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To: Clint E. who wrote (23549)	9/8/1999 12:59:00 PM
From: mattie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 68294

Clint, I am curious what your indicators are?

To: Clint E. who wrote (23549)	9/8/1999 1:11:00 PM
From: d. alexander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 68294

Clint; Soon after you posted about getting out, the Naz headed down. I sold the rest of my MYPT at 20 - not so well handled :-( Still holding a couple of positions. Dorothy

To: Clint E. who wrote (23549)	9/9/1999 12:51:00 AM
From: Clint E.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 68294

Wednesday Sept. 8 8:56 PM,,,Dell In First Acquisition ROUND ROCK, TEXAS (Reuters) - Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) Wednesday said it would buy network storage company ConvergeNet Technologies Inc. in a stock deal valued at about $340 million, the first acquisition by the world's No. 2 personal computer maker in its 15-year history. Dell said the purchase of ConvergeNet, a maker of networked data storage systems used by office computer users to manage the explosion of Internet data, is part of its bid to become one of the top three suppliers of data storage in the world. Terms call for Dell to exchange about 6.9 million shares of its common stock for all outstanding shares and options of ConvergeNet. The deal is expected to close within 60 days. Boards of both companies have approved the merger. Dell said it expects to record a one-time charge of 5 cents to 7 cents per share against future quarterly earnings to cover a write-off for research and development expenses previously incurred by ConvergeNet. ConvergeNet of San Jose, Calif. focuses on data-storage technologies for so-called storage area networks (SAN), an emerging category of storage that pipes data to specialized storage systems attached to departmental computer networks. The company, which has yet to sell its first product, will give customers the ability to ''mix and match'' said Michael Lambert, senior vice president of Dell's enterprise systems group. ConvergeNet has been testing its product --- which can connect storage systems to a variety of computer servers from different manufacturers, expanding the total market Dell can reach beyond its own computer customers. Lambert said several companies are schedule to test the systems later this year, but no availability date has been set yet. The storage systems will be compatible with Windows NT, Unix and possibly any other operating system servers use. They will allow customers to get more use out of their existing products, because Dell's storage products will fit regardless of maker, Thomas Meredith, Dell's chief financial officer, said. ''Nobody has anything like it,'' he said. Market researcher International Data Corp. estimates this ''open systems'' data storage market will total $38 billion by 2002. Dell's leaders said they see Dell eventually capturing $10 billion of that market. Dell entered the server market six years ago but began an earnest push three years ago, Lambert said. Today, the company is No. 2 in the U.S. server market behind No. 1 Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news). Worldwide, Dell ranks No. 3 behind No. 1 Compaq and No. 2 International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news), which Lambert said he expects Dell will pass this quarter. ''We expect to apply the same kind of energy to the storage market,'' he said. Lambert and Meredith said Dell will focus on the mid-range storage market that service networks of computers and leave the larger ''enterprise market,'' that run off mainframe computers to storage giant EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC - news)... at least for now. ''We're not going to take EMC on head to head,'' he said of the company's initial plans. Lambert said Dell currently makes EMC compatible servers and hasn't yet discussed its new move with EMC. Dell has traditionally spurned the notion of acquisition because of the cost and the difficulty in integrating two sizable companies. About six months ago, Dell went shopping for a partner to accelerate its drive into the storage area and started talking to ConvergeNet, which already had the patents or the patents pending for the technologies that impressed Dell. It also had no large corporate infrastructure and only 120 employees. ''A large majority are engineers and developers,'' Lambert said. ''What we're getting here is a strong management team...and a strong technical team,'' he said that complement Dell's own flank of experts. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter advised Dell during the company's maiden acquisition. Whether others will follow is remains unanswered. ''This is not a harbinger of going down the acquisition path,'' Lambert said. ''But never say never.'' Shares of Dell Wednesday closed down 1-3/4 to 47-5/8 before the news of the acquisition was released.