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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DownSouth who wrote (7142)	9/27/1999 8:19:00 PM
From: DaYooper	Respond to of 54805

Downsouth, You are correct that there has been no substantive discussion of RNWK's potential gorilladom, in the context of the manual or otherwise, on this thread. I've promised Uncle Frank that I would submit a formal nomination "when the snow flies" up north here. But now I'm hoping he may be doing my homework assignment for me. <g> In the mean time, I could not resist firing off a quick response to his thoughts (and recent fascination?) of Real Networks. FWIW. Rory

To: DownSouth who wrote (7142)	9/27/1999 9:29:00 PM
From: Percival 917	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

To DownSouth and Daiju, Here is an article on RNWK from Red Herring you may find interesting: PROFITS LOOM LARGE Last week Realnetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) took the wraps off of three new streaming media deals that will allow it to offer images and real-time financial information broadcasts over the Internet. The company has agreed to carry Getty Images (Nasdaq: GETY) content. Getty, located in Realnetworks's home town of Seattle, Washington, provides photos and films customers can integrate into corporate presentations, publications, and advertisements. Separately, Realnetworks reached a similar deal with Seattle Filmworks (Nasdaq: FOTO), which allows users to post and share photos over the Internet. The company has also agreed to bundle and resell Tellsoft Technologies's ITalk software as part of the Realnetworks Financial Web Broadcaster package. Such information may include real-time financial news, analysis, and market commentary. Realnetworks is a standout in the Internet field because it actually has a clear line of sight to profitability. The company reported net revenues of $28 million for the second quarter of 1999, an increase of 86 percent from net revenues of $15 million in the second quarter of 1998. Net loss for the quarter was $270,000, or $0.004 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.04 per share, in the second quarter of 1998. The turnaround in income hasn't gone unnoticed. BancBoston Robertson Stephens managing director and senior networking software analyst John F. Powers reiterated his Buy recommendation, noting that the "break-even" status of per-share earnings precedes a turnaround in shareholder value. Realnetworks closed Monday up 7.6 percent at $100.81, displaying an upward trend that is gaining on its 52-week high of $131.88. Tuesday brought a 4.7 percent ($4.69) setback, however, with a $96.13 close. I am doing other research myself on RNWK and will post other findings. Joel

To: DownSouth who wrote (7142)	9/27/1999 9:51:00 PM
From: Percival 917	Respond to of 54805

DownSouth and Daiju Post #2, Here is an interesting article from Bloomberg on RNWK and MP3 joining together in a venture. Not to be out done Microsoft almost immediately came right back with an answer. I will post the Microsoft answer in the next post. Here is the RNWK/MP3 news: MP3.COM AND REALNETWORKS TEAM UP TO PROVIDE NEW MUSIC TO REALJUKEBOX USERS RealJukebox Users Get Easy, Dedicated Access to MP3.com's Extensive Library of Songs; MP3.com Chooses RealJukebox as a Preferred Music Software Application and Creates RealJukebox-Specific Pages on MP3.com SAN DIEGO, CA AND SEATTLE, WA -- (INTERNETWIRE) -- 09/24/99 -- MP3.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: MPPP), the Internet's premiere online digital music destination, and RealNetworks(r), Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK), the recognized leader in media delivery on the Internet, today announced an agreement to combine the extensive reach of RealJukebox(tm) with the wide range of new music available on MP3.com. The gold releases of RealJukebox and RealJukebox Plus(tm), announced yesterday, are immediately available at www.real.com. MP3.com will feature RealNetworks' RealJukebox as a preferred software application for downloading, managing and listening to music. MP3.com will host a RealJukebox custom faceplate (skins) page and a "RealJukebox Recommends" page with a list of the music selected for the RealJukebox. In the future, RealJukebox users will have the option of receiving MP3.com's top ten songs each week in their RealJukebox. RealJukebox users will also benefit from the new RMP file format to be featured on these MP3.com's "chart toppers". With a single mouse click in the "Get Music" section of RealJukebox, users can download new music every day from MP3.com's collection of over 154,000 songs. Popular MP3.com songs will periodically appear as a "Download of the Day" on the RealJukebox "Get Music" panel and will be included on the promotional CD available with purchases of the RealJukebox. "MP3.com and RealNetworks are harnessing the power of the Internet to bring one of the largest and diverse selections of music on one of the most robust systems for consumers and artists everywhere," said Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of MP3.com. "This relationship opens a powerful avenue of exposure for MP3.com artists and allows music fans to continually expand their music experience." "We're excited to be working with one of the pioneers of digital music downloads," said Rob Glaser, chairman and chief executive officer of RealNetworks. "Through the popularity of RealJukebox, we can introduce millions of listeners to an entirely new selection of music." About MP3.com MP3.com is pioneering a revolutionary approach to the promotion and distribution of music. The Company's website has grown into a premier online music destination. The Company uses the Internet and file formats that make music files smaller to enable a growing number of artists to distribute and promote their music to a broad audience and to let consumers conveniently access this expanding music catalogue. The Company's website contains more than 154,000 songs from more than 26,000 artists, representing what the Company believes to be one of the largest collections of digital music available on the Internet. Consumers can search, sample and download music free of charge. MP3.com is traded on the Nasdaq Exchange under the symbol MPPP and is based in San Diego, California. About RealJukebox With more than 10 million unique users since its release in Ma of this year, RealJukebox is the first complete digital music product that gives consumers everything they need to easily acquire, play and manage their personal music collections. RealJukebox turns PCs into the best way to experience music by allowing consumers to listen to their favorite music at their convenience, record their personal CD collections to their PC hard drive, find and download music from the Internet, organize and personalize music collections, and take their music anywhere through the use of portable devices. RealJukebox is immediately available for free download at www.realjukebox.com. About RealJukebox Plus RealJukebox Plus is the $29.99 enhanced version of RealJukebox and the fastest selling digital music system with the ability to record and playback at CD quality - up to 320 kbps, a 10-band graphic equalizer, and powerful new music management capabilities among its many features. RealJukebox Plus is immediately available for purchase at www.realjukebox.com. About RealNetworks RealNetworks, Inc., based in Seattle, is the recognized leade streaming media delivery for the Internet. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. RealNetworks can be found on the World Wide Web at real.com.

