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Gold/Mining/Energy : Cybersurf (CY.A) - Bridge between 20th & 21st Centuries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CocoBob who wrote (2221)	8/27/1999 5:39:00 PM
From: LABMAN	Respond to of 3243

Top computer execs beat the drum for the internet Friday August 27, 5:03 pm Eastern Time Top computer execs beat the drum for Internet By Jeff Franks AUSTIN, Texas, Aug 27 (Reuters) - To hear top computer executives tell it, the Internet is not just a convenient place to get information or make an occasional purchase, it is the future, the promised land and a new era in human history all rolled into one. Somewhat akin to television evangelists seeking converts -- and their money -- some of the industry's biggest names relentlessly beat the drum for the Internet this week at a conference for Dell Computer Corp. customers. In speech after speech, the pronouncements could hardly have been more sweeping. ``We're really talking about the death of time and distance,' said Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers. ``The Internet changes everything.' Dell Computer founder Michael Dell said: ``The Internet is provoking a profound revolution in business that is far greater than any revolution that has ever been seen. It's bringing about the demise of brick-and-mortar retailers.' When words were insufficient, the speakers brought out numbers. Intel Corp. chief executive Craig Barrett said there were 150 million to 200 million ``connected' computers in the world today, but that number should be 1 billion in five years. Sales via the Internet -- or ``E-commerce' in the industry parlance -- could rise to $1 trillion in the United States alone over the next two to three years, up from zero just a short time ago, Barrett said. ``We're talking about a big, big change...we all have to take advantage of it or get steamrolled by it,' he warned. Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates pointed out that 50 percent of all U.S. homes now have a personal computer, to which Dell added that 90 percent of those machines were used to surf the Internet. Of the Fortune 500 companies, Dell added, only 2 percent did not now have Internet sites. The advantages of E-commerce were many, the executives said, including lower costs of service, direct connections to customers and the ability to customize products to suit each individual buying on the Internet. E-commerce, of course, requires computers, lots of them, meaning the computer industry stands to make a bundle from the revolution it is busily touting. Barrett, for example, said in his speech that the projected increase in connected users and E-commerce would create a demand for ``tens of millions' of servers over the next five years. ``We have roughly only 5 percent of the server backbone in place today that we'll need five years from now,' he said. And by the way, Barrett added, Intel would be coming out next year with a new 64-bit processor that should be just perfect for those servers. Amid all the hype, there were a few moments at the Dell conference when the reality of the present brought the future back down to earth, if only briefly. Embarrassing software glitches interrupted a couple of demonstrations of Internet wizardry, showing that the road to the wired world still had a few potholes. In another instance, an attendee left the voluble Chambers speechless when he asked how the Internet was going to affect his business -- trucking. ``You've tested the limits of my knowledge,' Chambers admitted. The moment was instructive because, despite all the high- faluting talk about a coming ``sea change' in human existence, it raised the question of how much the Internet would actually affect the day-to-day life of the average Joe. That question has yet to be answered. Questions or Comments?

To: CocoBob who wrote (2221)	9/1/1999 9:01:00 PM
From: LABMAN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3243

INTERNET DIRECT IDX.V got bought today, with subscibers of 145,000 only matter of time for Cybersurf Home - Yahoo! - Help Enter Your E-mail: [ Business \| US Market \| By Industry \| IPO \| AP \| S&P \| International \| PRNews \| BizWire \| CCN ] Wednesday September 1, 8:59 am Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: I.D. Internet Direct Ltd. I.D. Internet Direct and Look Communications Have Entered Into a Definitive Agreement for Amalgamation TORONTO, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- I.D. Internet Direct Ltd. and Look Communications Inc. are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the amalgamation of the two companies. Completion of the amalgamation is now expected before the end of October 1999 and is subject to, among other matters, the approval of the shareholders of both companies by special resolution, of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and of the Vancouver Stock Exchange. On completion of the amalgamation, the former shareholders of Look will hold approximately 60% and the former shareholders of I.D. Internet Direct will hold approximately 40% of the equity in the amalgamated company. Through a combination of multiple and limited voting shares, and to satisfy certain requirements of the CRTC, a numbered company affiliated with Telesystem Financial Corporation will hold approximately 55% of the votes in the amalgamated company, with the former shareholders of Look and of I.D. Internet Direct together holding the remaining 45%. The numbered company will enter into an agreement with the amalgamated company to provide protection to the remaining shareholders in the event of a take-over bid. The former shareholders of Look will enter into an agreement with the amalgamated company pursuant to which they will deposit all of their shares into escrow with a trustee for a period of nine months following the effective date of the amalgamation. The board of directors of the amalgamated company will initially consist of nine people, including two representatives of I.D. Internet Direct, five representatives of Look, and two independent directors. The directors of I.D. Internet Direct have agreed to recommend the proposed amalgamation to the shareholders of the Company. Shareholders who, together, control approximately 69% of the outstanding shares of I.D. Internet Direct have agreed to vote their shares in favor of its approval. Full details concerning the proposed amalgamation will be contained in an Information Circular to be mailed to shareholders. The two companies first announced their intention to merge their operations last May. The amalgamated company will take advantage of Look's broadband Multipoint Distribution System (MDS) infrastructure and I.D. Internet Direct's experience and customer base to market high-speed data transmission services and offer their customers a new integrated suite of services. About I.D. Internet Direct Ltd. (www.idirect.com) Internet Direct Ltd. provides a full spectrum of Internet solutions to customers in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Headquartered in Toronto, I.D. Internet Direct is the largest independent Internet Service Provider in Canada, serving over 142,000 subscribers and businesses through 24 local access points nationally. About Look Communications Inc. (www.look.ca) Look Communications - and its LOOK trademark - is a new competitor in the broadcast distribution industry, providing digital entertainment services in Quebec and Ontario through MDS technology also known as wireless cable. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) awarded Look Communications a broadcast distribution license for Southern Ontario in August 1997, and for Eastern Ontario and Quebec in February 1998. The company launched its operations in the Greater Toronto area in 1998, and in the Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa markets in 1999. As a result, its services are currently accessible to approximately 4 million households in the London to Quebec City corridor, Canada's most densely populated area. Look Communications is a Canadian company whose principal shareholders are Telesystem Ltd., Teleglobe Inc., CTV Inc., Covington Wireless Communications (Ontario) Ltd., G.T.C. Transcontinental Group Ltd., QuebecTel Group Inc., Bourgie Capital Inc., Novanet Communications and Laurem Group. To view full legal document disclosure, please see Web site: www.idirect.com John Nemanic President and CEO I.D. Internet Direct Ltd. SOURCE: I.D. Internet Direct Ltd. More Quotes and News: I D Internet Direct Ltd (Vancouver:IDX.V - news) Related News Categories: computers, internet