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Strategies & Market Trends : Stock Watcher's Thread / Pix of the Week (POW) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Stock Watcher who wrote (14968)9/14/1999 9:13:00 AM
From: mph  Respond to of 52051
 
If the A to Z approach fails, there's always the ouija board<g>.

M



To: Stock Watcher who wrote (14968)9/14/1999 9:19:00 AM
From: flickerful  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 52051
 
MLT...and DSL, as long as we're being alphabetic.

Monday September 13, 12:54 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
MegaPath Stresses Superior Customer Care in Hi-Speed DSL Service Launch for LA/San Diego
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 1999--MegaPath Networks Inc., America's customer care-oriented network service provider (NSP), announced today the beginning of high-speed digital subscriber (DSL) Internet access services to small business customers in metropolitan Los Angeles and San Diego.

The company is offering competitively priced premium high-speed DSL service at speeds up to 1.54 Mpbs on standard copper-wire phone lines, and supported by the most pro-active customer service and support operation in the industry.

''We are so convinced that customer care is the key to our success that we are staking our company's growth on it,'' said Dr. Harry Taxin, President and CEO. ''Customers are equally interested in receiving the best customer care as they are in installing the fastest, most dependable Internet service. We believe they deserve both.''

MegaPath offers symmetrical DSL (SDSL), premium two-way bandwidth that enables users to access the Internet with services that once were reserved only for large businesses with up to T-1 connection speeds. It supports uploading and downloading from the Internet at the same rate of speed -- a ''must-have'' feature for the full spectrum of today's ''push'' and ''pull'' enterprise applications.

Its services are targeted at small to midsize businesses, home-based consultancies and individuals requiring high-bandwidth services to access the Internet. Monthly service fees start at $69 a month. No term contract is required for MegaPath's 24-hour flat-rate service. The toll-free number for information and service is (877) MEGAPATH. Website is megapath.net.

''Many customers have already discovered that DSL installations require time and patience on their part, and dedication on the NSP's part to see the project through,'' Taxin continued. ''Our commitment is to provide letter-perfect service from the customer's first contact with MegaPath through the installation process and beyond. We believe in solving, not creating, customer service problems.''

Every communication protocol between customer and MegaPath has been field-tested to insure the quality of customer satisfaction, he added, from incoming telephone calls and e-mail responses to back-office systems and follow-up procedures insuring that installation occurs incident-free.

Its SDSL technology is among the most advanced in the industry, designed for zero-degree fault tolerance and unlimited scalability. RAID 5 servers are featured for redundancy and data security, along with high-end Cisco routers for the industry's most efficient intelligent routing, and a Mitel PBX phone system capable of handling hundreds of incoming calls simultaneously.

MegaPath is partnered with NorthPoint Communications, a national, facilities-based competitive local exchange DSL carrier. Upon completion of its planned expansion, NorthPoint's DSL network will reach four million businesses and 30 million homes.

MegaPath Networks Inc. is a privately held company based in Pleasanton, Calif.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Skip Ferderber & Associates
Skip Ferderber, 425/315-1724
skip@skipf1.com



To: Stock Watcher who wrote (14968)9/14/1999 9:22:00 AM
From: Bert Zed  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 52051
 
Tuesday September 14, 8:05 am Eastern Time

Company Press Release

SOURCE: Insignia Solutions

Jeode Platform Shines in Performance Testing for Embedded Devices

Competitive Benchmark Results Place Jeode EVM Ahead of the Pack

FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Insignia Solutions® (Nasdaq: INSGY - news) announced today that its Jeode(TM) Embedded Virtual Machine(TM) (EVM(TM)) tested faster than other virtual machines for embedded devices evaluated in performance benchmarks conducted by Pepsan & Associates, Inc., a third-party organization. The Jeode platform is Insignia's implementation of Sun's Java(TM) specifications and is uniquely designed for embedded devices delivering an optimal balance of performance and more predictable behavior in a smaller memory footprint.

The Jeode EVM finished first in the industry-standard Embedded CaffeineMark(TM) and jBYTEMark tests, performing on average six times faster than other virtual machine products tested by Pepsan. These included:

-- PJEE 1.1, Sun Microsystems' reference implementation of the
PersonalJava(TM) platform running on Windows NT
-- JDK 1.1.7B without JIT, a simulation of Sun's EmbeddedJava(TM)
technology as no reference implementation is currently available
-- IBM J9, the virtual machine from the Visual Age for Embedded Systems
product from IBM, currently in beta
-- A well-publicized third-party virtual machine, which has not achieved
Sun's authorized virtual machine status

In each benchmark, the Jeode EVM also used less memory than most of the competitive virtual machines -- in some cases as much as 45 percent less. Products using Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation were not included in the benchmarking because they generally require a memory footprint of 8 MB or more, which is too large for the constrained resources of many embedded devices.

