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Happy Thanksgiving to ALL! eom
Best,
Dan
Interesting number to a CEO
Noted: A security breach exposing the personal information of 100,000 customers can cost a company $23 million in notification expenses and lost business. (Business 2.0)
Press Release Source: Symantec
Symantec Outlines Vision of Next-Generation Security
Tuesday October 10, 10:00 am ET
Products and Partnerships Focus on Protecting Information and Interactions, Increasing Customer Confidence in a Connected World
NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 10, 2006 -- Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC - News) today outlined its vision for protecting customers from the next generation of threats targeting their information and interactions. The concept Symantec calls Security 2.0 brings together an ecosystem of products, services, and partnerships to help customers remain confident in today's connected world.
"Confidence is the essential component in today's digital world," said John W. Thompson, Symantec chairman and chief executive officer. "Consumers and enterprises alike need to feel confident that their information is safe and their interactions are secure. Otherwise, the digital lifestyle will not be as exciting or dynamic, and we will not realize the full potential that new technologies bring to the connected world."
Thompson, speaking at a company event in New York City, said that new technologies are driving new business models and opportunities for more online interaction. The Internet has changed the way consumers bank, shop, and interact online and has enabled them to connect directly to banks and e-tailers to conduct transactions. At the same time, competitive pressures are driving organizations to embrace more online collaboration and information sharing among their increasingly distributed workforces and their global suppliers and partners.
As a result, the battleground for security is no longer just the computer, or even the network. Protecting customers' information and interactions requires more sophisticated security processes and technologies.
"As the threat landscape evolves it is critical that vendors, such as Symantec, broaden their focus to deliver next-generation security solutions that address the dynamic nature of business, the increase in real-time collaboration and online interactions, and the need for faster access to information," said Chris Christiansen, program vice president, Security Products and Services Group, IDC.
To combat these new threats Symantec is delivering the next generation of security products and services that provide customers comprehensive protection. For consumers, Symantec is building solutions based on the fundamental tenets of identity and reputation, which are critical to furthering confidence and trust online. Norton Confidential provides Web browsing protection and confidential information management and protection. It also provides crimeware protection and anti-phishing protection via Web site authentication to help customers safely conduct online transactions. Symantec is pursuing new distribution models to enable organizations such as banks and online retailers to deliver protection directly to their customers.
For enterprises, Symantec is helping organizations manage new types of security and compliance risks, enabling them to pursue the business advantages of increased information access for customers, employees, partners, and suppliers. The dynamic nature of today's enterprise environments requires organizations to protect against risks such as data leakage or internal fraud associated with their information, including files, e-mail, instant messaging and enterprise data. To help customers reduce information risks Symantec is delivering multi-layer data leakage protection and application-specific solutions for enterprise databases, e-mail, and Web applications.
As more devices connect to complex network environments, organizations need to ensure that every endpoint, including servers, laptops, and handhelds, have up-to-date security software. Currently organizations must install and configure multiple products, which only adds to the complexity. Symantec is integrating multiple security products such as antivirus, firewall, network access control, and antispyware into a single software management solution. This will enable organizations to configure devices and manage the entire environment from a single console, improving their security while also reducing complexity.
Organizations today also have to comply with internal IT policies and external regulations, which requires a systematic and comprehensive approach to mapping regulations to policies, ensuring that they are being followed, and proving it when needed. Symantec's strategy is focused on unifying policy management, configuration management, retention management, and data protection management to provide enterprises with a comprehensive toolset for IT policy compliance.
In addition to technology, protecting customers' information and interactions also requires the right set of people and processes. Symantec Global Services offers a full range of IT risk management consulting, education, and support services, helping customers assess and manage risks to their security, availability, performance, and compliance. Symantec Global Services' extensive knowledge and technical and business expertise helps organizations reduce IT risk and cost.
"Technology is a critical part of today's education process and our top priority is protecting students and faculty from cyber threats so they can leverage our online resources with confidence," said Seth Shestack, acting chief information security officer, Temple University. "By implementing Symantec products, we've been able to ensure student and faculty compliance with our security policy, allowing us to protect our users and the campus network, provide safe Internet access and other IT services, and maintain the university's reputation as a leading educational institution."
Protecting customers' information and interactions requires an ecosystem of solutions, services, and partnerships. In support of its vision, Symantec is announcing new products and partnerships including:
-- Norton Confidential Online Edition -- This online transaction security
solution allows financial institutions to help their customers bank online
with confidence. The solution is based in part on the technology in
Symantec's recently announced Norton Confidential product and is being
delivered via new bank-to-consumer and retailer-to-consumer distribution
channels.
-- VeriSign® and Identity Protection -- Symantec and VeriSign announced
plans to deliver security solutions to combat the growing threat of
consumer identity theft and fraud on the Internet. Symantec plans to offer
support for the VeriSign® Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication
Service. In addition, the two companies intend to jointly market combined
identity and security solutions to financial institutions, online
retailers, and end users.
-- Accenture and Symantec Security Transformation Services -- Symantec
and Accenture today announced the establishment of Accenture and Symantec
Security Transformation Services, an organization that will build and
implement data security solutions for companies grappling with the
increasing complexity of managing risk in their IT environment. The global
organization is comprised of consultants from both companies dedicated to
mitigating security risks in three key areas: compliance, security
monitoring and management, and application security.
-- Symantec Database Security -- This new product reduces risks to
information stored in major enterprise database management systems.
Targeted at businesses, governments, and academia, it provides real-time
fraud and data leakage detection and auditing capabilities to address
growing compliance requirements for secure information access.
-- Symantec Mail Security 8300 Series -- This represents the next-
generation mail security solution that reduces risks to information flowing
in and out of the enterprise via e-mail. New integrated content filtering
helps organizations protect against data leakage while ensuring compliance
with external regulations and internal corporate policies related to e-mail
content.
For additional information on Symantec's Security 2.0 vision go to http://www.symantec.com/about/news/index.jsp.
About Symantec
Symantec is the world leader in providing solutions to help individuals and enterprises assure the security, availability, and integrity of their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news. All prices noted are in U.S. dollars and are valid only in the United States.
Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains statements regarding anticipated business activities, which may be considered forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, including statements relating future development efforts, products, services and solutions. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied in this press release. Such risk factors include those related to: maintaining customer and partner relationships; the anticipated growth of certain market segments, particularly with regard to security and storage; the competitive environment in the software industry; changes to operating systems and product strategy by vendors of operating systems; the timing and market acceptance of new product releases and upgrades; the successful development of new products and integration of acquired businesses, and the degree to which these products and businesses gain market acceptance. Actual outcomes may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. Symantec assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Contact:
CONTACT:
Melissa Martin
Symantec Corporation
+1 (408) 517-8475
melissa_martin@symantec.com
Mike Bradshaw
Connect Public Relations
+ 1 (801) 373-7888
mikeb@connectpr.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Symantec
Blue Fin and the Board...
I contacted Dutton and they advised that the target price is 12 months from the issue date of the last report. By the way, this is common practice in the industry, but I thought I would get it directly from the source.
As an aside, thanks to the few that I know here, for your concern regarding my Mom's health. I don't have time to follow the board these days but, by daughter keeps me posted. Best to ALL.
FYI
beach
OT…Sorry Snackman, thanks for removing my post. I had no political motivation. Nor do I have any, when I pick up bar and restaurant tabs of our brave men and women. They do not choose where to go and what to do. I support THEM. I hope you and the Board will accept my apology. It won’t happen again.
Dan
Does anyone have any informed speculation, regarding a potential WAVX licensing deal with HPQ?
TIA, for any thoughts.
beach
Hardware & PCs
H-P Buys Security Software Firm
By TSC Staff
11/30/2005 12:03 PM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/tech/hardware/10255077.html
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ:NYSE) agreed to buy Trustgenix, a Santa Clara, Calif., maker of software that's designed to let cooperating organizations exchange user data securely and privately.
After closing the deal, H-P plans to integrate Trustgenix and its software into the company's OpenView product line. Financial terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.
H-P, based in Palo Alto, Calif., expects to close the acquisition within the next 30 days. Shares of H-P were adding 7 cents to $30.03.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What if (TCG) ate their own cooking?
What if all members of TCG announced that they would fully implement trusted computing in their own businesses, over the next two years. I believe this would accelerate the sales cycle.
Dan
Sprague Speak...Probably posted, Sorry if so, as I do not get to follow the Board, as often as I would like.
The Computer of the Future Jack M. Germain, newsfactor.com
Mon Oct 31, 4:19 PM ET
Hobbyists of the 1980s who became the early adopters of the bulky and underpowered boxes called personal computers had almost no clue how rapidly computer technology would develop. Given the rate of growth in computer power and miniaturization in the last quarter century, it is almost mind-boggling to think about what lies around the corner.
Remember the Jetsons, the popular futuristic cartoon family? Well, most computer visionaries see the fanciful Jetson home created by TV writers in the 1960s becoming a reality. "Imagine all sorts of appliances that know when to turn themselves on and off, toasters that respond to a spoken command or phones that automatically search electronic Yellow Pages for a pizza parlor and then place your order," said Gerald Flournoy, vice president of I.T. solutions for the Millennium Group.