To: DownSouth who wrote (7142)	9/27/1999 10:01:00 PM
From: Percival 917	Respond to of 54805

DownSouth and Daiju Post #2, Interesting that Microsoft wasted no time in taking up the challenge from Real Networks and MP3. I am interested in opinions on how this may affect RNWK going forward. (I especially want your feedback Voltaire as I know you are a major RNWK supporter). The last paragraph brings another major player into the Softie camp; Sony Squire J Microsoft, Cirrus Unveil Web-Music Player Technology (Adds comments from Microsoft, MP3 shares fall) Redmond, Washington, Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said Cirrus Logic Inc. will unveil an audio chip next month designed to work with Microsoft software in portable music devices, a bid to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing online music business. Shares of MP3.com Inc., which pioneered the technology to download CD-quality music from the web and competes with Microsoft, fell 4 to 40 9/16 in early afternoon trading. Earlier, it touched 38 1/2. Cirrus rose 1 1/2 to 11 5/8. Microsoft and Cirrus are seeking to win over customers in the burgeoning business of selling music online by developing the next line of portable devices that can download and play music from the Internet. Estimates of the growth potential in that market vary, from $147 million to $1.1 billion by 2003. Microsoft in April launched its Windows Media Audio software to compete with MP3.com and RealNetworks Inc. in the market for music downloading software. ''We aim to capture a significant percentage of the Internet audio device installed base in the next 12 months,'' said Matthew Perry, general manager of Cirrus's imbedded processor division. Much in the way Betamax and VHS formats competed in video tape market, Microsoft and MP3.com are working to advance their music downloading technology in the hopes that each can make its format the standard for the business. Stores by Christmas Microsoft and Cirrus, the largest supplier of audio computer chips, said the new chips and software will be used in a new line of portable audio devices that will be on store shelves in time for the holiday season. ''You're going to see an explosion in the number and choice of portable audio devices,'' said Kevin Unangst, lead product manager for Windows Audio Media. MP3.com pioneered the Internet music distribution, creating the technology to allow consumers to download CD-quality music onto their PC or portable device, often for free, from a library of more than 100,000 songs from about 18,000 artists. MP3 is a technological format for compressing huge data files, like songs, into manageable chunks that can be transmitted over computer networks. MP3.com shares are up more than 42 percent from its initial public offering price as investors bet that consumers will increasingly buy music that can be directly downloaded from the Web rather than by purchasing compact discs. Sony Corp., a consumer-electronics giant and one of the world's five biggest music companies, on Friday unveiled a portable music device that plays the music found on MP3.com's Web site. The company has also said it will partner with Microsoft in the distribution of music and videos over the Internet.

To: DownSouth who wrote (7142)	9/28/1999 1:26:00 AM
From: Daiju Kohno	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

Hey DS, Days without sleep must have fogged my memory, otherwise I'm sure I would have remembered you :) Joel, Thanks for the homework you've been doing, and I will try to contribute sometime as well. My knowledge of RNWK is limited, but I knew enough to get in at $20 last November, and I think it will go alot higher. I don't want to burden the thread with a half-assed analysis, so I will wait until I have some time to really study it :) Cheers Daiju