ATHM drop again. I think the overall market is weak due to likely interest rate hike. After following ahhaha for a while I start locking some gold stocks on my radar screen, I did notice they are performing nicely for the past few sessions. However, I think to use gold as a hedging tool is not in favor at least for now – just an amateur opinion.
I kept thinking about free internet access, such as the IPS NetZero, last night. What impact it will cause on this ever-changing cyber space? If this prototype happens to be a successful model, will it ever make a dent on ATHM? It supposedly to be a nice patch up from ATHM as a complete access solution, don't you think? When I walked in the street of Hong Kong, the busy Central area, you can just step in stores any time pay small amount of money and get on to internet like you use a pay phone. In the future, do we really need to bring notebook or palm device with us for a trip? Seems to me broadband will be easily available not matter where you go, unless the next vacation will be one the tip of Mt. Everest.
I believe what makes 99% of the ATHMers excited about this stock is they compared it to AOL track record. Without the relativity of AOL, ATHM connectivity technology is only understandable to people like ahhaha, Eric, Frank (in alphabetical order), the stock price is next to immeasurable. We are still holding because we fantasize about AOL's hundred billion dollars market cap would be visualized on ATHM soon. Now, I believe AOL business model will be forced to change if this free accessing thing migrating from Europe to this continent.
AOL reminds me of Apple back in 1990 when Microsoft released its Windows 3.0. At that time, Windows is still a preemptive multitasking toy facade on top of DOS 5.0. Apple have plenty of time to open up itself to stifle Windows, but they waited too long until Windows 95 lease, worst is Apple wanted to keep the high margin hardware business model. The rest is not only history to Apple but today Microsoft has to sit in the court preparing to apologize to world, especially to the camp of Open Window and Motif, let alone OS2. AOL leads the open access campaign over broadband, but if you look closely enough, AOL actually is the only one locked itself up in a kernel in the boom of third industrial revolution - internet. With the experience on NetZero last night, I felt that AOL is at the junction similar to Apple back in the early 90's.
For AOL, to fanaticizing on the big and strong pipe is very wrong, imo, but that seems to be AOL's strategy presently. I think AOL should dress up like Yahoo Jr. and fight its battle from there when they still have a good chance to dominate that area. Pipe? AOL can't do anything on cable, what about DSL and satellite? Does the agreement with Telcos and $ into Hughes, prevent YHOO, Excite, or LCOS... from sharing that bandwidth? Time is running out and the windows are closing upon on AOL. They must make decision right and quick. This is not the time of Windows 3.0 release, THIS IS THE TIME FOR WINDOWS 95 BETA VERION 3.
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