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Technology Stocks : Identix (IDNX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve who wrote (19845)	2/8/2001 6:24:11 PM
From: steve	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26039

Thursday February 8, 12:52 pm Eastern Time NASDAQ NEWS: Barely in the Green By Shelley Souza Optionetics.com For a while the Nasdaq seemed to be having one of those "happy" rather than "rainy" day feelings. The rally underway was clearly not euphoric; but the trading session had a certain buoyancy, at least in the first hour or so. Now that we're further into the trading day, the Composite (^IXIC) is barely in the green and the futures are negative 21, as I write. Merrill Lynch has downgraded Microsoft from "Buy" to "Accumulate." Internet analyst Henry Blodget, who is assuming coverage, downgraded the company saying Microsoft might continue to perform well in the short term; but in the big picture, the company is tied to the old PC model. To quote a trader friend, elephants accumulate mass (market share) but when the landscape changes, it's hard for an elephant to turn around quickly. I wonder if this is what Mr. Blodget means. After all, even on the Merrill Lynch site, if you search for news on Microsoft, absent their downgrade, there are all sorts of items on Microsoft this morning that would seem to indicate they're still with the program, including a news piece on Identix (IDX). Identix announced that it is the first biometrics company to receive Windows 2000 certification for their products BioLogon and BioTouch. The software will allow users to log on to their computers without having to remember passwords. That sounds great except for one minor detail: I couldn't see anywhere in their news release that the product also shuts down the system as soon as the user moves away from the PC. So in my book it's still an insecure or at least incomplete solution. Maybe this small (but I think crucial operation) is part of the Identix software products, but didn't find its way into to their news announcement. I interviewed the Executive Vice President for Identix a while back. I didn't have an opportunity to ask all the questions I would have liked; Grant Evans, their EVP was generous with his time but it was limited. He was in a car speeding to an airport. I did call back to ask about a rather ghoulish scenario that presented itself in my mind following the interview. Identix has developed false face/finger technology to detect unauthorized biometrics. Daemon Wright, their Director of Public Relations, told me that Identix software would recognize a disconnected digit. The software reads blood temperature and discoloration (think of how your fingertip goes "white" when you press it against a glass pane for example). He told me tests had been conducted with people who were dying; from which I understood that when the person died, the dead person's finger was tested in some fashion and shown to produce a false biometric. Not the most pleasant scenario, but I do admire Identix for their comprehensive security research. The Identix news is just one of many stories out on Microsoft today. The Marketsite at Optionetics.com carries the rest. It also tracks other stocks that are on the move in today's trading session. As always, trade well! Shelley Souza Senior Writer & Trading Strategist Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site ssouza@optionetics.com For more information on learning how to make money with options, go to the Optionetics.com full site! We empower investors through knowledge. biz.yahoo.com steve