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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (155657)	3/28/2000 3:10:00 PM
From: D.J.Smyth	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

nearly every measure one makes in comparing Dell to SUNW shows Dell succeeding SUNW, yet Dell remains 30% less market cap than SUNW. obviously comes down to a perception issue as reality doesn't appear to be operative principle here.

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (155657)	3/28/2000 4:07:00 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Hi Kemble! Dell has been investing again. :)Leigh "Expect loud cheers from Nasdaq traders on March 29 as investors jump into New York-based Opus360 (Nasdaq: OPUS - news), the latest Internet site that links job seekers with companies. Opus360 will offer 7.7 million shares in a price range of $9 to $11, hoping to raise $77 million in proceeds. Robertson Stephens is underwriting the deal with Bear Stearns, J.P. Morgan and EOffering, the online investment bank, helping with distribution. Concurrent to the offering is a $14 million cash infusion from Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - news) that will be used for capital expenditures and adds credibility to the company. Dell is taking 3% of the company in return. biz.yahoo.com Monday March 27, 7:09 pm Eastern Time Forbes.com Opus360 Prepares For Splashy Debut By Nicole Koffey Expect loud cheers from Nasdaq traders on March 29 as investors jump into New York-based Opus360 (Nasdaq: OPUS - news), the latest Internet site that links job seekers with companies. Opus360 will offer 7.7 million shares in a price range of $9 to $11, hoping to raise $77 million in proceeds. Robertson Stephens is underwriting the deal with Bear Stearns, J.P. Morgan and EOffering, the online investment bank, helping with distribution. Concurrent to the offering is a $14 million cash infusion from Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - news) that will be used for capital expenditures and adds credibility to the company. Dell is taking 3% of the company in return. Founded in August 1998, Opus360 is one of several players providing the glue in a highly fragmented job market. By visiting its site www.freeagent.com , job seekers can check out a variety of freelance projects, permanent positions and staffing companies. As of the end of February, the company had 76,800 job seekers registered with its Freeagent.com service and had over 900 projects available from companies. But despite their success in signing folks up, revenues, which Opus360 derives from registration fees and advertising, have been thin. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1999, the company reported a spectacular net loss of $13.2 million on revenues of just $540,000. Although the company has yet to prove its success, its market is undoubtedly substantial. ``The job market is the most fragmented source of supply because it involves individuals,' says Mathew Sanders of Forrester Research. ``A company like Opus that can tie together that market adds a lot of value.' With unemployment hovering around 4%, the lowest rate ever recorded in U.S. history, Opus360 has an enviable market position. By bringing scarce workers to the attention of hungry employers, Opus360 can--at least in theory--charge a premium for its services. Despite this, Opus360 faces competition from many established players with more recognizable brand names. Companies like Monster.com, Hot Jobs.com, Jobs.com and Techies.com all offer places where employers and workers can meet. And Opus360 provides little to distinguish itself from a host of other companies offering the same service. Given the competition, Opus360 is unlikely to enjoy any competitive advantage with its Freeagent.com Web site. One area where it does differ, however, is with its software that helps companies manage their own job procurement processes. By using OPUS Xchange software, clients can manage their own outsourcing of projects and automate their hiring process. This allows them to substantially cut administrative costs. In order for the company to thrive, therefore, Opus360 will need to prove that its software cuts clients' costs significantly and streamlines their hiring process. Otherwise, this company will have trouble finding its voice in a market crowded with similar players. Go to www.forbes.com to see all of our latest stories. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: Dell Computer Corp (NasdaqNM:DELL - news) Opus360 Corp (NasdaqNM:OPUS - news) Related News Categories: computer hardware, computers

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (155657)	3/28/2000 7:04:00 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

"Dragon would give the Belgian company access to a client base that includes Dell Computer Corp. (DELL.O) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), Hauspie said." cnbc.com UPDATE 2-Belgium's Lernout & Hauspie to buy U.S. rival (rewrites throughout, changes dateline, byline, updates stock price, adds IBM and analyst comments, more background, PVS Brussels) By Reshma Kapadia NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Shares of Belgium's Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV (LHSP.O) (LHSP.ED) rose on Tuesday after the maker of speech-recognition software said it would buy Dragon Systems Inc., its leading U.S. competitor, in a deal valued at about $580 million. L&H said the Dragon acquisition would shorten the time it takes to develop new speech technology products for cars, wireless phones and other hand-held devices used to surf the Internet -- a market that analysts expect to boom in the coming years. The addition of Newton, Mass.-based Dragon would make the combined company the undisputed leader in the U.S. retail market for speech-recognition software. "It certainly means that L&H is going to have potentially almost 80 percent of the market, which is significant. Dragon is generally regarded as the market leader in the voice dictation software space," said John Dalton, associate analyst at Forrester Research. Closely held Dragon currently commands about 48 percent of the U.S. market; Lernout & Hauspie has about 36 percent and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM.N) holds about 15 percent, according to PC Data. The company agreed to buy Dragon for about 5.45 million shares of its own stock. It said it expected the deal to add slightly to earnings, excluding goodwill, from the second half of 2000. The acquisition is scheduled to close in a few months. After the news, L&H American Depositary Receipts closed 17 higher, or about 16 percent, at 125-3/4 on the Nasdaq stock market. Earlier in Belgium, the company's shares jumped 19.325 to 128.5 on the Easdaq exchange Incorporating speech-recognition technology into mobile phones allows users to send electronic mail and other communications over the Internet by using their voices rather than typing on a keypad. Users in turn are able to receive audio information over their phones rather than reading it on a screen. The market for speech technology products for handheld and mobile devices is currently estimated at about $1 billion, analysts say. But that is expected to mushroom alongside the growth of wireless services. Wireless services are expected to achieve 50 percent penetration in the United States by 2002 and 75 penetration by 2010, according to Yankee Group, a research firm. L&H Co-Chairman Pol Hauspie said in a conference call that the deal would help the company meet the growing number of requests from large companies to form partnerships to develop technology for mobile and handheld devices. Dragon would give the Belgian company access to a client base that includes Dell Computer Corp. (DELL.O) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), Hauspie said. Earlier this month L&H said it would buy U.S.-based Dictaphone Corp., which makes dictation and telephony call center recording systems. That deal was the latest in a series of acquisitions that have boosted the company's position in the speech-recognition market. Even so, analysts do not expect the enlarged L&H to pose much of a threat to IBM, one of its competitors. "My impression is that the folks at IBM are not playing or competing in this space as one might think. They are looking at voice-enabled Web technology and are looking at audio mining technology, so I don't think it's going to impact them. They have plenty of other fish to fry," Dalton said. "IBM is already a global player. We are very strong in Japan where we have 75 percent market share and are leaders in Europe," said Krishna Nathan, director of consumer voice systems at IBM. The Dragon deal "validates what we have been doing and that voice recognition is the future," he added. "We view speech as one of the engines that will drive the interface for the Web -- access to information anytime and anyplace from mobile location or a fixed office driven by speech," Nathan said. REUTERS Rtr 18:30 03-28-00