''The Jeode EVM demonstrated a significant performance advantage over all other interpretive virtual machines tested,'' said Ronald Guest, chief technical officer of Pepsan & Associates. ''This was apparent throughout the benchmark suite. Of the virtual machines targeted to the embedded market, it also proved to be one of the most stable and complete offerings.''

In the Embedded CaffeineMark test, the Jeode EVM had a raw score of 6,346 compared to the second place EmbeddedJava technology simulation, which had a raw score of 724. In the jBYTEMark benchmark -- which is the Java platform version of the popular BYTEMark test created by BYTE Magazine -- the Jeode platform had a score of .667 in the integer index and .421 in the floating-point index. The EmbeddedJava technology simulation again finished in second place with a score of .100 in the integer index and .132 in the floating-point index. The Jeode EVM also finished first in the Tak industry-standard benchmark, which measures the speed of method invocation, and in the Plasma application in terms of graphic frame rates.

All tests were run on an IBM 300PL (400 MHz Pentium II) with 128Mb RAM running Windows NT 4.0 SP4. For a two-page summary of the tests with graphs, go to insignia.com. For more information on Pepsan and Associates, visit the company's website at pepsan.com .

Insignia Solutions

Insignia Solutions is a leading provider of faster Java-compatible virtual machine technology that dynamically optimizes the use of available system resources. The Jeode platform is Insignia's independently-developed implementation of Sun's Java specifications and is specifically designed for embedded devices. At the core of the Jeode platform is the Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM), a fast runtime engine that delivers an optimal balance of performance and predictability in a smaller memory footprint. Using a proprietary technique called adaptive dynamic compilation, the Jeode EVM can execute Java applications on average six times faster than interpretive VMs.

The Jeode platform is designed to run with a wide range of operating systems and target processors. It currently supports operating systems such as Windows CE, Windows NT, VxWorks and Linux, and processors such as MIPS, ARM, Intel x86, PowerPC and Hitachi SH.

Insignia Solutions is publicly-held with headquarters in Fremont, Calif., and its main R&D facilities in High Wycombe, England. Sales and marketing departments are located in Fremont and High Wycombe. For additional information on Insignia and its products, call 800-848-7677 in the United States and +44 (0)1628 539 500 in Europe, or visit the company's Web site at insignia.com .

Insignia and Insignia Solutions are registered trademarks and Jeode, EVM and Embedded Virtual Machine are trademarks of Insignia Solutions, Inc. Sun, Java, EmbeddedJava, and PersonalJava are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. CaffeineMark is a trademark of Pendragon Software. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

The CaffeineMark test was performed without independent verification by Pendragon Software, who makes no representations or warranties as to the results.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release relating to matters that are not historical are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include the anticipated timing of product releases, the expected customer demand for existing and new products, the expected revenue from product sales, the growth of the market for the Company's products, and the market demand for Jeode. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to define, develop, design, market and support an Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM) product or that such product will be accepted by customers. The Company's business is subject to a variety of other risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to, rapid technological changes in the industry, increased competition, and timely introduction and customer acceptance of the Company's products. These and other risks and uncertainties are further described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and will be described from time to time in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Insignia Solutions



To: Stock Watcher who wrote (14968)9/14/1999 10:03:00 AM
From: Francois Goelo  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 52051
 
XNET BULLISH NEWS: it Launches the 1st on-line Auction in China...

Xin Net Corp. (XNET) Launches Online Auction Site

VANCOUVER, Sept. 14 /CNW-PRN/ - The Board of Directors of Xin Net Corp. is
pleased to announce that the Company has launched its new auction site
www.xinbid.com, serving Chinese speaking customers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and around the world. The site was unveiled in Beijing, on Monday September
13, 1999 by Mr.Jake Wei, president of Xin Hai Technology Development Ltd., the
Company's operating arm in China, at a press conference held for
representatives of various media and the IT industry.
XINBID.COM is the first online live auction site in China. It resides on a
network of powerful IBM Netfinity servers, each capable of handling 64,000
concurrent customer connections. The Company anticipates that the newly built
installation will easily accommodate sustained customer growth for a long time
without a need for any significant addition of equipment. The new online
auction business complements the Company's existing ISP (Internet Service
Provider), ICP (Internet Content Provider) and Chinadns (online Domain Name
Registration) businesses. The Company is also involved in discussions with
other IT companies to enhance its services to its subscribers.
Furthermore, the Company's operating arm in China, Xin Hai, is in the
process of installing Alcatel digital equipment which will help the Company to
cope with a substantial growth in its ISP subscribers in the future. Xin Hai
presently operates in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang; it also holds ISP
licenses to operate in seven other major Chinese cities. With the addition of
XINBID.COM, it is well positioned to be a leading Internet company in the
burgeoning Chinese market.

