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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam who wrote (6901)	9/7/1999 9:19:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Sam and Thread, The 03SEP99 Marketplace section of the WSJ had a feature article on commercial applications of flash memory. They had a large photo with the various memory solutions including a CompactFlash card with a PCMCIA adapter (PNY brand!?!), a memory schtick, 3 SanDisk MultiMedia Cards, an Olympus "Camedia" brand Smart Media card and an IBM microdrive. The article suggested that a clear favorite has not developed and that manufacturers aren't close to the ideal yet, but they are moving in that direction with various digital storage devices, including higher-capacity floppy disks, ultra-tiny hard drives and plastic-coated memory chips that look like sticks of gum. The author lamented about cost considerations, capacity limitations and the poor audio quality of mp3 (and the threat of broadband or wireless technology???). ====> (The notion of rugged, portable storage never crossed the author's mind.) The article also mentioned that removable media has to fall to the range of 10 cents per megabyte to compete with standard memory solutions. ====> (I still subscribe to the Willie Wonka School of Flash Memory which equates a CompactFlash card to the confectionary innovation known as the *The Everlasting Gobstopper*. A moderate capacity CompactFlash card represents the last roll of digital film one would ever have to purchase and is an exceedingly good value even at today's prices.) The author clearly does not have a comprehensive understanding of the usefulness, potential applications and efficiency of flash memory in the digital age. Again this recurrent theme of undereducated journalists writing about subjects beyond their ken emerges. (Just like the NY Times article last Fall that left out SanDisk completely from the story except for a few token lines buried in the final paragraph.) No doubt the same ignorance that lead them to select PNY as the apparent market leader in Compact Flash sales. Give me a friggin' break. Ausdauer

To: Sam who wrote (6901)	9/8/1999 9:33:00 AM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Respond to of 60323

Sam, I stand corrected. What I should have said agrees with your view that earnings from the conventional disk drive business are nothing to write home about. In this sense, the contribution of SNDK, compared with the regular DD business, is exceptional.

To: Sam who wrote (6901)	9/8/1999 8:53:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

Sam and Thread, I read this interesting piece by doing a "SanDisk" query on the AOL Search which has since been updated. I could not locate the original article, but here is the essence... Fabless Semiconductor Association and Banc of America Securities Update the Fabless Stock Index; Changes Include New Name, Updated list, New Internet Access August 31, 1999 The FABLS index, formerly called the NMS/FSA Fabless Stock Index, was introducted last year jointly by the Fabless Semiconductor Association and the former NationsBanc Montgomery Securities. ...The FABLS Index will now be maintained by Banc of America Securities... "Companies are increasingly factoring foundry partnerships into their strategic roadmaps..." according to Rick Whittington, Senior Research Analyst and Mangaing Director for Banc of America Securities. The FABLS Index is comprised of public semiconductor companies that have fabless charters with market capitalization in excess of $100 million. Fabless companies' value is based on their design capability and intellectual property portfolios. Take a look at... fsa.org fsa.org bofasecurities.com Ausdauer