It might be hard to imagine being tethered to computers any more closely than we are today with smartphones, wireless PDAs, and tablet PCs. But Flourney, along with other experts, sees the next major shift in computers as ushering in an era of even more portability and power.
Wireless Computing
James Lansford, CTO of semiconductor maker Alereon, is gearing up for a new generation of computers that will use wireless Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to replace all of the cables that connect computer peripherals to the main PC. Think of this development as wireless USB.
"All wires will go away," Lansford said. "UWB will work like a personal area network with high data delivery at a low power."
He said the development will allow consumers to use computer peripherals the same way that Bluetooth technology operates with cell phones and laptop computers. Lansford likened the consumer benefit of UWB to that of Bluetooth on steroids, with the connection rate 500 times faster.
People will walk into a room with a UWB-enabled digital camera, for instance, and have it instantly connect to a computer and display photos. No longer will computer users have to plug devices in to USB ports to connect them. Everything, from printers and scanners to mice and keyboards, will be activated instantly.
This technology, according to Lansford, will be available next year in the form of wireless docking stations for UWB-enabled devices. "The bleeding edge of this technology will be on the shelves in time for next Christmas," he said, adding that the significant deployment will occur in 2007. The cost will follow the same pricing curve as consumers are experiencing now with Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless equipment, Lansford said.
Your Computer Suits You
The computer of the not-too-distant future, in additon to offering better wireless options, also will enable users to become wrapped up in their informational needs -- literally. Unlike today's mobile PCs that are portable, tomorrow's computer will consist of a string of wireless devices that we will actually step into, said Brian Young, vice president of information technology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
"Wearable devices will transform the way we live and work with computers," he said. "We'll command them through dictation and voice modules."
With miniaturized PCs that piggyback as part of our clothing, traditional peripherals like keyboards and monitors will become input devices of the past. Instead, finger movements might serve as the interface for manipulating the CPU and eyeglass-like visors might provide the video display.
"We will have computer mobility over today's portability," said Young. "We will see less reliability on traditional battery power and more power sources based on solar and wind, coupled with physical movement."
Perhaps one of the biggest leaps in technology will be a phasing out of electricity to power the computers of the future. Young said it will take no more than the next five years to become free from electricity. Already there are students who roam the Creighton campus with backpacks lined with solar cells that constantly recharge the power supplies for their laptop computers, Young said.
Laptops Will Rule
Howard Locker, chief architect for desktop and mobile development at Lenovo, agreed with Young about the demise of the desktop computer in the near future. But he does not see the laptop becoming a dinosaur anytime soon. "Desktops will disappear. High-end servers will remain to accommodate enterprise needs. Everything else will be based on the laptop," Locker said.
The basic clamshell design of the laptop will remain a constant, he said, because of the limitations imposed by screen and keyboard size. "When it comes to form factor, the size of the laptop today is pretty much where it will be for quite a while. Cost and battery life will guarantee that."
Even the threat of smarter smartphones will not stamp out the laptop, Locker said. "People will still need their laptops. Even with all that a smartphone can do, the keyboard function will remain very limited. We will need both but won't always have to carry a laptop. The synergy between the two merging technologies is where the growth will be seen."
A major trend to make portable computing universal already is apparent. Wireless computing might soon be available everywhere with constant connectivity through ubiquitous hotspots. "Laptop users will always be connected," said Locker.
Newer wireless specifications will continue to reduce the need for wires and enhance mobility. For example, WiMAX, a new wireless specification that promises a range of dozens of miles and speeds rivaling cable and DSL broadband, will be a key development in portable computing, according to Locker.
Trusted Computing
Whatever direction the future of computing takes, consumers likely will continue to rely on networks and the Internet, which means the need for security and safety will remain critical.
According to Steven Sprague, president and CEO of Wave Systems (Nasdaq: WAVX - news), the benefits of trusted computing -- a series of specifications intended to improve computer security -- on the future PC will be tremendous, not only on standalone devices but also on networks.
"Security will be in all of our devices and that will enable the PC of the future to share and replicate data to all of our devices on the network all of the time," he said. "The PC of the future will provide a root of trust and will no longer rely on a user ID and password for security purposes because all authentication will be done machine to machine."
Sprague said this technology will create a future in which all computing devices are on the Internet and every application will verify that access is limited to the user's personal authorized devices.
Copyright © 2005 NewsFactor Network, Inc.
AP
Microsoft Plans Online Version of Windows
Tuesday November 1, 3:29 pm ET
By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer
Microsoft Announces Online Versions of Windows Operating System and Other Popular Software Programs
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced online enhancements to its Windows operating system and other popular software programs, hoping to defuse a growing threat from Google Inc. and other fast-moving challengers.
With a new Web site called "Windows Live," Microsoft hopes to create a new platform that will unfasten some of its applications from a computer hard drive.
The change reflects Microsoft's recognition of the growing demand for applications and services that can be used from any place, at any time, as the lines between the home and office blur and portable computing devices become more powerful.
"It's a revolution in how we think about software," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told reporters and industry analysts Tuesday. "This is a big change for...every part of the ecosystem."
It's Microsoft's most aggressive push yet into online services, an area that's being pioneered by search engine Google, portal leader Yahoo, Inc., and others.
Earlier this month, Google and Sun Microsystems Inc. said they would work together on online services, including office productivity software. Neither company, however, would discuss any details beyond a vague collaboration deal.
Microsoft was slightly more clear in its announcement.
Gates said neither Windows Live nor another service called Windows Office would replace the operating system or other popular applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets, sold on disks that are installed on individual hard drives.
Office Live, Microsoft said, will be targeted at the 28 million small business worldwide.
It will have elements that enhance regular Office applications while others will work independently of the software suite.
Some of the tools outlined Tuesday will help small businesses build an online presence as well as offer applications to automate tasks such as project management, expense reports and billing, among others.
"With Office Live services, we make complex technology affordable and easy to use for small businesses, empowering them to reach their business goals," said Rajesh Jha, general manager of Information Worker Services at Microsoft.
Office Live will be available as an invitation-only beta in early 2006.
In many cases, Windows Live -- available at Live.com -- will offer souped-up versions of services like online mapping and instant messaging that have long been available on Microsoft's MSN.com, a heavily trafficked site that will continue to operate.
Microsoft also plans to continue to operate MSN.com, a heavily trafficked Web site that inspired many of the features included in the Windows Live Web site.
Windows Live will be offered for free and try to make money from the rapidly expanding online advertising market that has been fueling the explosive growth of Google and Yahoo, providing them with the financial and intellectual firepower to challenge the world's largest software maker.
Microsoft also plans to charge monthly fees for some of the Live Office features aimed primarily at small businesses -- a subscription model that has been a boon so far for online software pioneers like Salesforce.com Inc., NetSuite Inc. and RightNow Technologies Inc.
Peter Meter opportunity? From the NY TIMES.
September 17, 2005
Ring Tones, Cameras, Now This: Sex Is Latest Cellphone Feature
By MATT RICHTEL and MICHEL MARRIOTT
The cellphone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet - and the latest wave of phones featuring larger screens with bright color - the pornography industry is eyeing the cellphone, like the videocassette recorder before it, as a lucrative new vehicle for distribution.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
The major American cellular carriers have so far been adamant in their refusal to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs that they may soften their stance.
The cellular industry's major trade group is drafting ratings for mobile content - akin to those for movies or video games - signaling that phones, too, will be a subject of viewer discretion.
For now, the Web-based video available on many cellphones is crude. Images take time to load and appear grainy, and video feeds are often interrupted by inconsistent wireless signals.
But Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst for Ovum, a market research firm, said that as use of the Internet on phones becomes easier, and as content ratings emerge, it was inevitable that phone-based pornography would become a fixture.
"It has every component that has proven conducive to the consumption of adult entertainment - privacy, easy access, and, on top of it, mobility," Mr. Entner said.
For the carriers, it is a tricky proposition. Offering pornography would stir a tempest over indecency and possible pressure from regulators or Congress. But conceding the field to third parties would leave millions of dollars on the table.
At present, sales of pornography over mobile phones in this country amount to virtually nothing. But cellphone commerce is on the rise, with sales of ring tones alone expected to reach $453 million this year, according to the Yankee Group, a research firm. The company estimates that by 2009, sales of pornography for phones will hit $196 million, still meager compared with a projected $1.2 billion for ring tones.
But the likelihood that pornography will be increasingly accessible by phone has children's advocacy groups mobilizing. This month, the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, a nonprofit group that seeks to promote "biblical morality," met with leaders of the wireless industry to voice concern that phones could provide minors with all-too-easy access to inappropriate material.
"The Internet hit us blindsided," said Jack Samad, a senior vice president with the group, referring to the slow reaction of children's advocacy groups to the advent of online pornography. "We are attempting to stay ahead of the curve" with regard to mobile phones, pressing cellphone carriers to give parents the ability to block access.
The Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, has its own concerns, said David Fiske, a spokesman. "The commission takes very seriously the issue of inappropriate material reaching cellphones that are in the hands of children," he said.
Mr. Fiske declined to comment on what actions the commission might take. To some extent, though, the agency's hands are tied in that mobile phone carriers, like other telecommunications companies, are not responsible for what Internet sites consumers visit. But the carriers could be held accountable, experts said, if they take part in selling pornography to minors.
