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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (134208)	11/4/2001 7:24:48 PM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

Thanks for the memories, I came home alone , and found you weren't alone...you said he was just a nudist who dropped by to use the phone. Bob Hope.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (134208)	11/5/2001 12:00:18 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Bill, I'm in OPWV again at 16...what's your average cost cost? >Uncertainty marks rollout of next-generation wireless in North America MATTHEW FORDAHL Canadian Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Stories of frantic efforts to connect to friends and loved ones through cellphones in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prompted a surge in demand for wireless devices. The accounts also hinted at the potential value of next-generation networks that offer more reliable connections, greater call capacity, advanced messaging and fast, always-on Internet access. But the boost is only temporary for an industry clobbered by the technology slowdown. Analysts say the multibillion-dollar network upgrades necessary for a great wireless leap forward are unlikely for many months, if not years, in the current economic climate. Last month, Openwave Systems Inc., a leading maker of mobile Internet software and widely viewed as a wireless industry barometer, announced third-quarter losses of three cents a share and cut at least 300 jobs, or 13 per cent of its workforce. Executives of the Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which sells to nearly all U.S. wireless carriers, said more than terrorism was to blame. "While the events of Sept. 11 contributed to a delay in the completion of a number of transactions, its real effect was to heighten many of our customers' concerns about the future direction of their businesses," said Alan Black, chief financial officer. That's business-speak for wireless near-paralysis. The pace of mobile technology has always been evolutionary, beginning with the first generation of brick-like handsets and car phones. By the mid-1990s, carriers began introducing second-generation digital networks with smaller handsets and more reliable service. But U.S. networks have fallen behind those abroad, particularly in Japan, where people can surf the Internet and exchange text messages via cellphone nearly as easily as a home computer user in the United States. The reasons are technical, cultural and financial. Personal computers aren't as common in Japanese homes as they are in North America. Many in Japan first discovered the possibilities of the Internet from the tiny displays of their cellphones, even with the snail-like transmission rates of second-generation networks. At the same time, basic functions such as text messaging took off and customers didn't mind paying for the extra features. In the United States, instant messaging over personal computers is free and the service over cellular phones is nowhere near as popular. Americans also disliked cellphones' minuscule screens and unfriendly keypads. Japanese carriers facing soaring demand and saturated networks are moving more quickly to third-generation services with expanded capacity. Last month, NTT DoCoMo launched a limited 3G service, which allows users to obtain music and play networked computer games - all on a handset. In Europe, the transition to a mid-generation technology, dubbed 2.5G, is easier because a single technical standard known as GSM dominates the continent. U.S. carriers use four mostly incompatible standards. Uniform technologies in Europe and Japan also made it easier and more cost-efficient for developers to make content available for everyone, regardless of carrier. "They've built up this system where consumers are interested because there's content, and there's content because there are consumers," said Joseph Laszlo, an analyst at Jupiter Media Metrix. "Everybody is happy." Even so, analysts don't expect ample 3G offerings in Europe until 2003 at the earliest. Jack Gold, an analyst at the Meta Group, doesn't believe full 3G networks will be widely available in the United States for five to seven years, a view contested by major carriers. The No.1 carrier in the United States is Verizon Wireless. It has 27.1 million subscribers and says it is previewing its next-generation network in the Philadelphia area for some corporate customers. Few details have been released, other than that transmission speeds will be from 40-60 kilobits per second, or roughly equivalent to a dial-up modem connection. Cingular, with 20.5 million subscribers, plans 3G services in the "next couple years," said spokesman Clay Owens. AT&T Wireless, with 15.7 million subscribers, will build out its network in 2003-2004, said spokesman Ritch Blasi. While the upgrades to true 3G would require a complete overhaul, trials of 2.5G by major carriers are underway in some cities, with full rollouts expected next year, the companies say. The mid-generation service will offer always-on Internet access and speeds up to twice as fast as a standard dial-up modem.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (134208)	11/5/2001 12:22:58 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

