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To: KyrosL who wrote (35562)10/16/1999 9:30:00 AM
From: mr.mark  Respond to of 45548
 
COMING SOON TO A PALM NEAR YOU
pcworld.com

Leading handheld gathers new clones and Web services.

by James Niccolai, IDG News Service
October 15, 1999, 9:13 a.m. PT

Third-party software and services that extend the Palm
handheld computer's wireless capabilities are on the
menu for Palm Computing's annual PalmSource
conference next week.

Palm Computing will use the four-day event, which
starts on Tuesday, to unveil a host of offerings aimed at
making the Palm an integral part of daily business life.

New Handhelds

Among third-party announcements, TRG Products,
which makes add-in memory boards for Palm
computers, says it will unveil a new handheld computer
based on the Palm operating system.

TRG is staying tight-lipped about the device, although a
source indicated that it will be marketed towards
businesses rather than individual users, and will pack
more memory than existing handhelds.

Staying in Synch

WeSync.com will unveil a service that gives Palm
users access to collaborative applications, such as a
calendar and contact list that are hosted by
WeSync.com. Users set up an account at the
company's Web site, and can synchronize data with
their handheld using either the Palm docking station, a
Palm VII and WeSync's Wireless Refresh technology.

The service, which goes into public beta Tuesday and
is slated to be commercially available in 60 days, will
be free.

WeSync.com plans to offer a Professional service in
the first quarter of 2000. This service will be fee-based,
but will cost "no more than supplying each worker with
a pager," says Matthew Melendez, WeSync.com's
director of marketing. DataViz said it will extend the
capabilities of its Documents To Go software, which
lets users synchronize PC data from Microsoft Word,
Excel, and other programs not natively supported in the
Palm operating system.

Palmtop Shopping

For consumers, BarPoint.com will announce a new
query application for the Palm VII, the BarPoint
Shopper.

Using the Palm.net wireless service, the application
allows users to read product descriptions online, do
comparison shopping, and purchase goods, the
company said in a statement.

JP Systems, which offers OneTouch e-mail and
Infobeam wireless messaging systems for the Palm,
has partnered with wireless communications firm
Widcomm to offer software for Handspring's Visor
computer. It lets users grab their e-mail via Bluetooth,
an emerging wireless technology that connects devices
in the home or office at a distance of up to about 100
meters.



To: KyrosL who wrote (35562)10/16/1999 10:07:00 AM
From: Mehrdad Arya  Respond to of 45548
 
TAUB TALK: Dreyfus' Top Tech Value Picks

editor: Steve Taub 10/15/99

Here's Dreyfus' dilemma.

The fund management company runs one of the most successful funds around-Dreyfus Premier Technology Growth (NASDAQ:DTGRX - news) . The fund was up 67% through Wednesday and was up 98% in 1998.

However, Dreyfus is getting nervous that its customers are not diversified enough.

So it's trying to coax investors to think value. As in value funds.

In fact, on Thursday it trotted out its value team to espouse the virtues of low-priced, under recognized names to the press.

Trouble is, its most prestigious value fund specializes in-you guessed it-tech stocks.

For example, this year, the Dreyfus Midcap Value (NASDAQ:DMCVX - news) fund is up about 14%, way outperforming the Russell value indexes, which are down a few percentage points.

'Tech names were very depressed last fall,' recalls manager Peter Higgins, who is also a senior v.p. at The Boston Co., which like Dreyfus is part of the Mellon Bank (NYSE:MEL - news) . 'Semiconductor and semiconductor equipment companies have done very well.'

And although Higgins says he's lightening up on tech stocks because many of them have risen a lot, he still likes a handful.

But, be careful. Value managers in general wind up with a motley mix of struggling companies. And this is especially true when it comes to technology stocks, since the good ones very rarely qualify for value managers' portfolios.

For example, disk drive maker Quantum HDD (NYSE:HDD - news) . The company is losing wads of money. In fact, on Thursday it reported a $49 million loss for the most recent quarter, excluding special charges. The stock closed Thursday at $6.

However, Higgins says there is very little downside risk here given that it has $3 alone in net cash per share and its book value is $9.

Competitor Maxtor (NASDAQ:MXTR - news) is nearly as appealing. Its stock closed at $5.81, just three times its $2 per share in net cash. It also trades at just five times sales, Higgins notes.

Another downtrodden company he likes is Ingram-Micro (NYSE:IM - news) . The computer products distributor closed Thursday at $12.69, way down from its 52-week high of $50.38. 'It's difficult to figure a catalyst' for the stock, Higgins concedes.

However, he notes that over the past four years the stock typically traded at 20% of sales, at the low end. But, right now it is trading at just 5% of estimated 2000 revenue. 'It stumbled. It's looking for a new CEO. But with Tech Data (NASDAQ:TECD - news) it is among the top players,' he notes.

In fact, he also likes Tech Data, which he thinks will earn $3 per share in 2000. It closed Thursday at $23.38, or less than eight times Higgins' estimate for 2000.

Both companies are being hurt by a fierce price war in Europe. But Higgins doesn't expect things to get much worse.

Another tech favorite: 3Com (NASDAQ:COMS - news) . 'The company is breaking itself up,' he notes. Its first step: Taking public its Palm hand-held computer business. This business alone is worth $15 per share, Higgins figures. The company has another $5-6 per share in net cash. So, we're already at roughly $20 per share. The stock closed Thursday at $30.31.

This means its networking and modem businesses combined are being valued at roughly $10 per share. Meanwhile the company has a great balance sheet and is an aggressive buyer of its own shares. Higgins figures the entire company is worth closer to $50 a pop.

Finally, there's Sterling Commerce (NYSE:SE - news) , which specializes in products for business-to-business e-commerce. It closed at $21.94. Yet Higgins expects the company to earn $1.75 per share in 2000. Over the next five years, it is expected to grow by 25% per year. In addition, it bought back 20% of its stock in the past 6-9 months, Higgins notes.

What's more, on October 5 it announced that it would beat Wall Street consensus estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in September. As a result, Robertson Stephens upgraded the stock.

So, who needs crummy old Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO - news) , right?