In the past, pornography has helped to drive the popularity of new technologies. including the videocassette recorder, cable television and the Web itself, and it is a source of revenue for many major media companies, including cable giants like Time Warner and Comcast, which have pay-per-view channels devoted to pornography.
Many of those in the business of pornography are not deterred by today's technical difficulties in delivering cellphone video. Harvey Kaplan, director of mobile operations for xobile.com, a company in Charlotte, N.C., that sells two-minute hard-core video clips for download over phones, said he believed that thirst for sex-related content would drive the popularity of Internet-enabled phones.
"People aren't going to go out and buy a cellphone that streams video so they can watch a trailer of a Disney movie," he said. "But they will buy that phone if they have five minutes of quiet time" viewing sexually explicit video.
Xobile started in April, and Mr. Kaplan said that each month the company was adding 6,000 customers, who pay around 44 cents to see a two-minute video clip. To use the service, a customer signs up and enters a credit card number at the company's Web site from a computer or a mobile phone.
The customer can choose to watch the clip immediately as streaming video, or download it to view later.
Another fledgling company, ohmobile.com, which began in May, offers pornographic images and plans to add video within the next month. The company is led by Jason Edwards, who for six years has operated Internet pornography sites through a parent company, Global Internet Holdings, based in Carson City, Nev.
"Adult for mobile is where adult for Internet was 10 years ago," Mr. Edwards said. He declined to say how many people had signed up for his mobile service, which typically charges $1.95 for a still image and plans to charge around $4 for a video clip.
Mr. Kaplan, from Xobile, said the growth of Internet-based pornography for phones let major wireless carriers benefit from the activity - through the data charges when their customers download information - without having to sponsor it.
"When you allow people access to Net by phones, the telecom companies are empowered with one of my favorite legal terms: plausible deniability," Mr. Kaplan said.
The bigger purveyors of pornography are looking to become involved, too. "We look very forward to being one of the leaders in the business here," said Steven Hirsch, founder and chairman of Vivid Entertainment, the largest maker of sexually explicit movies, noting that wireless content could earn as much as 30 percent of the company's $100 million annual revenues. "We are perfectly positioned with the amount of content we have."
While some of Vivid's hard-core materials can be found "off network" (that is, not through the major cellphone carriers), he said his company was focusing on getting "on the deck" - available directly from the carriers' cellphone menus, as ring tones are. He said it was only a matter of time before the carriers resolved what he termed the fundamental roadblock: age verification.
"I think it's really about age verification more than anything else," he said. "I don't think it's about the content."
In England, for example, age verification is handled at the point of sale for cellphones. A buyer provides proof of age. If buyers are of the age of consent, they can stipulate that their phones have access to sexually explicit material.
Adam Zawel, an analyst with Yankee Group, said that for mobile phone users looking for content outside the carriers' own menus - directly over the Internet - the demand for pornography is already higher than for any other category.
In Europe, people spend at least $100 million a year for pornography, from soft-core images of scantily clad models to hard-core images and some video, Mr. Zawel said.
The major carriers have said that for now they do not intend to include sexually explicit content on their menus. In a statement, for instance, Cingular Wireless said the company "does not provide adult content to its customers." But Cingular, the largest wireless company, also said it would not and could not stop people from using their phones to obtain such content directly from the Internet.
But the major carriers, like Cingular and Verizon Wireless, also note that they have protections in place - for instance, allowing Internet access to be blocked altogether on their phones.
John Walls, spokesman for CTIA, the mobile phone trade group, said that it expected to have content ratings in place early next year. Such ratings, he predicted, would include a category for people 18 or older, allowing carriers to feel more comfortable selling sex-oriented content - at least of the soft-core variety.
"If there's a demand for service or product, then just from a business standpoint you'd like to find a way to serve that demand," he said.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map Back to Top
JB re. airport
Passed info to three pilots. They know the airport. Evidently, Homeland Security is involved with all flights into the area. I will pass along anything I get from the pilots. Two of the three are Vietnam fighter pilots. If it is not illegal...they will fly.
beach
Jaybeaux
I understand your frustration and concern. I represent a group of well to do investors that have contributed to the rescue/relief effort in a LARGE way. I did not feel it appropriate to post, until I read your post. We have not only given cash...some in our group own jets. I flew in on one earlier today that is loaded with water and ready to fly. The problem is there is no infrastructure to allow landings at public or private airports. Our people do not post on the board, as they are technically challenged. However, just because we do not burn bandwidth, never doubt our resolve, when help is needed.
Have faith.
Sincerely,
beachfront
"unknown things"
Would these show up in a patent search?
TIA
Best,
Dan
Ramsey2, thanks for all of your tech observations. I would never insult anyone here. Period. But I do know something about pricing strategy. My guess is that on the introduction of these new products, it could be that the pricing and "value added" is to allow sales reps to easily upsell to the BETTER product.
Just an observation.
Thanks to all of the people who share on this thread. I'm not sure I fully understand the tech of WAVX, but ya'll keep me in this investment.
Best,
Dan
Sorry, forgot link.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/041207/121257_1.html
ARM
Morningstar.com
Overseas Managers Go for Growth
Tuesday December 7, 6:00 am ET
By Christopher Davis
In many respects, the overseas markets have resembled those here at home in recent years. Just as in the U.S., value stocks have been on a multiyear run while growth has lagged.
The trend has continued into 2004. Traditional value sectors like energy, industrials, and consumer goods have led the way, thanks to a number of factors, including high oil prices and robust economic growth in developing economies like China and India. Meanwhile, conventional growth areas, such as technology and health care, have struggled.
After foreign large-value stocks' long hot streak, overseas investors may find better values in the growth arena. At least that's what we've been hearing from many international-fund managers. Indeed, they're naming the long-out-of-favor telecom sector as a favorite hunting ground, while others have targeted more-aggressive growth names.
So what are international-fund managers buying? Here are a few examples.
Morgan Stanley Institutional Managers Say Telecom Looks Cheap
Morgan Stanley Institutional Value (Nasdaq:MSIQX - News) managers Dominic Caldecott, William Lock, and Peter Wright are dyed-in-the wool contrarians. When the market zigs, the managers zag to find companies that are trading cheaply relative to their cash flows. In the late 1990s, for instance, they ignored red-hot technology stocks in favor of consumer goods names, a decision that eventually paid off nicely. These days, the managers are homing in on telecom stocks like Vodafone Group (NYSE:VOD - News), French Telecom (AMEX:FTF - News), and Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - News). They point to the sector's high free cash flow yields, which are in the 11% to 12% range. Compared with the risk-free rate of return offered by bonds (around 4%), they say the sector is inexpensive. The managers point to telecom companies' abilities to generate a lot of consistent free cash flow, healthy dividend yields, and active share repurchasing programs.
American Funds Managers Also Fans of Telecom
As is the case with all American funds, American Funds EuroPacific Growth's (Nasdaq:AEPGX - News) portfolio is divided among a number of managers (American calls them "portfolio counselors."). On the whole, EuroPacific Growth is among the more-moderate foreign large-blend funds, in part due to the contrarian, value-oriented strategies many of its managers employ. The managers share buy-and-hold dispositions and add to their picks on weakness, as has been the case recently with France Telecom. They added to their stake in the company in 2004's third quarter. The stock slumped on fears that the French government, which still owns 50.1% of the company, was preparing to sell its stake. French Telecom bears argue that would increase the number of shares available on the open market, putting downward pressure on the stock price. American portfolio counselors rarely talk publicly about their picks, but French Telecom boasts a lot of free cash flow and is paying down debt at a steady clip--two attributes American managers tend to like.
Marsico Manager Favors Larger Names, Gets More Aggressive
Marsico International Opportunities (Nasdaq:MIOFX - News) manager Jim Gendelman is cut much from the same cloth as famed growth investor Tom Marsico. Like Marsico, Gendelman employs a flexible approach, putting together a portfolio with stocks of different sizes and a mix of growth and value fare. These days, he says he's been looking up the market-cap ladder for picks--the fund's market cap has crept up. And he's found the most-attractive names among more-aggressive pockets of the market. Indeed, his recent buys include Ericsson (NasdaqNM:ERICY - News), Reuters (NasdaqNM:RTRSY - News), Research in Motion (NasdaqNM:RIMM - News), and ARM Holdings (NasdaqNM:ARMHY - News).
Reuters
Sony, IBM, Toshiba Detail 'Cell' Chip
Monday November 29, 2:13 pm ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - IBM (NYSE:IBM - News), Sony Corp. (Tokyo:6758.T - News) and Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo:6502.T - News) on Monday unveilled plans for a powerful new "Cell" processor they are jointly producing to run next-generation computers, game consoles and televisions.
Cloaked in secrecy and the object of much speculation since the three technology conglomerates announced the project in 2001, Cell is billed as being far more powerful than conventional chips and able to shepherd large chunks of data over broadband networks.
In a joint release, the firms gave a glimpse of their respective plans for Cell-powered products, but offered only outlines of the technical details. Further details of the chip will be revealed in February at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco.
Sony said it would launch home servers and high-definition televisions powered by Cell in 2006, and reiterated plans to use the microchip to power the next-generation PlayStation game console, a working version of which will be unveiled in May. Toshiba said it planned to launch a high-definition TV using Cell in 2006.
