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Technology Stocks : 3DFX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Patrick Grinsell who wrote (13467)6/24/1999 11:25:00 PM
From: Michael G. Potter  Respond to of 16960
 
I'm most interested in current retail sell through, when the pro-forma statements for Q1 will be released, the status of the various lawsuits, what the OEM volume via options has been like (and if there will be one more tier 1 announcement), and a confirmation that the V3 3500 is still on schedule.

I guess when will a good opelGL icd be released along with good NT support so we can win more business machines would be good as well.

thanks,

Michael



To: Patrick Grinsell who wrote (13467)6/25/1999 12:37:00 AM
From: Ben Wu  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 16960
 
1. how do they plan to keep glide viable. how do they intend to attract and KEEP developers on the glide bandwagon.

2. how aggressively do they plan to go after the high-end markets (ie. high-margin) currently occupied by the likes of E&S and SGI. Will their next chip set allow them to crack this market?

3. notebooks. when?

4. Quantum3D? what fruits are there? i haven't heard ANYTHING from them since the introduction of V3. Is this relationship worth keeping?

5. repackaged voodoo3's in Asia. rumors about asian card makers buying V3s from OEMs and repackaging them for sale under their own brand names.

6. the usual questions about set-tops and consoles

kinda an off note (but would be great to mention to Sellers)
The 3dfx sponsored Glide programming contest (http://www.voodooextreme.com/glide3tutorial/) is a great idea, but they should expand it into a bi-yearly contest officially sponorsed by 3dfx and give monetary prizes ($1000? $5000?) instead of video cards. that would probably do A LOT in terms of building support for glide. and making great "wow" demos for 3dfx, kinda like those cool assembly code contests that are held all the time (you know, the ones that the swedish programmers keep winning =) )



To: Patrick Grinsell who wrote (13467)6/25/1999 1:36:00 AM
From: Obewon  Respond to of 16960
 
Just a "couple" of questions! ;)

Obewon

1. Does 3dfx see the PC graphics segment as being able to support industry revenue growth of 25% per year for the next five/ten years? If not, where does 3dfx plan to turn to obtain such growth.

2. Given the emphasis of PC manufacturers on costs, does 3dfx foresee creating an integrated multimedia chip that includes 2D/3D graphics, 3D sound, and DVD controller sometime in the next five years.

3. Is 3dfx seeing any tightening of fab capacity by TSCM such that costs are increasing or deliveries are being delayed?

4. Going forward, what min and max percentage of sales that 3dfx is going to spend on advertising and brand management?

5. How much of 3dfx's sales this quarter are attributed to its former partners/now competitors? Please give guidance concerning this issue going forward.

6. When does 3dfx foresee the need to add another shift to its Mexican manufacturing facility? Are there any extraordinary capital expenditures that would be required? Is uncertainty concerning capacity constraints a factor in limiting the number of OEM wins (ie do OEM's cite this as a factor in an unsuccessful bid)?

7. What is 3dfx's greatest weakness as a company at this point?

8. What is its greatest strength?

9. What is the current employee headcount? What was it last year? (combined 3dfx/STB) What is current employee turnover in the design unit?

10. Why did 3dfx choose to delay the Voodoo3 3500TV?

11. What is the #1 reason cited by OEM after an unsuccessful pitch/bid? What is 3dfx doing to address these concerns?

12. Has the Company ever successfully prosecuted anyone for violation of a signed NDA?

13. What do you consider the best source is for gauging the direction that the industry is taking? How are you positioning to get in front of this movement?



To: Patrick Grinsell who wrote (13467)6/25/1999 8:08:00 AM
From: Joe C.  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 16960
 
Questions for Scott:

1. Some rumours about preliminary May PCData sales numbers have been circulating that on the surface appear to be incorrect. Do you have those numbers and can you share with us relative percentage sales of each of TDFX's products.

2. TDFX has announced major asian OEM motherboard wins (congratulations), as well as, an exclusive win with the Talon brand of PC's. What is TDFX's strategy in terms of producing their own motherboards. Is the Talon win reflective of a planned exclusive/high end strategy? What sort of production level is expected for TDFX's production of motherboards? Can TDFX produce limited quantities of motherboards profitably (i.e. are their specific fixed costs that need to be covered, etc.).

3. The 3dfx gaming site that was announced was positioned as a software developer's marquis site. What has been the reaction from them re: the concept? Are there plans to expand the site into an ongoing gaming community? Is this being viewed as a profit making endeavor in which ultimately TDFX can obtain revenues through paid advertising or subscription fees or is this more of a marketing/branding plan?

4. Some of your competitors (DIMD, CREAF) have expanded beyond pc graphics in their business models. Is TDFX exploring growth opportunities beyond the graphic accelerator business?

5. In light of the recent AMD news, the CPU market seems to be under extreme pricing pressure right now. Is TDFX experiencing similar pricing pressures? Has TDFX lowered their ASP's on the 3000 and 2000 lines since their introduction?

6. Does TDFX have any near term plans to expand production capacity? Has TDFX been able to satisfy demand with existing capacity? Has TDFX's apparent incremental roll out strategy (US first, then europe, then OEM's, then asia) been reflective of their desire to manage sales versus production?

Joe C.



To: Patrick Grinsell who wrote (13467)6/25/1999 11:39:00 AM
From: Peter Kerling  Respond to of 16960
 
I would like Seller to clarify why the company sees itself as an
"entertainment company" and not just a chip maker. I hardly can see anything entertaining with 3Dfx despite of stock price decline due to missing or unclear business model and falling behind competitors technologically.

To stay ahead in the future IMO means producing 3D-experience for the user to a much greater extend than today. For example by developing 3D-LCD-glasses where you can move your head and the graphic-card calculates these movements within a 3D-enviroment in real time. Algorithms must be optimized for that. I can see 3Dfx doing any research for that bringing any solutions to the marked place.

Ask Scott, what they are using their R&D-budget for.
Do they finance lawsuits with it?

Thanks a lot.

Peter