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Technology Stocks : Corel Corp. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Duncan who wrote (8330)	12/24/1999 12:31:00 AM
From: Paul Borghese	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 9798

You asked what are the advantages of purchasing Corel OS when you can download it for free. Actually there are many. First consider the size of the download - about 318 MB. How many 56k modem users are going to attempt that size of a download? I downloaded the distribution on a cable modem overnight using IglooFTP (a version of Bulletproof for Linux). Then once you download and burn the CD, you need to know how to install the product. While Corel has made it incredibly easy to install, there are some places where it is possible to get stuck. For example, the sound card installation. The standard edition comes with a manual and e-mail support. You are going to need a manual anyway if you are new to Linux, so you mind as well just buy the distribution. In the long run, what Corel, RedHat, Suse, Caldera and the others are selling is not a product, but support. But do not trivialize support. Support is what has been keeping Linux out of the corporate environment. IT managers want a phone number they can call when things go wrong - and they are willing to pay big bucks for it. This is why Corel's 1/3 purchase of LinuxForce is so interesting. They understand what is being sold is support and a corporate backing. The one thing I wish they would do is reduce the price of the standard package. At Best Buy it is $39.00 versus $24.00 for RedHat Standard edition. At this point in time, gaining market share is more important then profit. Paul Borghese

To: Bob Duncan who wrote (8330)	12/24/1999 4:18:00 PM
From: Kashish King	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9798

Mr. Duncan You asked what the advantages of buying versus downloading were and somebody correctly pointed out that with a lame-o 56K modem you should probably get the CD and have it ready to load on a whim. Now, that applies to all flavors of Linux, not just Corel's. You also correctly pointed out that Corel is full of BS, I think any reasonable person would agree with that. Look at all of the new products and product directions Corel has been touting over the years versus that lack of tangible results. When one story fails to materialize -- like they didn't know that would happen -- they simply invent another. Cowpland refused to put his job on the line in terms of a turnaround last year but those who watched the company magically return to profitability at the 11th hour and 59th minute were skeptical: channel stuffing was suspected. Now look! Back to crushing losses! Gee, what a shocking development... NOT!!! The company jolted investors yesterday with an announcement that it expects to show a loss of at least $8.5 million U.S. on declining revenue of $61 million in its fourth quarter. Corel blamed the expected 14-cent-a-share loss on slack sales of such Windows-based software as WordPerfect and the venerable CorelDraw graphics program that made the company. In other words, Corel blamed the problem on business as usual. Nothing has changed. Sales dove, continued diving, and are still diving. Maybe they can stuff the sales channels and claim unsold products as revenue? That has worked for them in the past, why not now? 'Speshly since their CFO isn't looking anymore. Company executives said Corel is intensifying its efforts in Linux, the no-charge operating system presented as an alternative to Microsoft's dominant Windows personal-computer system. Just substitute "Java", "Network Computers", or a raft of other schemes that came and went for "Linux" in the above statement. It's more of the same bunk they have offered in the past. I don't want to sound too harsh because a lot of people will then miss the point that they are being taken for a ride or start jumping all over the messenger.