I think Westy is onto something here...
** Compaq Computer Reveals Much About Its Strategy at Comdex; Not
Surprising That It Should Be the First PC Manufacturer to Employ
Fingerprint ID. John Westergaard Reports.
If we seem to be overdoing Identix (IDX 9 1/2 AMEX) coverage this
week, there's a reason. The merger with Identicator is a very big
deal. A $100mm company with a worldwide infrastructure and
international reputation for the best biometric products at the high
end of the market (primarily law enforcement) is being put together
with a very small company that just happens to have a technology which
will revolutionize the PC industry. Can too much be said? Here is what
the Wall Street Journal reported about Compaq from Comdex -- not a
word about IDX or Identicator, but just read between the lines:
"Compaq Computer Corp. is expected to roll out Monday home-computer
accessories that permit faster online connections via telephone and
satellite. Though Compaq has forged alliances and invested in some
companies that are working to speed up online service, the
announcement planned for Monday marks the first time it will sell
products to consumers that achieve so-called broadband speeds,
considerably faster than modems that are now common.
"For its Presario-branded home personal computers priced above $1,500,
Compaq will sell an optional modem that works with a new kind of
telephone service called 'digital subscriber line,' or DSL. The modem
permits a PC to receive data at as many as 1.5 million bits per
second, compared with around 50,000 bits per second for existing
modems. The new modem permits a PC to transmit data at a rate of about
384,000 bits per second.
"'We call this the beginning of the end, with the end goal being to
make broadband access to everyone,' said Rod Schrock, leader of
Compaq's consumer division. Compaq will also announce an agreement
with Hughes Network Services, part of General Motors Corp.'s Hughes
Electronics subsidiary, to resell its DirecPC satellite Internet
service and equipment starting early next year. Compaq also plans to
sell modems that will permit its PCs to connect to the Internet
through cable TV systems early next year.
"The company aims to equip all its home PCs with broadband
capabilities in 2000. Initially, Compaq will sell new connection
devices and services through its Web site and custom-order kiosks it
recently placed in several thousand retail stores. Compaq will build
broadband features into PCs that it sells in stores later in 1999."
Wow! That's some clearly laid out roadmap and does anyone question
that with all these new users coming on stream at speeds quantum times
faster than today, security becomes an increasingly critical factor?
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