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Technology Stocks : General Magic -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dgurgel who wrote (7931)	2/8/2000 9:20:00 AM
From: John Madarasz	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 10081

Dave, I think you are missing one key fact... in your last post you stated... GMGC spent almost every last dime on Portico and the NOC. Don't forget about magictalk. This is the true flagship of General Magic. This voice interface platform is the core that all the services are built on, and really, Portico is just the old Serengeti product re-named. The new MagicTalk platform is based on a "distributed VUI" model, where portions of the VUI can be located in different parts of the network. "This model allows a simple VUI to be installed in a number of different devices that access the more sophisticated VUI within Serengeti," said Steve Markman. "The distributed VUI would allow users to gain all the benefits of human interaction using the simplest devices, like a PDA or even a watch. The model of embedded computers predicted by futurists is rapidly approaching reality." MagicTalk's architecture is designed to enable rapid customization to meet specific market, product and geographical needs. We are currently talking to third parties about the possibility of extending the MagicTalk user experience to custom applications that our partners and customers create for their own products or services," Markman added. genmagic.com Potico is a great service, you should know...you use it all the time and comment on that very fact, but I think it is only ONE aspect of the magictalk platform. On the surface it appears that mytalk is already overshadowing it. The only way General Magic will be a "modest success at best" is if they hang their hat on the future of one product. They have already shown their willingness as a company to re-invent and adapt to the market to make their products more viable and acceptable... witness the Onstar alliance. It is the customability of the magictalk platform that makes this company so great... the fact that GMGC's voice user interface and agent technologies are able to be tailored to so many different applications makes the potential for success that much greater. For anyone interested, a good idea is to go back to the beginning and read the company press release headlines, then delve into select releases to get a better, more well rounded picture of the way things are unfolding here. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, so stepping back and looking at the big picture can be good... genmagic.com Best Regards and best wishes for continued success... John

To: dgurgel who wrote (7931)	2/8/2000 10:22:00 PM
From: Seconds Out	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10081

Dave, I know you have profited from GMGC. My comment was referring to the last time you sold after expressing your concerns in your posts. I don't think not landing a RBOC should cause alarm in the near future. Understand, too, that if GMGC does a deal with Bell South, that doesn't necessarily mean the subscriber would have to use a Bell South account to access their Portico type service. Any phone will do. However, If AOL were to provide access to its calendar, address book, and other chosen content, they would separate themselves from other providers in the same space, and the subscober would need to have an AOL account. That is why I see the model shifting. Of course, you are correct, cellular phones will be gaining major usage, since that would probably be the way most subscribers would access their content. I agree with you about the medium, but who will be controlling the purse strings is where I believe the distinction comes in. In a nutshell, I feel that the content providers have a much larger incentive to make a deal with GMGC than the line providers at this time. Best wishes. Seconds Out.