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Technology Stocks : Gemstar Intl (GMST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NY Stew who wrote (2340)	3/16/2000 10:01:00 AM
From: Jeff Bond	Respond to of 6516

>>As for the immediate future of ebooks, we should see the trend toward PDA adaptability continue. I disagree with this statement if I understand it correctly. Content rights (or the loss thereof) and security are issues that other formats fail to effectively address. It is much more likely that the dedicated eBook devices will adapt certain PDA functionality in higher-end models as dictated over time by user needs.<< ----------- I think you read it correctly, in that Peanut now provides a software program allowing a person to read an e-book on a Palm Pilot device. You are exactly right about the security issue, and the Palm is NOT the proper platform to read a book anyways. What makes more sense is for the Rocketbook to come down to the $100 price point, and letting this device pick up some added functionality. There is two quite different tasks these two devices play though, so I'm not sure how much combining makese sense. If the Rocketbook were to become a quasi-PDA, it would need to implement easy-to-use input functionality (entering in address information, selecting calendar days to review, typing in memo fields, recording voice memos, etc.), something that would most likely demand a stylus or soft keypad. I'm not sure if this really makes sense, but it is possible. Applications I see the Rocketbook being really useful for are as a mobile screen show device, a device to display reports and papers while a user is on the road, and as a means of providing mobile professionals with updated information, etc. For example, a mobile sales professional could be provided a Rocketbook, which would contain specification sheets of current offerings, along with current pricing information. As part of a sales meeting, he could whip out the e-book, demonstrate a product application on a white sheet contained in the e-book, flip over to another page with specification information, and close the deal by quoting prices from an updated price sheet. Pretty useful if you ask me, and if the process provides macro support, the whole show could be fully automated. That would be a killer app!!! --------- >>Owners of the Rocket eBook or SoftBook Reader will also have access to a personalized online bookshelf with practically unlimited capacity, where they can store and retrieve all of the content they purchase.<< I'm intrigued by this statement from the press release. Either there will be a MASSIVE ability for storage of content, or there will be a MASSIVE index referencing what title(s) each and every user has purchased. On the one hand, if massive storage is the approach (meaning a complete copy of each book is stored online for each and every user who purchases a title), then there is gold in the hills of storage device makers such as EMC, SUN, NTAP, and the likes. This would sure seem an inefficient way of doing things, but maybe since a person would purchase separate titles from separate vendors, this may be the case. If the alternate approach is to store online an index of each title a person purchases, that opens up the idea that everything a person does is traceable, and therefore a potential security issue. Will the Rocketbook user working on a new business idea feel comfortable knowing the seven important books that are instrumental in the development of his idea can be determined, if someone is able to access his index file? I guess if the storage is limited to just novels, it would not harm much (unless there is embarrasing reads in there :o), but I feel this device is going to become a very important WORK TOOL as well. One other option would be to store the access information on the Rocketbook itself, but if a user loses his Rocketbook, all that information then suddenly becomes available to the person that found it. Security is a legitimate concern, I tend to agree with Stew in this regard. All of these devices tend to put in permanent fashion ideas and information that were previously stored safely in our memories, or at least on paper safely locked up in our office. Maybe the answer is bio-metrics in the form of a fingerprint reader, or enhanced security in the form of a Smart Card, but one way or another there is some answers to still resolve before the two eggs will become chickens. Besides, two eggs scrambled in the morning is about as good as a breast and a thigh BBQ'd to perfection in the evening :o) Regards, JB

To: NY Stew who wrote (2340)	3/16/2000 11:00:00 AM
From: rel4490	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6516

The overwhelming response to the King novel shows the huge potential of E-books. I too will be ordering a reader soon. But, I do not see how GMST's IP can prevent a multitude of competitors in this area. Despite first mover status, the barriers to entry seem small and switching costs for either a customer or publisher seem tiny. What am I missing?

To: NY Stew who wrote (2340)	3/16/2000 11:12:00 PM
From: D.B. Cooper	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

