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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (12877)	7/20/2002 1:25:06 AM
From: techanalyst1	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 57684

Why? Before you think I am being silly on relative valuations.... I complained about the relative valuations of merq vs msft in Sept. I think I may have even said I should short msft and buy merq (although I didn't do that) and would likely end up ahead. Msft is now down 10% from there and merq is up 30%. Not a bad call. What assests does Yahoo and Ebay have that make them worth what they are compared to Disney? TA

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (12877)	7/20/2002 2:29:34 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Oracle's Ellison says U.S. should centralize data By Judith Crosson DENVER, July 19 (Reuters) - Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle Corp. <ORCL.O> on Friday renewed his campaign for a government-initiated database of U.S. medical and criminal records, the kind of sweeping and controversial project the No. 2 software vendor has offered to undertake before. "There should be one system," Ellison told some 3,000 attendees at Colorado Gov. Bill Owens' third annual technology conference in Denver. A unified system would be both cheaper and safer, eliminating many of the current problems in health care and criminal justice, he said. For example, patients risk adverse drug reactions because one pharmacy that fills a prescription has no way of knowing another pharmacy might have provided a second drug that could make the patient sick if both were taken together. "Government should take a lead in this so we can stop killing people," Ellison said. Centralized database systems would also allow emergency medical personnel to better treat someone in an accident far from home and help police departments better track criminals, he said. "You're saying 'What a threat to privacy,'" he said to an audience that seemed sometimes skeptical that such information could be responsibly entrusted to a single system. PRIVACY BARTERED FOR CREDIT But Ellison, who founded Oracle in 1977 after a deal with the Central Intelligence Agency that helped launch the firm, said security would be enhanced, not diminished, by centralizing control of sensitive data. "You barter 100 percent of your financial privacy in exchange for credit," he said, referring to credit card companies' use of central databases to assess credit standing. Besides, he said, a central database with controls would be more secure than leaving records at a physician's office where employees have access to them. Oracle has maintained close ties to federal, state and local governments and such contracts make up an estimated 25 percent of its revenue. In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the company joined a partnership to focus on airport security. At one point, Ellison also offered to supply the government software to create a national ID system to thwart terrorists. More recently, Oracle became the center of a controversy over a major sale of its software to California, after auditors said the contract was rushed through without competitive bidding and could end up costing taxpayers too much. Oracle defended the agreement and produced its own analysis of the deal to show that it would actually save the state millions of dollars over the life of the contract. Oracle shares closed at $9.72 on Friday, less than half of its 52-week high of $20. But Ellison mocked the idea that depressed stock prices, layoffs in technology and the disappearance of scores of dot-com companies spelled the demise of the information economy. "It's just the dawn of the Information Age. You ain't seen nothing yet," Ellison said. He also sneaked in a jab at his arch-rival, Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, and its Chairman Bill Gates. Oracle has promoted its software as being more secure than competing alternatives in a bid to take advantage of Microsoft's recent problems with hackers and viruses exploiting loopholes in its software. In the early months of the year, Microsoft interrupted software development work and sent engineers on special training at a cost of at least $100 million to improve security. But Ellison noted that Microsoft's high-profile "stand-down" had come largely in February, "The shortest month of the year," he quipped. ((Denver bureau 303-820-3900)) REUTERS * end of story *