Any forward-looking statement in this press release is made pursuant to
the ''safe harbor'' provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including,
but not limited to, economical and political factors, developments of the
Chinese Internet market and changes in regulatory matters. The Company
disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce
results of any revision to the forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect future events or developments.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

(Signed)
-----------------------------------
Marc Hung, President

SOURCE Xin Net Corp.
-0- 09/14/1999
/CONTACT: Marc Hung, President or Ernest Cheung, Secretary, Telephone:
604-632-XNET (9638), Facsimile: 604-689-7654, Home Page: www.xinnet.net,
Operating Web Sites: www.chnmail.com, www.xinnet.com.cn, www.chinadns.com,
www.xinbid.com/
(XNET)



To: Stock Watcher who wrote (14968)9/14/1999 10:19:00 AM
From: Francois Goelo  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 52051
 
S.W, after SONY's Deal, SFLK announces another Bundling Agreement with NEC...

Softlink Product Reach Expanded in Europe Through Bundle With Packard Bell NEC

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1999--Softlink, Inc. (OTC BB:SFLK), the leader in multimedia email technology, will bundle its eMail VOICELink(TM) with Packard Bell NEC PCs sold throughout Packard Bell NEC's retail channels in Europe. eMail VOICELink, which combines an easy-to-use email composer and advanced compression technology, enables users to send voice email messages directly through their email client. eMail VOICELink meets the Packard Bell NEC mission to ''make home computing more creative, more productive, and ... more fun'', by adding personality, intonation, and the ease of voice recording to email communication.

Under terms of the agreement, eMail VOICELink will be bundled with desktop and laptop computers sold throughout Europe, with initial availability in English. Dutch, Spanish and French versions of the software will be available to customers in Europe soon.

In addition to the broad product distribution of VOICELink, Packard Bell NEC Europe will launch a comprehensive marketing program of Softlink's products eMail VOICELink and eMail inChorus(TM) to the Packard Bell NEC Europe customer base. Packard Bell PCs are the number one PC sold through European retail channels. A hot link from Packard Bell NEC Europe's Web site, packardbell-europe.com, to the Softlink Web site will be included in the marketing program.

''We're pleased that Softlink products will be brought to Packard Bell NEC Europe's large customer base, with a the focus on consumer/home computer users,'' said William Yuan, CEO of Softlink. ''Through this bundling arrangement and marketing program we're expanding our product reach in the European market, which follows Softlink's strategy to fully develop our international channels.'' About eMail inChorus eMail inChorus is a sophisticated email application that changes the way people experience email through the use of high-impact multimedia messages. Visual and audio enhancements, incorporating graphics, animation, as well as voice annotations are synchronized with an easy-to-use interface, and reduced in size with Softlink's proprietary compression technology.

About Packard Bell NEC Europe

Packard Bell NEC Europe delivers computer-based technologies through retail channels.

Designed for leisure, education, communications and entertainment, Packard Bell products make home computing more creative, more productive, and lets users have more fun.

Packard Bell Europe opened its manufacturing facilities in Angers, France in 1994. Packard Bell was ranked the leading brand in the European Home PC market in 1997 (source: Dataquest) with a market share of 12%. This success means that in the UK and France, one in every three PCs sold is a Packard Bell, making us the number one PC sold through European retail channels.

The Packard Bell brand, distributed by Packard Bell NEC, is sold throughout Western Europe and is also available around the world, in North and South America, and the Pacific Rim.

About Softlink, Inc.

Founded in 1996, Softlink, Inc. is an innovator in multimedia-based Internet communications. Using proprietary compression and composition technology, Softlink's eMail inChorus and eMail VOICELink products revolutionize conventional text-based email with voice, graphics, pictures, animation, and live annotation. The company is publicly traded, OTCBB:SFLK, and maintains headquarters in Santa Clara, CA. For more information visit the company web site at www.inChorus.com. For Investor Relations, please contact Gerard Damaro at 561-367-0363.

Note to Editors: eMail inChorus and eMail VOICELink are trademarks of Softlink, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are acknowledged.

Information contained in this press release contains ''forward-looking statements'' which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology. Various risk factors could cause actual results to vary materially from the future results covered in such forward-looking statements, including ''competition, the management of our growth and the ability to deliver new products to market on time.'' Such forward-looking statements are subject to other risks and uncertainties.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Softlink, Inc.
Lauren deVries, 408/496-6668
ldevries@inChorus.com