Frank, We all know iomega's history under previous management; the shareholder lawsuit etc. So, now they establishing the standard not only with zip and jaz, but also with their new "techno-boilerplate" warning us about risks that we already know about. Thay are careful, that's good.
We know zip, jaz, and ditto are in great demand. That's not the question. The questions are:
1. Is the current floppy big enough for tomorrows needs? No, it's not even big enough for today.
2. What will replace the floppy? The ever more accepted, cheap, reliable, and cool zip; or, the unreliable and money losing EZ135 from that chapter 11 bound Syquest; or, that product with the catchy name, the LS120, the one that is twice the price, less than half the speed, has a poor migration path as far as increased capacity, and is joined at the hip with Compaq? Or.. some unknown, unramped vaporware (Swan)? By the time the competition comes out with their zip immitation, iomega will come out with their 200 meg zip.
3. Can there be more than 1 standard? Because of the need to exchange files, it's unthinkable. Is the competition going to waste millions just to show how poorly they understand the consumer? Not likely. This applies squarely to zip and almost as much to jaz.
Boilerplate warnings or not, the answer is clear, if you look.
Rumors:
Nintendo, 50% chance even though the specs are different.
IBM, Gateway, Packard Bell, TI, and Apple: would you be caught without a zip-like product while your competitors have it? Not a chance. What product will they choose, see above.
Iomega stock is expensive right now, but, it will get even more expensive in the next 6 months.
Ken |