IBM said it would start pilot production of the microprocessor at its plant in East Fishkill, New York, in the first half of 2005. It will use advanced 300 millimeter silicon wafers, which yield more than twice the number of chips per wafer than the 200 millimeter variety.
IBM also announced plans to first use the chip in a workstation it is developing with Sony, targeting the digital content and entertainment industries.
Together, IBM, Sony and Toshiba are investing billions of dollars to develop and prepare for mass production of Cell, which is a multicore semiconductor composed of several processors that work together to handle multiple tasks at the same time.
"In the future, all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network," Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO of Sony, said in a statement. "Current PC architecture is nearing its limits."
Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - News), the dominant supplier of personal computer microprocessors, has similar plans to introduce dual-core microprocessors next year and has sought out new markets, including home entertainment devices, for its chips.
The Cell processor won't steal business from Intel in the near term, but Cell's abilities in network-connected consumer electronics should serve as a "wake-up call" for the chip giant, said Richard Doherty, the director of Envisioneering, a technology market research company based in Seaford, New York.
"If the industry embraces this form of computing, Intel could wake up and find the world's changed," Doherty said. (Additional reporting by Daniel Sorid in San Francisco)
Happy T Day to ALL! Sincere thanks to all who share their knowledge with our investment group. We would not be here without you.
Best wishes,
Dan
OT...AMD
Press Release Source: AMD
AMD Launches Global Strategy with Partners to Provide Internet Connectivity and Computing Power to 50 Percent of World's Population by 2015
Thursday October 28, 12:52 pm ET
India's TATA Group, Mexico's CRC and Caribbean's Cable & Wireless First to Offer AMD's Personal Internet Communicator in High-Growth Markets
MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2004-- To foster the rapid adoption of technology in high-growth markets throughout the world, AMD (NYSE:AMD - News) today formally unveiled a business strategy with initial participants in India, Mexico and the Caribbean to enable 50 percent of the world's population with Internet connectivity and computing capabilities by 2015. As part of its 50x15 strategy, AMD is announcing the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC), an innovative consumer device that enables affordable, managed Internet connectivity and offers Microsoft® Windows®-based computing capabilities to help fulfill the communication, education and entertainment needs of people in high-growth markets.
The PIC was developed as one solution in support of AMD's global "50x15" initiative aimed at driving Internet and computing capabilities to half of the world's population by the year 2015. The primary goal of the "50x15" initiative is to leverage the benefits technology provides to enable economic-growth potential in high-growth regions of the world largely untouched by modern communication tools.
In conjunction with the introduction of the PIC, AMD announced customers in various countries around the world, including the TATA Group in India, CRC in Mexico, and Cable and Wireless in the Caribbean. TATA is the first company to embrace and distribute the PIC in its respective region. TATA will market the PIC and offer it initially to consumers in five cities in India. CRC will work with local distributors in Mexico to offer the PIC along with a suite of educational software. Cable and Wireless is deploying the PIC in support of disaster relief efforts throughout the Caribbean. AMD is diligently working with other customers in several regions to make the PIC available to consumers in high growth markets throughout the world.
"Technology is only as powerful as it is accessible," said Hector Ruiz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices. "With 50 by 15, we are creating a global ecosystem of partners to bring the benefits of technology and connectivity to parts of the world ignored by traditional technology solutions. We see the power of computing not only to educate and unleash the creativity of people, but to create significant business and economic growth opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs who can help bring billions of people into the modern technology era."
Introducing the Personal Internet Communicator
The Personal Internet Communicator is designed to be an easy to use, affordable consumer device that provides managed Internet connectivity and basic computing and Internet capabilities such as a browser, e-mail, productivity tools (word processing and spreadsheet), and the ability to view images, multimedia files and standard format documents. More information and pictures of the new device can be viewed and downloaded at www.amd.com/50x15.
"We are fully in favor of innovative programs that address the issue of digital inclusion," said Microsoft's Chief Technology Officer Craig Mundie. "Through this collaboration with AMD to deliver a low-cost Windows Powered solution, we hope to bring India's citizens one step closer to realizing the tremendous social and economic opportunities enabled by technology."
Other companies playing an integral role in the development and manufacturing of the PIC include Solectron, Seagate, Samsung and Macromedia played an integral role in the development and manufacturing of the PIC. Incorporating technology components from each of these industry leaders means the PIC is designed to be a high-quality, easy-to-use, robust consumer device that meets users' needs while being able to withstand the potentially harsh environmental demands of high-growth markets, which can include inconsistent power voltage, dust and dirt. The PIC is a sealed device, operates without a fan and can only be upgraded by the service provider, thus reducing the risk of human errors such as the accidental deletion of critical system files.
Business Model for Success
The PIC is branded, marketed and sold by local service providers such as telecommunications companies and government-sponsored communications programs. Pricing to the consumer is determined by the service provider, which may offer variety of subscription, microfinancing options and bundling packages at different price points. Microfinancing in the form of payment plans helps consumers avoid large, up-front cash deployments at the point of sale. Suggested system price point is $185.00 with a keyboard, mouse, and preinstalled software; or $249.00 which also includes a monitor.
To help ensure 50x15 is successfully adopted within target high-growth markets, a customer-centric business model has been developed that eliminates many of the barriers to adoption. Rather then merely building PIC systems, AMD is taking a geo-sensitive approach by proactively working with -- and creating opportunities for -- local manufacturing, distribution and financial partners. Developing an in-country value chain is an essential part of ensuring that the technology gets into the hands of those who need it most, and that the business ecosystem develops and spreads within the markets the products ultimately serve.
"Technologies developed for mature markets cannot be dropped into new markets and then be expected to succeed," said Shane Rau, Program Manager, IDC. "Despite the virtues of such low-cost and standardized technologies, they must still be arranged to solve a problem for the customers in that new market. In a regional or country market, having local relationships, such as with manufacturers, distributors, and service providers, is key."
About 50x15 and the Global Market Opportunity
50x15 is AMD's initiative to enable affordable Internet access and computing capabilities for 50 percent of the world population by the year 2015. With the current global Internet penetration rate at approximately 10 percent, and the global population estimated to reach 7.2 billion people by 2015, there is tremendous potential for 50x15 to bring billions of people around the world into the digital age.
50x15 is about empowerment and economic growth. AMD and a growing network of partners are delivering innovative solutions in high-growth and developing markets that empower consumers to lead better lives.
About AMD's Personal Connectivity Solutions Group (PCSG)
AMD's PCS group delivers high-performance, low-power embedded solutions that are designed to address customer needs in the non-PC Internet Appliance Market. PCS offers technologies from the AMD Alchemy(TM) Solutions and the AMD Geode(TM) Solutions product families covering a wide range of applications. Target markets for PCS solutions include client, mobile client, set-top box, and access/networking device markets. These products meet customers' needs for complete connectivity solutions.
About AMD
AMD (NYSE:AMD - News) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology users, ranging from enterprises and governments to individual consumers. For more information visit www.amd.com.
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. MIPS32 is a trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
AMD
Cheryl Sekel, 512-602-6292
email: cheryl.sekel@amd.com
or
Waggener Edstrom
Aaron DeLucia, 512-527-7017
email: aarond@wagged.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AMD
OT...Intel article via NY Times, sorry if posted.
September 12, 2004
Can Mr. Chips Transform Intel?
By GARY RIVLIN and JOHN MARKOFF
anta Clara, Calif.
PAUL S. OTELLINI was 41 and a rising star at Intel when, in 1992, his boss informed him that the company would choose him as its new chief of sales and marketing.
Though it was a promotion, Mr. Otellini was not pleased. He was happy running the microprocessor product group, a crucial job inside Intel, then as now the world's biggest computer chip maker. Besides, he had a newborn at home, and his acceptance of the top sales post would demand that he spend much of his time overseas.
"He wrote me an eight-page memo telling me why it was the dumbest idea he had ever heard," said Craig R. Barrett, who was his boss at the time and is now the chief executive. "He didn't seem to appreciate this was a one-way discussion," Mr. Barrett recalled recently. "He was in denial."
Mr. Otellini also failed to grasp that Intel's most senior leaders were giving him their highest compliment. "This wasn't a promotion because we thought Paul would be perfect for the job," said Andrew S. Grove, the chief executive at the time. "Clearly, sales and marketing was not his background. It was more, 'Here's an important job that will require certain skills; let's see how he does.' "
That was the Intel way: orderly, calculated and cold. Top management was putting him and others through the paces to simultaneously groom them for bigger things. "This could be understood as Paul's first big test," said Mr. Grove, a company founder who is now Intel's chairman.
Apparently, Mr. Otellini performed well in this and later trials. In January 2002, he was named the company's president and chief operating officer. That move all but guarantees that when Mr. Barrett - a former C.O.O. himself - steps down in May, the board will choose Mr. Otellini, now 54, as the fifth chief in Intel's 34-year history.
Now, however, Mr. Otellini may be wondering if he didn't have the right instincts when he asked to remain in his product management job.
Over the past year, Intel has suffered through any number of missteps: a product recall, the cancellation of major new chip releases, delays in the distribution of faster Pentium processors and, perhaps most important, slips in the release dates of new consumer products that the company casts as crucial to its future earnings.
