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To: NY Stew who wrote (7380)	10/3/1999 12:24:00 PM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Apollo and Stew, Aside from my comment about the V-Chip Plus, I was waiting for Stew to address Apollo's comparison of the Gem with the Ram. Now that he's done that, I'd like to add some more stuff. If I understand Stew's comment about the 7-year life of a television, he's implying that the switching cost is high because the IPG is inside the television. However, I'm wondering what happens when the consumer buys a TV and an STB with a guide inside. The cost of switching the STB is probably lower than the TV. On the other hand, I think this is mostly an academic question considering that I believe all guide technologies in STBs inure to Gemstar's benefit. If we are going to list Miocrosoft and Sony as big brothers, I think we also have to list Thompson. Thompson is not a household name because they've chosen to enhance the brand name of their product lines instead of their corporate name. Thompson is a huge force that not only puts a lot of product on the shelf with Gemstar inside, but also is an equity partner in the TDN venture with the Gem and NBC. And since NBC is also the company that is jump-starting Gemnstar's advertising revenue, maybe NBC should be listed as a big brother too, depending on the criteria you use. --Mike Buckley