so on. Ciao!
eamonn: that's about when WAVX will hit...
the black for you and what remains of the cult by then. About 10th generation Sprague, $100 billion in the hole, etc., etc., etc. Maybe $5 per share. Of course, that'll be a considerably higher market cap than now, due to the trillion shares outstanding.
eamonn: aren't you gettin on...
the free HhH bandwagon? You know my incarceration here is entirely bogus.
dig: this is a company who did a $10 million...
"development" deal with some penniless garment center folks, you may recall. A quarter million is chump change, dig. Are you serious? You really think the Andover gang doesn't know somebody who could pony up a mere quarter million for one of the good old boys? (Using a receivable, of course. One that could later be defaulted upon.)
P.S. The horse manure was not intended to be realistic, dig. Really, you gotta unplug from the Kool-Aid Katheter. You're fryin brain cells by the trillions.
P.P.S. How many times has Steven said--on the record--via CC, "we are shipping"? He was not shipping, unless they were Fed-Exing cartons full of styrofoam somewhere. But the cult, as you ought to know, has never taken him to task for that or anything else. Believe this guy at your own peril.
dig: the Pizza PR has a certain aroma to it...
and it ain't the smell of pepperoni. It smells sorta like Wavoid shenanigans to me. Kinda like a Go-Kite "article" in the CAD-CAM forum, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that this Cahalin guy was a closet Wavoid. Or somebody who went to Andover with Steven. Something like that. I guarantee you there is not good business reason for a pizza chain to be investing in this technology.
No, dig, the bells and whistles are sounding on the pizza PR. I suspect it's bogus. But, hey, ICBW.
dig: depends on your expectations, I guess...
if, like Snackman, you are expecting $40 million in revenues to happen this year, all of those numbers would be fairly stenchy. My expectations, as you know, are for these people to always underperform. Every quarter, every year, forever, or until an actual management team is put in place, whichever comes first. I expect they'll be wearing snowshoes in hell before anybody with the last name of Sprague (and/or Nadig) gets a pink slip, so basically I expect them to continue to fail ad infinitum.
Given the hype this outfit has put out, balanced by my own low expectations, I guess I'd say $250K would be the stench-line. However, I am not conceding the point on licensing versus product sales. Licensing is way more subject to manipulation. These folks could be licensing the use of the horse farm's brand to manure manufacturers, for all you know. If you actually still trust anyone there to tell the truth, then you really need to have your head examined. Unless there are details as to who the licensees are, I ain't buyin no license revenue figures.
dig: Have you learned nothing...
about the way the folks in Lee operate after all these years? If they've actually had the audacity to PR that some pizza chain has bought a handful of TPM-equipped PCs and use WAVE software, well, they basically got nuthin. The Q3 results are gonna stink, dig. They are telegraphing this to you all and the cult reacts by behaving as if what some dimwit at Papa Jeeno's Pizza Parlor squanders his boss's money on makes some sort of difference in the grander scheme of things. I expect next week WaveXpress will PR a new joint venture with a partner in the United Arab Emirates to televise Yankee games in Aramaic. Details of the transaction, as always, will not be disclosed. (Basically, though, Steven will probably get free camel rides any time he's in that neck of the woods.) I swear, dig, I think you've reconnected to the Kool-Aid Katheter. You need some sort of intervention.
dig: that's what footnotes are for...
sounds like you shoulda used one when you stuck that number on your list. So the mea culpa is yours, my friend, not mine. As to "abusing" Orda, I'm sure his self-esteem won't suffer from a mild dose of ridicule.
P.S. Actually, I think this nice-guy version of dig space is a little too warm and fuzzy. Next you'll be sending Valentines to Snackman.
DIG: If ORDA is right...
in his $4 million projection for Q3 revenues, I will shoot one of those crows who flies over my house in the morning, bake it in a pie, fly to Lee, MA, and eat it on the front steps of the Berkshire Eagle.