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

To: John Koligman who wrote (67055)	8/27/1999 4:47:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Respond to of 97611

WASHINGTON, Aug 27, 1999 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan knows more about what makes the economy tick than most people, but he apparently lost some money last year. According to Greenspan's most recent financial disclosure form, the value of his assets in 1998 ranged from around $2.5 million to $6.4 million, less than the range of around $3.4 million to $7.3 million he reported for 1997. The figures are not precise because the value of each asset is reported using a wide range, not a specific amount. So where does Greenspan -- who once warned of 'irrational exuberance' in financial markets -- put his own money? He shuns the stock market for the safest investment of all -- short-term Treasury bills. Greenspan -- who made $136,700 last year in his government job -- didn't have any stock holdings, reflecting his desire to avoid any conflict of interest, Fed officials say. The words and actions of Greenspan and his Fed colleagues, who set interest rate policies, can send stocks soaring or make them plummet. Among his holdings, Greenspan listed one Treasury bill valued at more than $1 million and three Treasury bills worth between $500,001 to 1 million, according to the financial disclosure statement. The form also showed that Greenspan sold a Norfolk Southern bond last year. Greenspan has filed financial disclosure forms every year since he was sworn in as Federal Reserve chairman in August 1987. But until last year, they said simply that most of his assets were in a blind trust worth more than $1 million. He liquidated the trust after his 1997 marriage to NBC-TV correspondent Andrea Mitchell so the couple could make joint financial plans, Fed officials have said. Unlike Greenspan's holdings, his wife's portfolio is weighted heavily toward stocks, including holdings in Abbott Laboratories, H.J. Heinz Co., American Greetings Corp. and Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. Copyright 1999 Associated Press, All rights reserved.

To: John Koligman who wrote (67055)	8/28/1999 10:36:00 AM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

August 27, 1999, 06:48 p.m. - No-frills PC in the works at Compaq By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle Compaq Computer Corp. is developing a line of simplified PCs that could cost about half as much as standard business computers, a company executive said. Mike Winkler, senior vice president for Compaq's personal computer group, said these business products -- dubbed office appliances -- could be released at the same time as the next version of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, Windows 2000. Although conceding that a market for office appliances "doesn't exist yet," Winkler said in an interview Thursday that the release of Windows 2000 and its new capabilities would change that. "They would be considerably simplified and smaller -- a better industrially designed PC," he said. "They would not necessarily be burdened with the legacy slots and bays, and thus would be free of the size and power requirements that go with that." Winkler said the devices would be among several products Compaq plans to introduce when Windows 2000 is released. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said at a conference sponsored by Dell Computer Corp. in Austin this week that Windows 2000 was nearing completion and "probably" would be available early next year. Small, inexpensive and easy-to-manage business computers have been a Holy Grail in the computer industry for several years. The most recent stab at it -- the so-called network terminal -- fizzled. Winkler said the falling cost of components in full-powered PCs, combined with improvements in Windows' ability to manage large numbers of PCs across a network, will create an opportunity for companies like Compaq to kick-start this market. "We should be able to make these things for close to half the price" of standard business PCs, Winkler said, adding that could be in the $500 range. Plummeting prices have hurt PC companies in the consumer market, where a majority of systems sold cost less than $1,000. Winkler said that has not happened as dramatically in the business market, but it will, "and we'll be driving that with these devices." Winkler also said that Compaq has been surprised by the success of its new Armada M300 three-pound ultraportable notebook computer. In fact, the company is scrambling to meet demand, particularly for active matrix screens, which are in short supply. "Analysts told us the market for thin-and-light portables was about 10 percent," he said. "But we've been selling about twice as many as we forecast." Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies of Campbell, Calif., said he had warned Compaq that demand would be closer to 15 to 20 percent of the market. "You have a bunch of road warriors out there who are starting to rebel against six- and seven-pound portables," Bajarin said. "They're sick and tired of carrying the weight." Winkler is now in charge of Compaq's core business -- desktop and portable computers, the part of the company referred to internally as "Compaq classic." Analysts say it is also the part of the company that has been most battered in its near-legendary fight with Dell. The most recent figures from International Data Corp., a market research firm, show that Dell is on the verge of overtaking Compaq as the top seller of U.S. desktops. Winkler said he doesn't believe that Dell has stolen market share from Compaq, "even though they are growing faster than us." "I think they are taking away from second-tier vendors," he said, referring to smaller PC makers. "If you look at the numbers, Compaq is still growing in market share." William Conroy, an analyst in Houston with Sanders Morris Mundy, agreed. "I am not convinced that Dell's success has come at the expense of Compaq," Conroy said. "If the company were truly and severely wounded, you would already have seen it show up in the numbers, and it's not. The numbers would not seem to indicate that the market is running away from this company." Winkler said Compaq is suffering a loss of "mind share" -- the way people think and feel about the company -- as compared with Dell, which is considered the industry darling. "We are naturally disadvantaged at this point because of the turmoil at Compaq," he said. Compaq reported a $184 million loss in the second quarter. In April, its board ousted Chief Executive Eckhard Pfeiffer. A slew of other executives left after that. Winkler is one of the few members of the Pfeiffer team still in place. Asked why he stayed through the turmoil, he laughed. "That's funny, (Compaq Chairman) Ben Rosen asked me the same question," Winkler said. "I told him, 'Ben, I will never leave the company when it's down. If I leave, it will be on an up note.' It's a point of pride." Compaq closed Friday at 23 1/2, up .