These and other miscues prompted Mr. Barrett to send a memorandum in July to all 80,000 Intel employees, promising that top executives were "revisiting the meaning of Intel culture and talking about management expectations."
But a handful of missed deadlines and scrapped designs are hardly Intel's only worries. Assuming that the board promotes Mr. Otellini to the top spot, he will face the daunting task of reinventing Intel - a challenge that calls to mind the 1980's, when Mr. Grove turned the company, then an embattled memory chip pioneer under assault by aggressive Japanese competitors, into the world's dominant maker of microprocessors. Its chips run 80 percent of all PC's.
This time, though, Intel's main foe is not an external enemy, but a saturated PC market. The company has had plenty of warning: an Intel co-founder, Gordon E. Moore, anticipated decades ago that the power of computers would accelerate at an exponential pace. So each new generation of technological advance is a threat to the previous one, and no computer maker is safe from the trend.
Intel has overcome other market shifts in the past, and under Mr. Barrett, it has taken steps toward surviving in a post-PC world in which computing power has jumped into a myriad of hand-held gadgets for consumers, like cellphones, cameras and music players.
In other words, no longer is Intel's success assured so long as it efficiently stamps out ever faster processors. If it is to continue to prosper, Mr. Otellini must find a way to translate its power in the world of PC's into that of the high-end machines that run corporate data centers, while making deeper inroads into the new consumer markets.
Last week, at a conference for Intel developers, Mr. Otellini announced a new chip designed for a wireless standard, WiMax, which some people in the industry cast as a possible replacement for Internet access via digital subscriber line and cable. WiMax is intended as a technology to extend the range of WiFi: where WiFi is a wireless standard that works over shorter ranges, like a cordless phone, WiMax would allow for wireless Internet access over a wider range, like a cellphone.
Yet, like its longtime partner Microsoft, Intel has found it difficult to break out of its basic business and to diversify, now that the PC is no longer such a huge growth engine. This month, Intel cut its revenue and profit-margin forecasts for the third quarter, citing a weakening demand for its chips. Its said it expected revenue possibly as low as $8.3 billion, down from a mid-July forecast of as much as $9.2 billion.
The choice of Mr. Otellini goes a long way toward explaining Intel's effort to re-engineer itself.
Just as Mr. Grove was "the perfect C.E.O. for when we were smaller but wouldn't be the right C.E.O. for the current period," said Andy D. Bryant, Intel's chief financial officer and one of those who was passed over when the company chose Mr. Otellini, "to my mind Paul is coming to the job at just the perfect time for us."
UNTIL a few years ago, Paul Otellini was easy to overlook by insiders trying to handicap the race for the next heir apparent. For starters, he is an M.B.A. in a company that has always been run by engineering Ph.D's.
But it was also easy to underestimate Mr. Otellini because of his personal style. Intel insiders pride themselves on the raucous way they thrash out disagreements, a legacy shaped by the personalities of the company's top managers. Mr. Barrett, for instance, is cantankerous and prickly, a blunt-talking leader who wears his moxie on his sleeve and confesses to chewing out underlings. And as Mr. Barrett sees it, he is nothing but a pussycat when compared to Mr. Grove, whose management style "was to hit you over the head with a two-by-four."
On that scale, Mr. Otellini may best be cast as an altar boy in style; indeed, he was an altar boy as he grew up. Where Mr. Barrett tends to growl and snarl when talking to reporters, Mr. Otellini peppers his conversation with martini-dry wisecracks and friendly asides.
"The thing about Otellini that is so remarkable is that he is so unremarkable," said Steven D. McGeady, a former vice president. "I saw him in meetings where any other Intel manager would be ripping people's throats out, but his brow furrows and his throat gets a pinch in it."
Mr. Otellini was 24 when he arrived at Intel in 1974, just out of business school at the University of California at Berkeley. His first break came when he was put in charge of the I.B.M. account in 1980, just before I.B.M.'s PC became a global standard for computing. The alliance with I.B.M. proved crucial to Intel's rise.
When he was made the head of sales, the position he took only reluctantly, he opened scores of sales offices in emerging markets, helping Intel to establish a global footprint. But Mr. Barrett and Mr. Grove said it was in his next posting, running the chip-making division then responsible for 80 percent of Intel's sales, that Mr. Otellini proved himself.
There he championed what Intel insiders refer to as the "right-hand turn" - breaks with the cherished belief that nothing matters more than ever faster, more powerful computer chips. "That's when Paul arrived," Mr. Grove said.
Mr. Barrett agreed, acknowledging that Mr. Otellini, more than any other individual, deserves credit for convincing people inside the company that producing a chip that could process data at, say, 3.6 megahertz rather than 3.4, was not nearly as important to their success as making chips with built-in WiFi, thereby saving consumers from having to add hardware to their PC's. This was the "right-hand turn" started in 2001.
Through most of Intel's history, every new product followed a simple pattern: the engineers figured out what was possible and then told the marketing department what to sell. The company understood the importance of consumer focus groups, and employed ethnographers to study how people use computers, but their influence was minimal before Mr. Otellini took charge of the chip-making division. "We turned the process on its head," he said.
MR. OTELLINI'S user studies led him to make a heretical pronouncement in 2000 at a strategy meeting with Mr. Grove, Mr. Barrett and other top executives. Engineering's focus on incrementally faster and more powerful computer chips, he said, was no longer the kind of innovation users wanted most.
"The history of the industry was the better-mousetrap syndrome: You build a faster thing and the world will beat a path to your doorstep," Mr. Otellini said in an interview. "But as the industry matured, that no longer became the best way to look at the problem." People want built-in security features, wireless connectivity to the Internet and better graphics and audio, he told them.
"I laughed at him," Mr. Bryant, the chief financial officer, said. "I told him: 'Paul, no one is going to pay more for this stuff. It's just going to cost more to build it.' He told me I was wrong, that I needed to understand what customers value. If we can bring something of more value, they'll pay for it."
The main opposition, though, came from engineers in his division. "We gave him a list of a thousand reasons why he was wrong," said Louis J. Burns, the executive in charge of Intel's desktop computer unit. "And he asked each of us to give five reasons why it might work. It wasn't, 'O.K., that's interesting, guys, but now get to work, we're going to do it my way.' It was more of a collaborative discussion."
Today, both Mr. Burns and Mr. Bryant say they are loyal converts. "That takes a lot of guts and courage to push an entire company from where it's most comfortable," Mr. Burns said.
Intel employees tend to wear the Silicon Valley uniform of khaki trousers and a neatly pressed dress shirt. By contrast, Mr. Otellini tends toward items like black turtlenecks, said Kathy Garchow, a 10-year Intel veteran who is now a marketing manager. She worked as his technical assistant from 1998 through 2001.
For more than a decade, Mr. Otellini has belonged to a men's book group that he said is "deliberately made up of non-Intel types." He is in his office by 6:30 most every morning he is in town, and he has joked with underlings that "a waking hour is a working hour." But he is also that rare Intel executive who, when he takes a business trip abroad, tries to carve out time to explore a museum or a hidden corner of a city.
He is also a private man. When asked, he acknowledged that he has been married more than once, but he declined to say when his first marriage began or ended. ("The past is the past," he said.) He has two children, a boy and a girl, but he would not reveal their ages.
"There's probably no one person Paul pours his heart out to except his wife, Sandy," said Mr. Bryant, a close confidant of Mr. Otellini's.
"I'm not sure I pour out my heart to anybody," Mr. Otellini said.
Yet he can be strikingly candid about both himself and his work. Sure, he said, when asked if it was true that he would occasionally grouse to Mr. Bryant when Mr. Barrett ran the company for five years without naming a No. 2. Mr. Bryant, he said, was worried that the company was suffering because of it, but he was thinking mainly of himself. "My view was more parochial," he said. "Am I going to have a shot at the brass ring at Intel or not?"
Assuming that he grabs that ring next spring, he would start running Intel just as it needed to cross over from a pure technology business to a company with a much broader vision. Can this kinder, gentler chief executive meet the challenges?
Intel covets an array of new consumer markets, but in each of them it still trails rivals like Texas Instruments and ARM Ltd. of Britain.
Perhaps the biggest blow has come in the battle for the high-end corporate market, where Intel has ceded strategic leadership to Advanced Micro Devices. Intel's high-end Itanium microprocessor has suffered from disappointing sales, while A.M.D.'s Opteron has proved a runaway success.
That is not to say that Intel is in an untenable position. The performance of its chips has fallen behind A.M.D. in the past - as recently as 1999. And, in 2000, the Silicon Valley start-up, the Transmeta Corporation, seemed poised to trump Intel with a power-saving mobile microprocessor ideal for a laptop computer.
Each time, however, Intel has proved the skeptics wrong - in no small part because of its vast manufacturing capabilities and imposing research and development budget, which exceeded $4 billion last year.
For Mr. Otellini, these and other problems are both challenges and opportunities. "Craig has tried to find the next play without a lot of success, and that creates an opportunity for Paul," said Dave House, a former top Intel executive who was Mr. Otellini's boss at Intel in the 1980's and 90's. "It's always better to take over when things are messed up for lots of reasons."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company / Home / Privacy Policy / Search / Corrections / RSS / Help / Back to Top
24601...nice to see you back!
