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 : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (5413)	10/3/1999 1:38:00 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 12823

Taa Daa, Well Frank, Here's what I was getting at whilst being sooo distracted. bcr.com bcr.com www2.nwfusion.com\|switch2/leaderboard.html Now to a simplon like me, this seems like a big deal, this here BigIron stuff. I'm a wonderin how you see it. I mean, Alteon is all well and good, but Foundry, Ooh La La. Could these guys be more extreme than Extreme, I mean ultraXtreme? Do you see it this way? As my dad always used to say, a switch in time saves nine. Not that he had a clue. ;-)) Why is that Ry? "Aw, shucks, it's just a timing issue......." From the Sage & Juniper, Ry

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (5413)	10/3/1999 12:29:00 PM
From: SDR-SI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

Frank, A temporary response. I just ducked in for a quick SI-check, but am about to go out to go to my father's house where the two of us "electron pushers" (non-photon-enabled in our thinking) are working with mechanical switches and solenoids and other such primitivsms (or I suppose to continue your newly promulgated classical Latin standard I should say "primivitia"), to build the device for which the entire world has been waiting - a canine-controlled dog biscuit tosser and reloader for the use and entertainment of his dog. I will attempt a more thoughtful answer to your post when I return tonight. Steve

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (5413)	10/3/1999 6:33:00 PM
From: SDR-SI	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Frank and all, I think that your "Wild West" comment is probably true to a significant degree in some places. A quick look at advertisements for office, commercial or industrial property in the major markets these days indicates how important an item availability of wideband communications has become. More and more ads are touting the telecommunications facilities available to tenants or buyers. Corporate real estate officers are putting communications capability high in their comparison spread sheets when comparing candidate facilities. Many of the carriers and service providers have sales operatives concentrating on locking up full facility infrastructure deals for new construction and major building rehab projects, as well as retrofits of existing buildings. Obviously, by locking in a deal with the building and pre-installing fiber and distribution throughout, the "chosen" carrier stands a pretty good chance of being able to lock up many of the tenants' services. Competition is keen and fierce. Building owners first saw communications capability as an added amenity, then began realizing it was a necessity, then realized that it could also become an income item - either as an expense item charged to the tenants, or as a commission item received from the service providers. As with other "house franchise" services the competition between service providers, each trying to put forth their deal as best for the building owner or operator, sometimes has resulted in a propensity to make "secondary" deals with individuals to insure the success of their proposals. In the more competitive areas (probably every major and developing city) such machinations do tend to have the characteristics of "the Wild West." Somehow one would want to think that telecommunications was "above" the types of games played in cleaning services, trash services, vending machines, etc., but a bit of the "lowest common denominator" tendency appears to be rearing its ugly head. Being involved more in facilities for the carriers themselves, in which endeavor they are attempting to get as close to each other as possible, rather than pushing each other out, and where location decisions for their switch facilities are made at their corporate strategic and network design levels, somewhat insulates us from the down and dirty aspects of their competitive sales efforts against each other. It is sometimes weird, however, to have them competing for space to get as close to each other as possible, then, once in and functioning, go into an operating mode that tries to totally ignore the existence of each other (except, of course, for their colo requirements, for which they tolerate each other). I know you must have had me in mind also with the comment "there are some folks who will probably never see a need to upgrade from V.90. Until, that is, until their kids drive them so crazy about the need for the next step up the (oi!) broadband ladder." In a couple of weeks my college freshman daughter will be returning home for her first break from school. No doubt she will be quite helpful in making sure that I am well aware of the various technical and operational aspects of comparing her at-school PIII, 450MHz machine on a high speed Ethernet Internet connection, with our poor old 100 MHz Pentium on a 56K dialup at home. However, she will probably be able to survive and readjust well to having to deal with fossils (both technical and parental). Best to all, Steve PS to elmatador: The dog is very demanding and will not accept retrofit equipment. She has already learned that if she climbs up on a certain chair, then opens on particular drawer on a 6 foot parts rack, then takes out a cookie from the drawer, then carefully closes that drawer to actuate a switch, she can make a relay-actuated cookie fall from the top of the rack and can catch it in her mouth in mid-air. She, of course, begged us to find something more challenging for her talents, hence the new device in which she can hit a pedal, make a cookie load from a magazine, then have the cookie propelled into mid-air for a graceful catch. It's amazing at how interested she becomes when we're working on it, but she has yet to become adept enough at using a screwdriver or soldering iron to really be that helpful to us.