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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (76357)	9/2/1999 8:31:00 PM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

I'm actually thinking of buying the Toshiba DVD player. I trust Amazon's judgement, plus every vendor wants to be on that list. In my adult life I have never met a chain salesman who can learn, then think and remember on his feet. So why waste an hour per chain?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (76357)	9/2/1999 8:34:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

am VERY surprised to see the average price on this list at around $450 - $500. It could mean that they are not doing much volume in things like portable CD players (that I thought they'd sell a lot of). Or maybe the clientele is less price sensitive than I thought. But a PalmTheatre portable DVD videoplayer at $999. as #2? Sure doesn't sound like a high volume item to me.... hmmmm Michelle, Amazon does present information in funny ways at times. I can't tell if these are top sellers in units or dollars of revenues. That would make a huge difference as to what price points are the top sellers. Glenn

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (76357)	9/2/1999 8:57:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

FOCUS-BBC launches upmarket free Internet service By Andrew Callus LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Britain's BBC 1/8BBC.CN 3/8 on Thursday brought an establishment offering to the high tech and increasingly crowded world of free Internet service providers (ISPs). BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation, launched Britain's latest subscription-free ISP in association with Scottish Telecom, an experienced ISP player through its Demon Internet brand. BBC Worldwide Chief Executive Rupert Gavin told reporters the new concern, freebeeb.net, should be profitable in the second year of operation and attract "hundreds of thousands" of users its first three years. Freebeeb.net aims to raise revenues from phone charges, advertising, and eventually from Internet shopping or e-commerce. It joins a growing number of media and telecoms groups, retailers, banks and soccer clubs in offering consumers the chance to surf the Internet without paying a monthly fee. "Free" ISPs charge no subscription, but consumers still pay local rate call charges while they are online, and premium rates for customer support. The model was pioneered in Britain by Freeserve Plc <FRE.L>, the start-up launched by electrical retailer Dixons Plc <DXNS.L>. Last week America Online Inc <AOL.N>, the giant U.S. ISP, launched a free service in Britain. Earlier this week it raised the Internet competition stakes in continental Europe with a low-cost flat rate subscription in Germany of 9.90 marks a month plus phone charges. Gavin said freebeeb.com will be different from other free ISPs. The UK's public service TV broadcaster is aiming at Britain's relatively rich "middle age group, middle class," many of whom have yet to take the Internet plunge. E-Commerce and advertising revenue will be central to the commercial venture, but the home page, from which users reach Internet web sites, will be uncluttered by advertising. "We believe that a number of people will appreciate an offering that isn't trying to reach into their wallets every second" said Gavin. BBC magazines that reach 36 percent of the UK population will market the service. Some 1500 of Britain's Post Offices and a 1200 strong chain of convenience stores and newsagents, T&S Stores, will distribute free CD ROM disks carrying the software, and disks will also be available on request through the mail. In all, 15 million people will be "reached" by the marketing campaign over the next three months. Getting online will take less than 15 minutes and the offering with the "quickest and easiest free technology on the market," the BBC claimed. The BBC's partner, Scottish Telecom, is the telecommunications subsidiary of Scottish Power Plc <SPW.L> . Scottish Telecom will provide the network technology on which the service will run, but a spokeswoman said the venture will not affect its existing operation Demon, a paid-for service, and its own "free" offering, Interhome. Some other Internet publishers criticised the new service, saying it would distort the market and stifle competition. The British Internet Publisher's Alliance said that with more than 100 free ISPs already operating in the UK, there was no need for yet another from the publicly funded BBC. The BBC first moved onto the Internet in 1996 with the launch of beeb.com, a commercial online publishing venture with technology partner ICL, the Fujitsu <6702.T>-owned IT group. Freeserve, which floated on the stock market in July, has become Britain's most popular Internet service provider with more than 1.3 million active accounts. Gavin said there were no plans to float Freebeeb.net and that profits would be ploughed back into the state-owned BBC, which is funded through television licences and by its separate commercial ventures. Freebeeb.net offers 20 megabytes of web space. Its technical support line will cost 60 pence per minute. ...