Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ed doell who wrote (6649)	9/18/1999 2:54:00 PM
From: Skip Jack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13157

Broadband Week for September 20, 1999 Developers: Interactivity Is Still Nebulous By BILL MENEZES September 20, 1999 New York -- Consumers are increasingly using interactive broadcast and Internet content, but it's less clear whether the television or the personal computer will become the predominant means for accessing it. Panelists at last week's three-day eTV World conference here traded barbs, product pitches and statistics to try to bolster their respective contentions that one medium or the other was likely to appeal the most to consumers who, more and more, are turning to interactive media for information and retail transactions. Hal Krisbergh, CEO of Internet-over-cable-TV provider WorldGate Communications Inc., said in a keynote address that usage patterns of his company's TV-Internet surfers mirrored that of PC-Internet users. That belies the notion that consumers prefer to access the Internet on computers, and that TV is better suited as a passive, "lean-back" entertainment medium. "People are intimidated by the PC," Krisbergh contended, noting that some 65 percent of WorldGate users accessed the Internet daily, averaging more than one hour of surfing per day, primarily for Web browsing and e-mail. The idea that consumers don't want to use televisions for Internet access "is a myth generated by those in Silicon Valley who probably spend about five minutes per day watching television," Krisbergh added. But David Reese, president of TV-Internet "hyperlinking" developer ACTV Inc., said his company's experience indicated that users -- especially the younger, so-called generations Y and Z -- were avidly using the Internet via PC simultaneously while watching TV programming. Reese, whose company's "HyperTV" technology delivers Web content to PCs that is synchronized with the TV programs subscribers are watching, said that type of behavior supported the idea that people will tend to use different devices for video and Internet access. "That's reality," Reese told a panel on interactive devices and services. There were plenty of challenges to the idea that convergence would not occur in either the TV or the PC as consumer use of interactive services continues to grow. Joseph Haddad, cofounder of Internet-over-TV technology developer NetGem S.A., theorized that the number of Internet appliances in the home will actually proliferate as cheaper, specialized devices are developed in a variety of form factors to suit a variety of needs. One example: a flat-screen Web-browsing device embedded in a refrigerator door. Others agreed that because of each platform's unique attributes -- such as the greater processing power of the PC versus the TV set-top's or TV's superior access to broadcast video -- consumers would retain their current usage habits in the foreseeable future. "When it comes to interactivity, we interact with our computers and we are entertained by our televisions," said Fred Fourcher, president of video-content aggregator AnyTime TV. "You can converge the two, but why?" Mary Kim Coleman, vice president of account development for Web and digital-media audience-measurement firm Media Metrix Inc., noted that user research indicated that some 51.2 percent of U.S. households owned PCs and 37.1 percent used the Internet as of this past April. That was up from 49.5 percent and 33.1 percent, respectively, three months earlier. She also noted that some 51 percent had the TV and the PC in the same room, while 2 percent of household PCs were equipped with TV-tuner cards for viewing broadcasts on the computer. "Even though that seems like a small percentage, one year ago, that number was 0.3 percent," she said. At the same time, the TV could continue to maintain its dominant position, as new digital services over cable and terrestrial broadcast leverage that platform's ubiquity. Jennifer Cistola, Scientific-Atlanta Inc.'s marketing director for digital-subscriber networks, noted that there were 180 million TVs connected to cable, versus 30 million computers online in the United States. S-A has a TV-centric view of the interactive future because consumer research has indicated a preference for TV's features of convenience, such as no long boot-up times to access content, no need for launching of applications and no fear of rapid equipment obsolescence. "There are already 260 million TVs out there. All the consumer needs to do is sign up for digital cable," Cistola said.

To: ed doell who wrote (6649)	9/19/1999 1:30:00 PM
From: Mike Fredericks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13157

Your posts this week in regard to this matter have reflected some naivete concerning hedge funds which I won't get into here, but it is my opinion that large holders, whether hedge or not, need to be monitored if you're a little guy. And I'm a little guy. I agree that big guys need to be monitored. Thing is, that we have one person saying Tudor is buying and that's why the stock is going up, and we have another guy saying Tudor is selling and that's why the stock is stalled. One guy claims to be able to read his level II and decide what Tudor is doing, another says that big guys run their transactions through multiple MM's to prevent people from learning their actions by reading Level II. Bottom line is that until the next filing, I have no idea what Tudor is doing, nor do I know which one of our resident gurus to trust regarding Tudor. Atheist called one successfully, that may be skill, that may be luck, who knows. If I knew what Tudor were doing, it would be useful information. But I don't nor is there any way I'm going to know. Anyone who makes investment decisions based on what posters to this board claim Tudor is or isn't doing is doing no better than throwing darts at a dartboard. Buy or Sell IATV based on your views of the fundamentals, maybe even your views of the technicals, but don't buy or sell based on what Atheist or Mike.Com think Tudor may or may not be doing. -Mike