More on convergence:
A good article about the GE/NBC/VVTW for it's "between the lines" motivation of these big bucks shakers and movers.
startribune.com
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And the the following of a potential "mystery partner" of Ampex. If instead Sony turns out to be a competitor of Ampex in digital storage, no matter, there is always AT&T and CBS Time Warner and Disney to deal with. It's not so much the name of the company as it is the strategic moves which they are taking and the reasoning behind these move. "Catch the Wave." Ampex is positioned for this wave .. Not the current E-Commerce wave of VVTR, AMZN UBID etc. These are nickel and dime compared to what is coming in the convergence wave of entertainment, Internet, communications and computers. This one will have billion dollar players and they will need a supply chain.
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As announced in the NY Times and WS Journal Sony indicated plans to restructure and eliminate 105 of work force. As quoted from the NY Times March 9, 1999 p C6 article by Stephanie Strom "Sony to Cut 17,000 Jobs And Reorganize 3 Units"
{Per the President of Sony, Mr. Idei:}
""...a change in focus was also needed. ...Sony's new focus would be the network business - essentially the business of linking consumers to a variety of services either through their computers or their television sets.
"We have to make it possible for Sony's customers to directly link themselves with our products and services and for Sony to distribute its movies, music, games and personal finance tools and services directly to it's customers....
In other words.. The company intends to supply not only the computers and television sets through which people will gain access to its movies and music but also the pipeline....Sony would invest aggressively over the next three years in research and development, equipment, plants and building the infrastructure necessary to provide services for what he called a "networkcentric" world.
... change company's identity from a manufacturer of consumer electronics to a provider od digital network services similar to Cisco Systems or Lucent Technologies"
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IMO, Ampex is not an "Internet play" as we use this phrase today. Instead it is being positioned as a component / contender / provider in the new Internet wave which will somehow involve convergence themes. Time frame is still months and years, but not too many years ahead. The stock market anticipates, for substantial investment gain, so must the investor.
Ed Perry |