I simply can not spin this as positive. A potential customer must have said, "we don't want the WAVX product bundled in our deal." WAVE would have no choice, if this situation were to arise, but let NSM ship product and hope to pick up the business on the flip side. Just a WAG...but I cannot spin it in a positive light.
Best wishes,
Dan
awk, thank you very much for your time and the explanation.
Dan
awk, you stated...In the NGSCB space the "Embassy Executive" or "EMBASSY Trusted Client" could be used as the NEXUS kernel...
Would you mind commenting on other ways this could be achieved in the NGSCB space. Thanks for this excellent explanation to the non technical folks like me.
Dan
Maybe WAVE should contact...(NY Times)
July 5, 2004
An Investor's 'Gong Show' for Billion-Dollar Dreamers
By GARY RIVLIN
ENLO PARK, Calif., June 30 - A 33-year-old engineer from Salt Lake City, promoting a company that would mass-produce flying cars with retractable wings, was among the lucky finalists in the "Pitch Tim Draper on Your Billion Dollar Idea" contest, held Wednesday in the offices of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Another finalist was a San Jose, Calif., man (screen name: "Guns"), who said a fortune could be made with a Web site letting people book doctor appointments online. Then there was a longtime marketing executive who, in high-concept Hollywood style, pitched his idea for an online advertising company as "Google marries Akamai." He, too, was a finalist, even though he misspelled the first part of Akamai Technologies, a network infrastructure company, on his proposal.
Failing to make the cut, alas, was a man who offered only a vague explanation of his billion-dollar idea because he wanted to remain in stealth mode.
There was something decidedly "Gong Show" about the two hours Timothy C. Draper spent at his desk listening to a steady stream of entrepreneurs from as far away as Russia and France trying to wow him with their ideas.
Earlier in the week, each of the 10 contestants - Mr. Draper's term - had been sent a headset and the requisite software to link via the Internet to Mr. Draper's computer. Every 5 to 10 minutes, a new talking head roughly the size of a baseball card appeared on his computer screen.
A personal navigation system on a cellphone. A supposedly faster way to buy items online. An "interactive paper technology" that was a lot less than advertised.
Next!
Mr. Draper and his partners have a reputation on Sand Hill Road, the preferred address of Silicon Valley's venture capital set, for investing in barely formed start-ups that most rivals would not take seriously. But even they require more from entrepreneurs than the mere hope that the market for an idea can only get "big" and "still bigger," as the stealth entrepreneur wrote.
"We're more open than most, I think, to ideas that are really way out there," Mr. Draper said. "But we do need to believe that an idea has the potential to make a lot of money before we'll invest."
Consequently, he tossed sharp-edged questions at the contestants whose presentations he found intriguing. But a sure signal that someone was about to get the gong could be spied beneath his desk - Mr. Draper's foot bobbed uncontrollably whenever he grew bored.
"That's terrific," he would say, cutting someone off. "Good luck with it." And then another face would pop up on the screen.
In May, Mr. Draper had invited entrepreneurs to post their ideas on his Web log. He offered no promise of money, only a chance to secure a few minutes with a bona fide top-drawer Silicon Valley venture capitalist.
Mr. Draper sponsored a similar contest last fall. That experience convinced him the event was something he should hold more often. Sure, there were a lot of "nutty ideas" among the 110 entries he had received by the first contest's cut-off date, Mr. Draper said, but he does not doubt it was worth the time and hassle.
In the fall session, Mr. Draper and his partners gave $500,000 to Craig Elias, a 42-year-old salesman from Calgary, Alberta, to help him finance InnerSell, an online exchange that collects a commission for linking sales representatives to prospective buyers. In exchange, Draper Fisher Jurvetson received an ownership stake in Mr. Elias's start-up.
It is doubtful that any of Mr. Draper's Sand Hill rivals will mimic his contests anytime soon. But Tristen Langley, Mr. Draper's assistant, said television might be interested.
"We've been approached by one of the major networks to turn this into a TV show," Ms. Langley said. "It could be like 'The Apprentice,' but it might be more of a panel show, like 'American Idol,' where Tim is one of the judges."
Ms. Langley added, "Tim's attitude is, if a network says this is a good idea and they want it, he'll do it."
Mr. Draper said it was premature to discuss the possibility that he might become Silicon Valley's equivalent of Donald Trump. He did allow, though, that a presence on television would be good for business.
"A broader reach would guarantee a strong, strong deal flow" from around the world, Mr. Draper said.
In that regard, Mr. Draper is a rarity in Silicon Valley. Venture capitalists like to claim that a person arriving on Sand Hill Road needs nothing more than a good idea and the requisite moxie to receive financing. In reality, though, most entrepreneurs cannot even secure an appointment inside most of the top-tier firms unless they have attended the right schools, come from the right families or can drop the right names.
Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which Mr. Draper founded in 1985, has long been one of the exceptions to this practice. The firm was famous in the second half of the 1990's for boasting that it received hundreds of business pitches a month - and for claiming to give each one at least a cursory read.
"The general attitude on Sand Hill is, 'If a company isn't 20 miles from my house, and if an entrepreneur doesn't come with a reference, we're not interested,' " Mr. Draper said.
But even Mr. Draper appreciates that he is skating close to the outer boundaries of common sense by erecting a virtual billboard on the Internet and inviting the world to compete for 10 minutes of his time.
"Let's just say there's some people with some very strange ideas out there," said Ms. Langley, whose job it was to choose the 10 finalists from about 50 contenders.
Rejected entrants included a company selling an instructional salsa-dancing DVD, a woman seeking to get into the sex toys business, and a man who had clearly misread the rules. He thought the idea was to spell out how he would spend $1 billion of Mr. Draper's money.
Yet even some of the finalists had a hard time getting Mr. Draper to take them seriously on Wednesday. His foot started bobbing almost immediately during a pitch that was packaged as " 'Sex and the City' meets Reality TV on the Internet." And while Stephen P. Cook, the man behind the flying car, was allowed to continue for more than 10 minutes - the only entrepreneur who was - Mr. Draper confessed afterward he was more curious about the project than serious about investing in it.
"This is the kind of entrepreneur, I'm sure, who's going to dedicate his life to seeing this idea through," Mr. Draper said. "But who knows how long it's even going to take to build a workable prototype. Two years? Five years? Ten or twenty?"
Still, Mr. Draper said he would probably invite at least three of the entrepreneurs he met online last week to his offices. Among the lucky three is David Restrepo of Manhattan, whose idea proved sufficiently interesting that Mr. Draper's foot was still for nearly 10 minutes during the presentation. Mr. Restrepo's idea is for a Web site, aimed at baby boomers with aging parents, which would hook up elderly people who live on their own with care providers.
It turns out, however, that Mr. Restrepo, 36, is hardly the neophyte that Mr. Draper imagined he would find when he created the contest.
Mr. Restrepo, reached at his apartment as he was fine-tuning his presentation the day before the contest, said he had worked as a technology analyst for Jupiter Research before leaving to help start a medical technology firm in the Philadelphia suburbs. That company was successful in securing money from several well-known venture capital firms.
Mr. Restrepo has even counseled start-ups on the finer points of raising venture money while developing his Web site idea.
"I just see this," he said, "as a different way of knocking on the door of an established venture capitalist."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company / Home / Privacy Policy / Search / Corrections / Help / Back to Top
OT...but interesting from NY Times
July 5, 2004
Claiming a Threat to Innovation, Group Seeks to Overturn 10 Patents
By IAN AUSTEN
coalition of lawyers, researchers and software experts formed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation will try to overturn 10 Internet and software-related patents that the group says are so sweeping they threaten innovation.
While most of the patents are held by little-known companies, two industry leaders have also been named: Clear Channel, which has patented a way to distribute recordings of concerts within minutes after they end, and Nintendo, whose patents include some concerning platform software for hand-held games. The list also includes one individual.
"Traditionally, the Patent and Trademark Office has not been able to give these kinds of patents as tough a look as ones in chemistry, for example," said Jason Schultz, a lawyer with the group.
The list of targets was drawn from 200 submissions solicited through the Web site of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, based in San Francisco. It includes patents covering telephone calls over the Internet, streaming audio and video, and online testing.
The foundation, which promotes "digital civil rights," is not alone in questioning the patent process. A report issued this spring by the National Research Council of the National Academies called for, among other things, improvements in the system for challenging patents.
One patent the foundation dismisses as "laughably broad" is held by Acacia Research of Newport Beach, Calif.; as the company describes it, the patent covers systems for "the transmission and receipt of digital content via the Internet, cable, satellite and other means."
Robert Berman, executive vice president of business development and general counsel at Acacia, said the company holds sweeping patent rights because it conducted extensive research to pioneer the digital transmission of content. He predicted the foundation's challenge would not succeed.
"Broad is not necessarily bad," he said. "If you've got a broad patent and it's valid, that's a very strong patent."
The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against adult entertainment Web sites and, more recently, against nine cable and satellite television providers.
