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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Teflon who wrote (28629)	8/24/1999 11:18:00 PM
From: RTev	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

If MSFT was planning on spinning this group off into the Market through an IPO as a separate business, Belluzzo might be the right kind of executive for the job. I agree that that's the only way this hire (if it actually happens since it's still just a strong rumor) makes sense. If that's what is about to happen, then today's runup makes more sense. I'm convinced that the various properties now under the "MSN" umbrella could compete much better as a separate entity. And Microsoft will do just fine without that division. I figure it's been mostly a distraction for Microsoft. Mike Maples, the products VP who oversaw the vanquishment of Lotus and WordPerfect and then built Office into a powerhouse, quit in '95 because of the decision to plunge into the content business. He argued openly that it was too far afield from Microsoft's core competencies. I think he was right. Hiring Belluzzo seems to be a way of finally fixing that mistake by letting Microsoft pursue what it does so well without the financial drain of those content properties. It lets the content properties, which are finally starting to show their own financial returns, create the kind of corporate culture they will need to succeed brilliantly. I fear I'm not one of those who feel that either Gates or Ballmer is capable of much helping with the creative side of the business. I think that both of them have been major obstacles for the content businesses. They've shown their genius in developing and marketing software, but that golden touch has not transferred well to the very different content business.

To: Teflon who wrote (28629)	8/25/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: codawg	Respond to of 74651

Tef, I think that the tracking stock issue was always about an eventual spin off. Either one is good for shareholders, but a spin off probably creates fewer internal problems at MSFT by allowing the rest of the company to focus on the core business. Either a tracking stock or a spin off will definitely happen IMHO and I think MSFT would be wise to do it towards the end of the year. Net stocks typically ramp during that time and our friend Judge Jackson will hopefully be out of the picture.

To: Teflon who wrote (28629)	8/25/1999 4:08:00 PM
From: Gerald Walls	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

I'm with you: "Who the hell is this guy? He ran an unsuccessful company for a couple years in an industry that's not related at all," said Bruce Kasrel, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Someone who knows how to build a business around media properties' would be a better choice." This was part of what was running through my mind today, even though the Market seemed to react positively to the appointment. But as I thought about it a little more one thought became clear. Cramer said: ================= thestreet.com Belluzzo 3.0 Is a Huge Win for Microsoft By James J. Cramer 8/24/99 10:22 AM ET Before you ask yourself what's going on with Richard Belluzzo, ex-Hewlett-Packard (HWP:NYSE) and now ex-Silicon Graphics (SGI:NYSE), let me tell you that this is a huge win for Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq). Belluzzo was a can-do guy at Hewlett-Packard -- my fave exec there. When he got to SGI, he got dealt a two, a three, a five, a seven and a nine. Nothing wild. There was nothing to work with. Now that he is going to Microsoft to head its Internet operations, I think the spinoff will happen and pronto. This guy is a manager of public companies. He will be awesome. He can't have this experience at Silly Graphics held against him. There was simply nothing there. At Microsoft, he will be free to build the institution he couldn't build at SGI. He will do it. That's why Microsoft is running, not because of that Sun Microsystems (SUNW:Nasdaq) court suit. Wall Street loves Belluzzo. It just hates SGI. Random musings: People want in. They use whatever weakness generated by the futures to plow right in. I want to buy IBM (IBM:NYSE) because I know Soundview's call was not negative at all. But Maria Bartiromo is more powerful than the call itself. She spun it negative. So it is negative. What a travesty!