This Gemstar is looking better and better. When they announced the addition of the e-books, I really didn't care that much, sorry I didn't see the potential. Now the light is beginning to brighten. I have been long for quite some time and it looks like I am going to have this stock for a lot longer. biz.yahoo.com Thursday March 16, 9:13 pm Eastern Time King book shows evolution of e-book market By Dick Satran SAN FRANCISCO, March 16 (Reuters) - The stunning demand for Stephen King's ``Riding the Bullet,' published online this week, removed any mystery about whether an audience exists for books pushed over the Internet, publishing experts said Thursday. But the future form of the book -- electronic or paper -- is shrouded with literary ambiguity as the publishing industry decides its future in the digital era. For now, publishing giant Simon & Schuster is basking in the success of its first virtual best-seller. Two days after its release, ``Bullet' has been downloaded by a half million readers. ``There is no comparison to any print release I've heard of -- this is probably the most successful book launch of any type in history,' said Keith Titan, Simon & Schuster's online marketing manager. The electronic book was continuing to generate thousands of downloads an hour Thursday through a variety of online outlets from Amazon.com Inc to RoketBooks. The 16,000-word King novel was released Tuesday at a list price of $2.50, and given away free by some sites trying to publicize their electronic book divisions. Simon & Schuster called the e-publication ``an experiment' and didn't disclose its financial arrangements, except to say King and the publishing company were both paid for all of the legal downloads. The publishing industry, plagued by sluggish growth for years, watched the development with keen interest, and some apprehension. Electronic publishing promises to eliminate some of the biggest headaches in the industry, like heavy returns of unsold books and high distribution costs. But it also threatens chaotic change in a conservative and cliquish industry. ``We're all on a steep learning curve with this,' said marketing manager Gayle Treadwell. ``Certainly there are worries about copyright, and other new issues. But for all of us there is value in learning how to public electronically and do it well.' The vast majority of the Stephen King e-book copies went for consumption on personal computers, where users can read them on their screens or print out a copy on paper. A smaller number went to the rising class of products known as electronic books, or e-books, which are hand-held computers designed specifically for reading, with lighting and software aimed at imitating the printed book. ``This is an important event and an exciting event in the evolution of e-books,' said Jim Sachs, chief executive officer of Softbook Press, which makes the leather-bound Softbook. But Sachs, and others in the e-book industry suggested that many who view the book on their computer screens -- instead of on e-book readers made for longer reads -- will be disappointed. ``The idea of reading on a PC is ludicrous,' said Sachs. ``What we anticipate is that the hundreds of thousands of people who may actually get a copy of the book may find that reading on a PC is not a good experience. Most people don't like to read that way -- except for very short items.' Book publishers also are worried that copyright issues haven't been worked out in the personal computer book market, although most are willing to sell their book lists to publishers like Sachs's Softbook, owned by Gemstar International Group Ltd. (NasdaqNM:GMST - news), the technology group that publishes TV Guide and also owns another leading e-book maker, Rocket eBooks. Harvard Business School Press has published 40 books electronically in the past year, or about the same number it's published in print form. But while it's been willing to go through electronic publishers like Softbook, whose systems are designed to make copying difficult, they are reluctant to publish direct on the Internet. ``We are still waiting for copyright protection and encryption to improve somewhat before we do that,' said Harvard's Treadwell. While the publishing industry thrashes out such concerns, online readers were eagerly snapping up the online book. The first day downloads were five-to-10 times the level of even the biggest blockbuster written by a Tom Clancy or a John Grisham. But Paul Duguid, a University of California at Berkeley cultural studies researcher and author of ``The Social Life of Information,' said the tech industry is notoriously prone to fashion, and e-books could be a passing fancy. ``It's really hard to discover what part of it is fad and what part of it is real,' said Duguid.``If it wasn't being given away free, or for $2.50, and if it wasn't Stephen King, and it wasn't one of the first times you could do this, it might not have been so popular. Let's see what happens when it's $35.' Good Luck and thanks Stew Don

To: NY Stew who wrote (2340)	3/18/2000 7:04:00 PM
From: Jeff Bond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6516

I keep coming back to the fact that wireless is one of the most CRITICAL components in ensuring the success of GMST'S long-term strategy. 1. Wireless is going to be the means of two-way communication in the future, allowing interactive dialog in the IPG. 2. Wireless functionality is going to be added to the e-book platforms in 2001, per this statement contained in an article with Henry: "Yuen said he also plans to include wireless paging with e-books by 2001 to open the way for instant downloads of new book, magazine or newspaper content without a computer." 3. Wireless is functionally simple, non-technical for the end-user, and it provides adequate bandwidth to perform the intended functions. Any thoughts on some of these point I'm considering: 1. Forget USB, serial links, or anything else for the e-book of the future; it will simply receive updates from a STB, computer, or enabled TV with wireless technology. 2. If the products use low-power wireless, such as a radio packet modem operating in the 900Mhz band, it can be built right into an e-book and STB, making communications available for free in the home (analagous to a wireless docking station) without any on-going service charge such as from an ISP. I've experimented with radio packet modems operating at 433MHz manufactured by a company called Radiometrix, and was able to reliably send and receive a signal from one device to another nearly 100 yards in-building, and at a data transfer rate of 46K (equivalent to a fairly fast standard modem). 3. Wireless encryption is going to be a high priority, otherwise the data carrying signal could be stolen or used improperly. I know of a company working on this technology, I bet a technology similar to what they are developing is going to be a necessary enabling technology to ensure GMST maintains a proper level of protection on their technology. 4. If a road warrior needs to update his e-book while on the road, then he is going to have to have an account to establish a connection and receive updated data. Wireless service providers may become an important part of future computing if the technology truly takes holds (as I feel it will). I suppose if the communication is simply one-way (to update an e-book while on the road), that can be done without needing an account by taking advantage of the existing bandwidth GMST negeotiated in their long-term agreement with PAGE. I wonder exactly how much bandwidth they negeotiated for, and whether it is sufficient to facilitate the IPG as well as updating e-books? -------- Anyone know who GMST is working with, in terms of wireless technology, to include in the e-books? That company is DESTINED TO FLY, based on the quantity of units that will eventually incorporate wireless technology (including STB, TV, and e-books, as well as PDA's and computers). I wonder if it is RFMD, they appear to be a leader in the wireless arena. Maybe it is QCOM technology GMST will use. And I wonder if wirelessencryption.com will have anything to do with securing the wireless signal from improper use. Just some thoughts, any input appreciated, I really think GMST is being led by a visionary who understands where we are headed. Great person to dump your money onto, and simply let him rack it up for you. Hey Winston, thank you for re-acquainting me with GMST, that was cool and very timely. As an aside, I think NTAP will receive a large dose of indirect support from GMST, in the form of a huge demand for online storage to facilitate the personal storage of each persons individual e-books. Regards, JB