Bill, did you know Nintendo started out as a greeting card company in Japan? Kind of like a baby Hallmark that moved on. All of their products they distribute in the USA is out of Seattle. posted at 6:50 p.m. PST Sunday, Nov. 4, 2001 Drop in components prices to boost Nintendo profits TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd said on Monday its profits for the half-year ended September would be boosted by a drop in prices for key components for its Game Boy Advance game console. The world's second largest home video game maker said it suffered almost no negative impact from the attacks on New York and Washington except for the week immediately after September 11, and it expects little fallout in the second half of the year.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (134208)	11/5/2001 12:35:28 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc. , which makes the networking gear that helps power the Internet, will likely drop a belated Halloween treat in investors' bags when it reports results Monday, signaling the end of frightful sales declines, analysts and investors said. As a bellwether New Economy stock, Cisco's fiscal 2002 first-quarter results -- due Monday after the market close -- will serve as proof the tech industry has reached its nadir and will begin to rebound soon, analysts said. ``They will attempt to make the (post-earnings conference) call as positive as possible by signaling their overall business is at a bottom and the fiscal second quarter should see an uptick in revenue and earnings per share,'' said Justin McNichols, portfolio manager with San Francisco asset management firm Osborne Partners Capital Management, which owns Cisco shares. ``I would be surprised if they didn't say both of those things,'' he added. Analysts expect San Jose, California-based Cisco to earn 2 cents a share, with a range of 1 cent to 3 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call, which tracks such data. Revenues for the quarter ending Oct. 31 are expected to finish at $4.1 billion, with a range of $4 billion to $4.3 billion. No surprises are expected in the results, as just last month Chief Executive John Chambers said he was ``very comfortable'' with Wall Street's estimates. Cisco, the world's biggest Internet networking company, said in August sales would be flat to down 5 percent from the fourth quarter's $4.3 billion. Since the beginning of the year, Cisco's stock has outperformed its peers in the American Stock Exchange Networking index by about 25 percent. Since Oct. 2, Cisco's stock has risen almost 54 percent. UPSIDE POSSIBLE Given Chambers' confidence, some analysts expect the company to perform at the high end of its guidance, possibly posting sales even with the fourth quarter. ``I would expect to possibly see some upside in the quarter,'' said Shawn Campbell, analyst with Northern Trust Corp.'s asset management arm, which owns about $1.3 billion in Cisco shares. While capital spending among telephone carriers and corporations has been weak -- hurting larger players like Canadian telecom equipment giant Nortel Networks Corp. -- smaller networking firms like rival Juniper Networks Inc. and Riverstone Networks Inc. have provided hope with strong results or forecasts of growth. Several analysts now expect Cisco to boost revenues in its second quarter, which would mark the first quarter-to-quarter increase in almost a year. That would potentially signal that a bottom for the economy was in the rear-view mirror. In the tougher environment, analysts want to ensure Cisco is maintaining its strong balance sheet, which last quarter included $18.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. While competitors like Nortel and Lucent Technologies Inc. struggle to conserve cash, Cisco can use its own funds to strengthen its market share through acquisitions. ``Cash is a weapon in business,'' said Rob Lloyd, portfolio manager of AIM Global Telecommunications and Technology Fund, which owns Cisco shares. No analysts, however, expect Cisco to use that cash to cut prices in an effort to gain market share at the expense of profit margins. ``Unlike in the past, when they were so focused exclusively on market share, they're focused right now on profitable market share,'' Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Ching said. I don't think you'll see these price wars that some had been predicting.'' Analysts expect Cisco's receivables and inventories to have improved during the quarter. HAVE ORDERS STABILIZED? Investors also want reassurance that orders have stabilized since the Sept. 11 airplane attacks, something to which Chambers alluded last month when he said orders were ``remarkably linear'' from June through September. Linearity refers to the smoothness of orders coming in to a company. Chambers said last month there was some disruption in orders after Sept. 11, but business had been good since then. However, given the unpredictable nature of the economy, he declined to discuss how orders or results were looking beyond the first quarter. He even said Cisco planned to reset its budget during the fiscal year and readjust its goals in January. McNichols, however, wonders whether the quarter was boosted by post-Sept. 11 orders from the U.S. government -- orders that were most likely a one-time occurrence. In the end, analysts and investors want to hear that information technology spending will improve next year, or at least that a bigger percentage of what is spent will go toward enterprise data traffic. ``A lot of the market is still waiting for Cisco, which obviously has got its tentacles out there in many places to hopefully say something that is fairly definitive,'' said Martin Pyykkonen, analyst at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin.