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Non-Tech : Starnet (SNMM)Online gaming, sexsites, lottery, Sportsbook

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To: C.Carlos who wrote (2621)	3/30/1999 10:37:00 AM
From: SockpuppetDoug	Read Replies (3) of 8858

"The Microsoft of I-gaming." I've been wondering a lot lately whether Starnet will become a household word - wondering if they will beat the competition into the ground for the next two years as they appear to be doing now. I have holdings in SNMM as well as several other I-gaming companies and am confident they will all do well. However, the more I study the competition and the more I study SNMM's long term business strategy, the less convinced I am that they will have easy sailing in the next 24 mo. I'm concerned particularly over their choice (like most of their competition) to use the Windows OS for application development. I was hoping that someone more technologically sophisticated than me would bring this up but it hasn't happened so I'm throwing this out on the table for anyone willing to discuss it. It is my understanding that software development is fairly expensive and, more importantly, time consuming. Starnet's gaming software only runs on Windows compatible systems though. I've seen countless articles on java savvy internet devices and WebTV boxes that offer access to the web via a simplified OS and browser. These devices are expected to have a big impact in the international market starting the beginning of next year (and a huge impact in the Asian markets where many people don't need or can't afford a personal computer.) My question is: Do SNMM's plans account for this? Will they offer flexible solutions for their licensees? I haven't seen anything so far that would lead me to believe that they are working on it. Their present software is still new. On a lesser but still significant note are the constraints of the software today. I can download casino software and "bet with the champ" at home but I can't do it at work. Why? (besides my boss) Because our office has a Mac network. Of the six people in the office, three of them have Macs at home. The Mac platform jumped ahead of IBM in US consumer sales this month and is continuing a slow but steady trend towards greater US market share. I don't care much about Apples market share except as it pertains to SNMM revenues but the fact is that it does! If you look at where Apple's bastions outside the US they are Canada, Japan, and Australia. For Christ's sake! - these are Starnet's prime markets! A 15-20% market share is not huge but that 15-20% is off limits to SNMM. With all the new licensees coming aboard, it seems easy to come to the conclusion that SNMM will simply establish a monopoly - which I guess is what we're hoping for. But the real money won't be realized for another 1-2 yrs. When that time comes, will Starnet's software have them well positioned? I really don't know. But I think there is cause for reservation. As much as I hate to say it, I don't think Microsoft is out of the picture either. If they get their act together I don't see why Microsoft can't yet be the Microsoft of I-gaming. Wouldn't it be ironic if their technology was java based..... I would like to stress again that I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to software development and my opinions about the future of computing are pretty much based on Popular Science and Cnet. So if anyone out there has a more educated opinion on the subject I would like to hear it. Rgds Doug Siu

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