Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PaperChase who wrote (63850)	7/2/1999 8:23:00 AM
From: gnuman	Respond to of 132070

PC, re: "And like how long do you think Office max, or CompUSA will stay in business playing that desperate game." I think you're looking through the wrong end of the scope. Looks to me like this new initiative is being driven by the ISP's and box makers, not the retailers. Look who's behind it. AOL/CompuServe, Prodigy, MicroSoft, (and many other ISP's). And soon HP and Compaq. I can't imagine they want to be associated with a poor user experience. They're betting the user will be on-line with the product for at least three years. And I think they're going to make sure this is good business for the retailers. Here's an excerpt from a recent article. AOL, Microsoft Offer Free PCs AOL said it would give a $400 rebate on selected computers made by eMachines Inc. to anyone who subscribes to AOL's $21.95-a-month CompuServe Internet access for three years. The lowest-price eMachines computer is $399, in effect making it free, but the monitor isn't included. The deal also applies to all computers bought at the Circuit City retail chain. The arrangement is expected to help AOL finally bolster the subscriber base of its CompuServe service, which is targeted to small businesses and home office users, but has only 2 million subscribers. AOL's flagship online service has 17 million subscribers. Prodigy announced a similar 3-year deal for any brand of computer bought at Best Buy consumer electronics stores. Its Internet access costs $19.95 a month. Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) is offering a $400 rebate to customers who buy a personal computer at Staples Office supply stores. The one-week trial ends Saturday, but Microsoft officials said they are considering extending the offer, as they did with a 3-month old offer at the small computer chain Micro Center. The major PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news), are expected to announce similar deals with Internet service providers later this month. dailynews.yahoo.com

To: PaperChase who wrote (63850)	7/2/1999 11:00:00 AM
From: Knighty Tin	Respond to of 132070

PC, They had to hit you on the head to get the word on servers that the rest of us have known since about this time last year. <g> The camel's nose is under the tent, dude. Nobody buys a hooker (Dell or Gateway) when the hippies (EMachines) are giving it away for free. Prices will never go up on PCs again for an extended period of time unless they find one that can do 70 mph on the freeway. Yes, folks are buying their second computers and soon find out they've been hosed by the overpriced boxmakers. It will take a while because consumers aren't too bright and business consumers spending shareholders' money are even dumber, but the luxury box is history. Who cares whether AMD makes money? It is the fact that Intel will not grow eps that makes their overpriced stock such a compelling put buy. Of course, they haven't grown eps for more than two years, so the herd is slow to catch on. This always happens when growth stocks stop growing. I still remember back in the early 1970s when analysts were telling me that Avon and Polaroid were growth stocks and I should stop expecting them to be growth companies. <g> Good luck, PC. I think that you will eventually be on the side of the angels. I just hope its not too late by then.