As with all the patents on the list, Mr. Schultz said his team of volunteers hopes to uncover evidence that other companies had already developed the concepts covered by the patent. If it finds such "prior art," as it is known, the foundation will ask the patent office to invalidate Acacia's patent. However, Mr. Schultz acknowledges that a lack of documents can frequently make it difficult to discover such evidence in the case of software and Internet systems.
"A lot of software code is done, dumped and never documented," Mr. Schultz said.
Another patent on the foundation's list covers a way to make telephone calls over the Internet. Mr. Schultz said the company holding that patent, Acceris Communications of Toronto, had drawn the group's attention by filing an infringement lawsuit against a relatively small service provider, ITXC, rather than larger companies like Vonage Holdings. Small companies rarely have the resources to fight infringement suits, Mr. Schultz said.
The president of Acceris, Kelly D. Murumets, rejected the charge that the company was pursuing only small rivals.
"Acceris has not targeted smaller players," Ms. Murumets wrote in an e-mail message. "In point of fact, and only after offering a license, Acceris filed a lawsuit against a major player" in the industry, ITXC.
Ms. Murumets, like Mr. Berman of Acacia, said she was confident the foundation would not find any reason for the patent office to reject the company's claims.
Test Central, which operates a Web site called Test.com and holds patents for online testing, is the only company to have contacted the Electronic Frontier Foundation since the list's release last week.
The testing patent is of particular concern to Mr. Schultz because the company sent letters describing its claims to a number of universities - suggesting it might eventually seek licensing fees from nonprofit institutions.
James Posch, the chief executive of Test Central, said the company had no intention of enforcing its patent against nonprofit institutions. He said Test Central would try to work with the foundation to develop a formal restriction exempting nonprofit users from its patent.
"We recognize the good E.F.F. is trying to do," he said. "We're a little bit concerned that they've been using a little bit heavier a hammer than they needed to with us."
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WavExpress potential?? Sorry if posted.
June 9, 2004
New Service by TiVo Will Build Bridges From Internet to the TV
By JOHN MARKOFF
he Internet, in jumping past the personal computer and into the living room television set, is starting to give viewers the possibility of bypassing traditional cable and satellite services.
TiVo, the maker of a popular digital video recorder, plans to announce a new set of Internet-based services today that will further blur the line between programming delivered over traditional cable and satellite channels and content from the Internet. It is just one of a growing group of large and small companies that are looking at high-speed Internet to deliver video content to the living room.
The new TiVo technology, which will become a standard feature in its video recorders, will allow users to download movies and music from the Internet to the hard drive on their video recorder. Although the current TiVo service allows users to watch broadcast, cable or satellite programs at any time, the new technology will make it possible for them to mix content from the Internet with those programs.
"This is the fourth electronic video service, and it is an alternative to cable, satellite and broadcast television," said Tom Wolzien, an analyst at Bernstein Investment Research and Management. Those traditional services, Mr. Wolzien said, "have been the monster gatekeepers, but this is a way for content providers to get past them."
In the new world of Internet-connected television, viewers will not have to worry about when a show is scheduled or from where it comes.
"We're fully committed to developing an entertainment experience you can't get over normal broadcast television," said Michael Ramsay, chairman and chief executive of TiVo. "This is what we think the future of television is."
A timetable for introducing the video service has not been set, nor has its price.
TiVo sustained a big blow Tuesday when DirecTV, the satellite television provider and the biggest source of new subscribers for the TiVo service, said it had sold its entire equity stake of 3.4 million shares in TiVo. Shares of TiVo dropped more than 14 percent to close at $6.41.
There is some speculation in the industry that DirecTV is moving toward developing its own digital video recorder. Several analysts suggested TiVo is moving toward Internet downloading as a way to insulate itself against potential competition from DirecTV.
Last year TiVo, which has 1.6 million subscribers who use its digital video recorder with cable or DirecTV, acquired Strangeberry, a small Silicon Valley start-up that had developed a new technology to view Internet video streams. TiVo is now developing that technology and plans to integrate it into the TiVo system next year. Video distributors like Netflix, RealNetworks and Blockbuster are also starting to explore the possibility of delivering feature-length movies via the Internet to users for viewing later.
"We're no longer in a world where innovation is stopped because somebody is the only game in town," said Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, a Seattle-based company that now streams audio and video to computer users through the Internet.
The idea of downloading and storing video for conventional television viewing has until now been pioneered by a small group of technology companies like Akimbo, a maker of an Internet digital video recorder that is based in San Mateo, Calif.
Because most Internet connections do not yet reliably support data speeds needed to view television-quality video as it is streamed, a number of the Internet video services require that programs first be downloaded and stored on a hard drive before viewing.
Now, as broadband Internet becomes widely available in homes and new wireless video networks make it simpler to move video data and streams inside the home, bigger players are starting to emerge.
For example, Microsoft demonstrated a service called IPTV at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this year. The company believes that it is possible to deliver television to rival today's cable programming by using commonly available standard telephone lines, as part of what are called digital subscriber line, or D.S.L., services. It is running two small trials of the technology in Canada and Switzerland, and sees a broad potential.
"We sort of expect that TV will shift to where everyone will watch what they want when they want," said Peter T. Barrett, chief technology officer for Microsoft TV.
Microsoft executives argue that the technology would be a boon to telephone companies who are now searching for new revenue streams in the face of increasing pressure on their traditional voice-calling businesses. "Every single phone company has to be thinking about video," said Lynne Elander, general manager of marketing for Microsoft TV.
But executives at telephone companies said they were not moving quickly to deploy the Microsoft technology.
Both Verizon and SBC are engaged in trials and deployment of fiber optic networks, which offer significantly higher speeds than existing D.S.L. services. "The jury is still out on IPTV, we have to see how it works," said Eric Rabe, a spokesman for Verizon.
Smaller firms, however, are not waiting for competition to grow in this field. On Monday, Broadband Networks Inc., a start-up based in Los Gatos, Calif., introduced a service it called TimeshiftTV. The new service, using a $299 digital video recorder, will initially focus on offering video programs in eight foreign languages when it is available in December.
Broadband's chief executive, Bob Burke, said the company would try to license its technology to other companies.
The main challenge facing Internet video distribution is that streaming DVD and HDTV-quality video will require data rates above 5 megabits a second. That is far beyond most D.S.L. network speeds today, which generally range from 300 kilobits to 1.5 megabits.
Indeed, even downloading and storing high-definition video for later viewing at most D.S.L. speeds may not be economical. Sending the data stored on a DVD disk over the Internet at those speeds might take several days, making it a poor competitor for "sneaker-net" services like Blockbuster, which require the viewer to walk or drive to the store.
But for standard video quality, the economics may already work, according to a recent Bernstein Research report. It costs just 15 cents an hour to stream standard video across a D.S.L. connection, Mr. Wolzien said, and those costs are falling.
Whether Internet delivery of programming will be a serious threat in the near future to traditional broadcasters remains a matter for debate among industry executives. In any event, they also expect to capitalize on the new technology. As Steve Burke, president of Comcast Cable, the nation's largest cable operator, said recently in a phone interview, "We're big believers that the Internet is the future."
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OT (from NY Times) Sorry if posted.
May 16, 2004
SPENDING
Card Seem at Risk? Try a Stunt Double
By JENNIFER BAYOT
FTER days of searching the Internet, Gen Tanabe of Palo Alto, Calif., found the rare 19th-century memoir he wanted to buy for his father for Christmas last year. But he had no intention of giving the Web site his credit card number.
"The site looked like it might have been run by a teenager in a back room," said Mr. Tanabe, who writes books about college planning and financial aid. "I didn't know how secure it was, or what they would do" with the number.
Online vendors typically encrypt credit card numbers at their Web sites, but the numbers must be decoded later to receive payment. And they are often stored in databases that may be vulnerable to hackers or dishonest employees long after the purchase.
What if there was a way to fool those who would try to fool us, so that purchases could be made online without any danger of card numbers falling into the wrong hands? A few companies are trying such a plan: think of it as the stunt-double approach to online shopping.
Anyone with a credit card from Citibank, MBNA or Discover can request a temporary account number for use when buying online, by telephone or mail order. The temporary numbers are linked to customers' real accounts, but they generally expire after one use, unless the cardholder requests otherwise - for example, by placing a spending limit on the number.
Cardholders can get these numbers in one of two ways, depending on their issuer. They can download software that generates such numbers upon request or upon detecting that a cardholder is at the checkout page of an online retailer. Or, in the case of Citibank, which is owned by Citigroup, they can also register online, then revisit the company's site each time they want a new number.
To avoid giving his real card number to that small online bookstore, Mr. Tanabe, 32, used a temporary number to buy the present for his father. "I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise," he said.
The temporary numbers can also prevent retailers from renewing purchases like magazine subscriptions or gym memberships without issuing reminders. Many customers forget that vendors may automatically charge their customers' credit cards for such recurring fees.
Fraud remains a big concern for many online shoppers. In a survey of 12,000 consumers at the end of 2003, Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass., found that about two-thirds were "very or extremely concerned" about the theft of their credit card numbers during online activity.
Chris Hoofnagle, a lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, says such temporary numbers ease those worries. Mr. Hoofnagle says he has used them himself, to prevent online retailers from keeping his card number in their files. "If the company stores your credit card number, that database just becomes a honey pot" for hackers, he said.
