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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Madden who wrote (7602)	12/23/1999 2:50:00 PM
From: Mark Madden	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9256

I can?t disagree with some of the recent gloomy posts but I think there are some bright areas also. The semiconductor industry is a lot like the drive industry in that technology is changing the environment. They open new markets with increased capacity and lower cost but the increased capacity also reduces unit sales to older markets. It is the new markets that will open up niches and specialties with new customers producing higher margins. Growth in the drive sector has been non-existent if measured in sales or earnings but the unit growth has been steadily over 15% per year. The lower prices have reduced revenues and earnings to no growth status but this will not continue forever. With a good pricing environment sales in earnings could grow beyond the 15% unit growth. Certainly there are risks and unforeseen future markets but these factors usually end up positive in technology fields. Regards, Mark

To: Mark Madden who wrote (7602)	12/23/1999 3:12:00 PM
From: Mark Oliver	Respond to of 9256

Acer Preps Parade Of Net Appliances By Todd Spangler, Inter@ctive Week December 23, 1999 12:42 PM ET zdnet.com In the latest example of PC companies trying to cash in on the supposed "post-PC" era of Internet devices, computer maker Acer is planning to launch a line of Internet appliances at next month's Consumer Electronics Show,in Las Vegas, according to a company source. Acer's new products will include the I-Station, a simplified computer based on Microsoft's Web Companion software that connects to Microsoft's MSN service. And that's all it does. The I-Station, expected to become available in spring 2000, is designed to shield users from sophisticated PC features. Like other appliances to be based on the Web Companion platform, Acer's I-Station doesn't include a hard drive or a floppy drive, and won't be able to run any traditional PC applications or games. The I-Station initially will include a 56K modem; future models are expected to incorporate broadband connectivity. Pricing for the I-Station wasn't available, but is expected to be much less than that of a standard PC. Acer also plans to demonstrate an Internet phone, which combines a phone and built-in answering machine with a keyboard and an 8-inch color touch screen for surfing the Web and reading e-mail. In addition, Acer will show video phones developed in conjunction with Cisco Systems that have a built-in camera and can display video at 30 frames per second. Other PC giants devising plans for Internet appliances include Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Compaq Computer. Earlier this week Compaq announced that it has agreed to licensing terms with Be Inc. for Be's Stinger software, designed for Internet appliances, although Compaq said it is currently only evaluating the operating system for possible future products. In a similar trend, PC makers are reshaping the traditional personal computer to look and behave more like Internet appliances. Dell Computer recently introduced the WebPC, which is a smaller, stylish PC intended for easy Internet access. At next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Compaq intends to roll out its own slimmed-down consumer PC for Internet access that, according to a Compaq source, looks like a large toaster.

To: Mark Madden who wrote (7602)	12/23/1999 3:24:00 PM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9256

I saw too many things that day to say exactly what the quality was, but I do remember it was full screen and they probably used a different format for recording that is converted to standard TV use. Here's a link to the product: sharp-usa.com More important to me was seeing very good quality full screen streaming video coming in at 600kbps. Bump the speed to over 1.5 mbps and you've got really great TV. Yes, this was full screen. All over the show floor people had these huge FPD monitors that are much larger than a standard VDT. These companies were showing how they could replace internet viewing and TV use as we know it. And, they were doing streaming which means they didn't rely on disk drives. Does it strike you all as the most amazing thing ever that a CFO for Microsoft would leave to run a broadband network company? Regards, Mark PS Some interesting reading on bandwidth, message-board.net