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Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dwight martin who wrote (5767)	7/30/1999 8:40:00 AM
From: Jim Mulis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13157

Slightly OT. Or, I'm glad we're in the business of enhancing content. From Westergaard: ** Op/Ed Feature: The Internet Information Age It Ain't Over 'til It's Over But, Hey Gang, It Just May Be Over!!! If you're into Internet stocks and don't mind having your hair stand on end, take a visit to The Adviser.com { HYPERLINK the-adviser.com }www.The-Adviser.com. Indeed, even if you ARE NOT into Internet stocks and DO MIND having your hair stand on end, you'd better GO THERE in any event. You may just conclude, as does WBN, that the Dutch tulip phase of Internet life -- which we have no doubt will in the long run be a healthy one -- may just be over. Here's why: ADVISER.COM: "Last month, we broke the news that AOL was going to offer free Internet access in Europe. Today, we continue our exclusive coverage on AOL's new pricing strategy in the US and AT&T's aggressive new growth plans. "The-Adviser.com has learned that AT&T is considering slashing Internet access pricing as part of a new war on America Online. The pricing strategy would push telephone-based unlimited Internet access pricing to as low as $9.95 per month and would result in cable-broadband access pricing declining to $19.95 per month. This new pricing strategy may force AOL's hand to cut Internet access prices in the US as a pre- emptive strike." Hey, these guys are saying out load what Johnny Dotcom has been mumbling for the last two months -- ever since hearing that ISP (Internet Service Provider) access was being given away free in England. There's more: "The-Adviser.com first reported that AOL's overseas price cuts were just the first phase of a radical new pricing model that AOL management was considering. AOL continues to charge US consumers over $20 per month but finds itself with the sudden possibility of losing this annuity type revenue. Price cuts under consideration are believed to be as steep as 50% for some consumers. The move would be an attempt to thwart potential customer losses and maintain loyalty." WESTERGAARD: The Adviser.com's web site is very well put together and the business model looks realistic -- free access with heavy promotion of the core business which is financial planning for a fee. They offer a free email alert service which we've signed up for. HEY, THAT'S NOT ALL, FOLKS: The WSJ Calls It "Pricing Suicide" More on this from The Wall Street Journal this morning in its lead story by George Anders: "Internet Firms Offer Goods In a Bid to Increase Traffic." It's another hair raiser. Read this story and you're not going to want to own these stocks. A few snippets: Gordon Tucker, CEO of Egreetings.com: "Charging for cards was a small idea. Giving them away is a really big idea." The Journal proceeds: "Plenty of other fast- growing companies are committing similar forms of pricing suicide in cyberspace -- and then declaring they have cleared their path to success. Want to receive a fax? Open an Internet account? Collect your voice mail, make a long-distance call, listen to music or read commentary by prominent writers? No- cost versions of all these services are popping up on the Internet, to the consternation of established rivals that believe in charging for their services. "'Time and again, do-it-for-free companies are coming in and spoiling an industry for everyone else,' says David Cowan, a partner at Bessemer Venture Capital, Menlo Park, Calif. 'But it's a fact on the Internet: People expect a lot of things for free. And if you don't give it away, some other start-up will."' This WSJ story is a must read. It wraps as follows: "Yet as Mr. Schutz (Jared Schutz of Blue Mountain Artists, Inc.) surveys all the companies trying to make money by giving services away over the Internet, he says: 'The current models aren't self-sustaining.' The indirect revenue available doesn't seem sufficient to support all the new sites. 'That could change if there's more advertising or more purchases online. But as long as venture capitalists and the stock market keep shoveling money at Internet businesses,' he says,'entrepreneurs are going to try ever-more daredevil approaches to build a business.'" WESTERGAARD: "Shoveling money," says Schutz. Yes, that is precisely what it's about. The day the shovel stops and investors start looking at "burn rates", that's all she wrote. As for AOL, it's a great company and gonna be around for a long time, but Johnny Dotcom says that if that stock isn't on its way to 60 fast, then that course he took years ago with Ralph Acampora on technical analysis was one big waste of time.

To: dwight martin who wrote (5767)	8/2/1999 1:17:00 AM
From: dwight martin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13157

broadcastingcable.com DAILY BRIEFING Source faces more legal woes Local-content, interactive program guide developer Source Media faces new legal battles following the meltdown of its joint venture with TV Guide Inc. TV Guide disclosed last week that Source allegedly violated Canadian intellectual property laws and that the joint venture was on hold until the issue could be resolved. Source fired back, saying it was pulling out of the deal with TV Guide to do a similar deal with cable operator Insight Communications. In the ensuing battle of the press releases, TV Guide accused Source of breach of contract while hinting strongly it will sue Source. {MORE}