The temporary numbers, he said, also make him more comfortable buying from newer or unfamiliar vendors.
The free service has been available for more than a year, but few people seem to know about it. "I think if you interview 100 consumers, you'll find 100 consumers who've never heard of it," said John Gould, director of consumer lending and bank cards for the TowerGroup, a research company based in Needham, Mass., that was acquired recently by MasterCard.
Industry analysts say consumers tend to rely on other protections - including the card companies' promise not to charge them for fraudulent transactions. Last month, in fact, American Express stopped offering its temporary-numbers program, called Private Payments, saying that other safety features already offered plenty of fraud protection.
Some consumers may think that their credit card accounts are safe because retailers encrypt their card data at the time of purchase. Though the numbers may then be safe in transit, retailers must still decode the numbers to collect payment.
Mr. Gould says it is impossible to ensure that all retailers take the next step: encrypting the numbers again, according to rules set by the card networks. "This is too big a territory to patrol; in the U.S. alone, you've got over 400,000 merchants online," he said. "You've always got the issue of the merchant who is careless. But the real problem is, you've got the merchant who's a fraudster, whose intent is to steal your information."
ANALYSTS also suggest that the card issuers have done little to promote the feature because customers pay nothing for it. But the companies say that the numbers are still relatively new and need time to catch on, especially because their use requires some effort.
"And since it's not being offered by every issuer, you just don't have the repetition or frequency to get people talking about it," said Steve Furman, director of marketing e-commerce at Discover Card.
Although many consumers say they worry about fraud risks, some may not want to bother with temporary account numbers. "Consumers will tell you one thing and do another," said James F. McCarthy, senior vice president for emerging products at Visa. "There is only so much they will do to protect themselves."
Citibank refers to its temporary numbers as virtual account numbers; information is available at www.citibank.com/us/cards/tour/ cb/shp_van.htm. Discover, meanwhile, calls them single-use numbers and offers them on its Deskshop page (www2.discovercard.com /deskshop).
MBNA customers can create the numbers through the company's online ShopSafe program (www.mbnashopsafe.com).
The companies have tried to make the numbers easier to use. A cardholder can now charge monthly phone bills and other recurring payments to the same disposable number, rather than entering a new one each time. Similarly, a cardholder can register a number with a favorite merchant for continued use only with that merchant.
"You'll never need to reveal your actual credit card number again," said Amy Radin, executive vice president for the e-business unit of Citi Cards, a division of Citigroup.
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Snackman...Trump tried to play hard ball with his bond holders a few months ago and they did not BLINK. fyi.
Dan
OT...from NY Times
March 22, 2004
Game Wars 2: Battle for the Living Room
By JOHN MARKOFF
AN FRANCISCO, March 21 - The consumer electronics and personal computing industries are supposedly rushing toward a grand digital convergence.
Maybe it is actually a divergence.
Even as the Intel Corporation and the Microsoft Corporation, whose chairman is Bill Gates, are pushing a digital future in which they hope that the personal computer will be the hub for a variety of home entertainment devices, the computer game industry is pointing to a fundamental flaw in that vision: game software has largely driven PC growth among consumers.
"This kind of thing drives me crazy,'' said Alex St. John, the founder of a game software publisher, WildTangent Inc. He challenged Intel at a recent industry forum on the digital home, arguing that personal computer makers are about to lose out to the video game industry, which is waiting on a new generation of game consoles that also aspire to be home digital media hubs.
"If the game console makers want to own the living room,'' Mr. St. John said in a subsequent telephone interview, "they're in a better position to own it than Intel.''
Intel executives responded at the meeting and said they felt there was a market for interactive television in the home.
Microsoft is in a different position, having hedged its bets by continuing its two-decade-old alliance with Intel in producing software and microprocessors for PC's while turning to I.B.M. to develop the chip for its next-generation Xbox game player. In its first Xbox, Microsoft chose an Intel processor, but it plans to use a version of I.B.M.'s Power microprocessor family in future versions.
The decision was a coup for I.B.M., which already had commitments from the Sony Corporation and the Nintendo Company, the other makers of game players.
Still, Microsoft is not necessarily in the driver's seat, either, since it is far behind Sony in the game player market. At Sony, Ken Kutaragi, the person widely credited with the creation of the PlayStation, has been made an executive deputy president to reassure investors that company intends to press its advantage.
With so much in flux, the visions for the future of home computing may become more sharply defined this week in San Jose, Calif., where 10,000 software game developers are scheduled to attend the annual Game Developer's Forum.
Sony and Microsoft, which The Wall Street Journal disclosed on Friday plans to cut prices by $30 on its Xbox to $149, are both expected to mount major efforts to woo the developers, who actually create the games to be played on their machines. It is a challenging time in the game business, though, because neither Sony nor Microsoft is ready to unveil their future machines, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 2. They are not expected to reach the market until late 2005 at the earliest.
As a result, sales of consoles and software have been flat lately. NPD Group, a market research company, reported in January that console sales fell last year by 2.7 percent, to $10 billion.
The prospect of digital convergence has prodded Sony and Microsoft to weigh how many interactive media and digital video recording features they can add to their next-generation players without making them too complex or pushing prices beyond the relatively low cost that most users expect.
But should they fail to push their products in a multimedia direction, some analysts say, it will open the door for Intel, which is attempting to reshape the PC into a entertainment-oriented multimedia computer that will fit more comfortably into the family room. As Intel pushes ahead with those plans, I.B.M. is hoping to leverage its alliance with the game console makers into an advantage providing software and servers to connect game players in a vast network of online gaming.
"Two years ago, we started explicitly focusing on a massively scaleable online gaming market,'' said Steve Canepa, vice president for I.B.M.'s global media and entertainment industry business.
The company cites estimates from DFC Intelligence, a game industry research firm, that the online gaming business will grow from an $875 million today to $5 billion in five years. By 2006, the number of online gamers is expected to more than double to 114 million from 50 million.
But will the computer game market really grow that fast?
Sony executives are betting on a dramatic demographic and sociological shift from passive television watching to interactive game play. They cite a report by the Nielsen Media Research firm last September of an 8 percent decline in television viewing among males aged 18 to 34. The Sony executives assert that the young men may be playing video games instead.
Both Sony and Microsoft are hoping to introduce hand-held devices that they say will serve the same function as the various small devices that the computer industry is counting on to help revive its fortunes.
Last year in Los Angeles at the E3 game show, the annual event at which new games are introduced, Sony announced its new PSP, a portable PlayStation that it plans to start selling late this year. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, Microsoft showed what it is calling the Personal Media Center, a hand-held video and audio player.
Both companies hope that their hand-held gadgets will be "iPod killers,'' referring to Apple Computer's popular device that plays music. Sony has hailed the PSP as the "Walkman for the 21st Century.''
By contrast, Nintendo, which dominates the hand-held game market, is planning to stick to a pure game platform with its new Gameboy DS, which will contain two screens so that a player can view two aspects of a game simultaneously. Nintendo seems to believe that the hand-held game market will remain in the clutches largely of younger players.
Meanwhile, the rest of the game industry is hoping that mobile gaming will jump-start growth while it awaits the next generation of consoles.
But in challenging the premise of Apple's iPod, the gaming industry may be running the risk that Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, will return the favor by extending his own digital hub concept into the living room. Apple briefly experimented with the idea of a Macintosh-based interactive television and video-game system in 1997.
More recently, Mr. Jobs has been highly critical of attempts to add video and gaming features to hand-held devices that compete with the iPod. The success of the iPod, he argues, rests on the idea that it allows users to do other things while listening to music on a portable device built to do nothing other than produce excellent sound.
If Mr. Jobs can reinvent the home-computer-as-entertainment-and-information-hub the way he led the creation of a seamless way of delivering digital music, analysts say, he could shake up the plans of all the other more powerful corporate interests trying to figure out what consumers want.
"Steve Jobs has a better chance than many of the others to rethink the idea of personal media in the living room,'' said Richard Doherty, president of Envisioneering, a computer industry research and consulting firm. "I know his iPod design team has been busy working on new products.''
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The "Microsoft Disk Operating System" or MS-DOS was based on QDOS, the "Quick and Dirty Operating System" written by Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products, for their prototype Intel 8086 based computer.
QDOS was based on Gary Kildall's CP/M, Paterson had bought a CP/M manual and used it as the basis to write his operating system in six weeks, QDOS was different enough from CP/M to be considered legal.
Microsoft bought the rights to QDOS for $50,000, keeping the IBM deal a secret from Seattle Computer Products.
Gates then talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the rights, to market MS DOS separate from the IBM PC project, Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS.
In 1981, Tim Paterson quit Seattle Computer Products and found employment at Microsoft.
$1.44/$1.50 eom
Wave Systems Corp.
480 Pleasant Street
Lee, MA 01238
tel: 413-243-1600
fax: 413-243-0045
barge, thank you for the update. Any discussion regarding the unfavorable terms of the last Wave investment? While I can understand the stealth regarding the OEM situation, Steven would have had the investment group sign NDAs' in order to open his raincoat, so to speak. Therefore, the terms seemed to me to be harsh, based on where Steven thinks Wave is in the food chain. Thanks for any insight.
Dan
OT Snackman, thanks for keeping our investment group informed.
Best wishes,
Dan