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

To: riposte who wrote (3169)	6/17/2000 1:34:00 AM
From: Jeff Bond	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

Hi NY Stew, Can you please briefly discuss these issues? 1. Conflicts with cable operators was inevitable. That was the reason the company struck a deal to carry data over the paging network (as well as the benefits of 2-way communications down the road. True? 2. It was my understanding that implementation of the paging network was to begin in the first half of 2000, with 2-way communications beginning sometime in 2001. Ia this still accurate, as far as you know? 3. Are potential technical issues delaying deployment; is the process on-track as far as you know; and won't the paging system eventually make any blocking, such as the likes of Time Warner's a moot point? At least from a technical standpoint, in that customers should still be able to receive their data, via the paging network? 4. Does the claim customers are not receiving their data, one way or the other, imply there IS a delay in Gemstar's plan to provide data over the paging network? Or does it simply reflect the fact deployment is being accomplished incrementally, and certain areas will have to wait for the data, until the system comes online in their particular market? Thank you, appreciate any input on the matter. Regards. JB P.S. Frankly, I have a totally different theory, one that flies counter to the ideas above. I believe GSMT is truly concerned ANY favorable resolution, of ANY potential issue, might be used as ammunition by ANY party that wishes to de-rail the merger process. I think the company may be temporarily willing to accept being perceived as a rabbit sitting in the middle of a road, frozen in place as it stares at the headlights of on-coming traffic. Although less than enjoyable, difficult to accept, and hard to consistently follow, the company may silently take just about any beating, EXCEPT for issues involving potential patent infringement, in an effort to provide no ammunition others might use to de-rail the merger process. In fact, if my assumption is correct, the approval process might actually BENEFIT in taking this course of action, since it creates the impression they are NOT a monopoly, with legitimate vulnerabilities, regardless of whether or not this is the case. I think Henry is smart enough to do what is best. If he is indeed following this course of action, he will also have demonstrated just how committed and focused he is on making his visions for the business become a reality. Accepting embarrasment to ensure success is a pill most could never swallow ... I would guess his wife is a strong person, who as necessary provides strategic words of wisdom.

To: riposte who wrote (3169)	6/18/2000 12:42:00 AM
From: HowardRoarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6516

Think congress will be buying GMST Monday? thestandard.com Congress Gets Preview of AOL-TV To allay criticism of its merger with Time Warner, the online giant tries to show that AOL-TV won't discriminate against other services. America Online (AOL) typically gives Wall Street analysts a sneak peek at soon-to-be-announced products, but for the new AOL-TV service to be publicly unveiled on Monday, the online giant came to Washington this week to give Congress a preview, too. The demonstration was meant to soften heaps of criticism being circulated by rival Walt Disney and others in a high stakes lobbying battle to slow or block AOL's megamerger with Time Warner (TWX) . Complaints about the proposed combination have already drawn attention from lawmakers, as well as regulators reviewing the deal at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. While showing off the new service's ability to let TV watchers surf the Web, read e-mail and send instant messages from a TV set, AOL officials also sought to demonstrate that the service would not discriminate against other programming providers nor improperly reuse TV shows without the permission of broadcasters. For example, the service's electronic-programming guide that lets subscribers navigate through dozens or even hundreds of channels would list the channels in alphabetical order within categories. AOL said it would not sell channel placements to give certain channels top billing in the guide, which is a common practice in the cable TV industry. And AOL's interactive features that link TV programming to Web content are built on open standards from Liberate Technologies (LBRT) , which let ordinary TV broadcasters create linked sites that would pop up on a user's screen. A broadcaster could send AOL-TV users a message that links to a Web site over AOL-TV by using the open standard and including the data in the vertical-blanking interval of a television program. The vertical-blanking interval is a part of a TV signal that can carry data other than video or audio, such as closed-caption text. AOL said it would not create interactive links for programs without first striking a deal with a show's owner. Disney and others have argued that combining AOL's position as the dominant Internet service provider with Time Warner's many cable systems and popular media products would give the merged company a stranglehold on the distribution system for news, entertainment and everything else in an increasingly digital world. AOL plans to announce details of the new service to the public on Monday. The service was previewed at several industry trade shows earlier this year, including the National Cable Television Association forum in May in New Orleans. AOL-TV uses a special set-top box that will be sold in retail-electronics stores for a few hundred dollars. The box plugs into a satellite or cable TV box and connects to the Internet over an ordinary phone line. Like Microsoft (MSFT) 's WebTV, the service will allow TV watchers to surf the Internet, read e-mail or send instant messages without needing a separate computer. Also today, AOL moved to allay criticism of its closed instant-messaging system by unveiling a plan to let people send messages between competing IM products. The plan would have to be adopted by the Internet Engineering Task Force and then incorporated into new products before messages could be exchanged freely, which could take a year or more.