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Non-Tech : Any info about Iomega (IOM)? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rocky Reid who wrote (37839)	11/30/1997 10:45:00 AM
From: John Alan Wallace	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

<<<In case anyone doubts that other computer makers would be hesitant to make a proprietary device like Sony HiFi standard, I have one word to say: Intel.>>> But Rocky, I thought it was your sworn duty to fight any and all of these sacreligic proprietary devices!! JW

To: Rocky Reid who wrote (37839)	11/30/1997 2:01:00 PM
From: Neil Kalton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

Rocky, >>In case anyone doubts that other computer makers would be hesitant to make a proprietary device like Sony HiFi standard, I have one word to say: Intel<< I'm not sure I completely agree with your logic (though what else is new!). To the best of my knowledge Intel is not a box maker at all, it is an independent supplier of computer components. It does not compete with box makers at all. I would imagine that with Intel's brand name and awareness it could quite easily enter the computer manufacturing business and have some success. But Intel hasn't done this. Why? Probably one reason is because it doesn't want to piss of its customers by entering into direct competition with them. What customer wants to (a) be reliant on a direct competitor for core parts and (b) fill the direct competitor's pockets? This is one reason why IOM was never bought out when its share price was overly beaten down. An independent IOM is a potentially very valuable company. An DELL owned IOM is not as valuable. Would GTW and CPQ be so quick to incorporate Zip drives in their systems if to do so would ultimately benefit DELL? For me, this is another obstacle Sony faces in getting the HiFD drive standardized (besides the 18 million or so Zips that will have been sold by the time the Sony drive hits the market). Sony has aggressively entered the box making business in the past year. Sony is not some also-ran with limited prospects in this field. It has, arguably, the best technology brand name in the world and you can bet that the other box makers are very aware of Sony's presence. I suspect the CPQ's, DELL's, and GTW's of this world are going to be very cautious about incorporating a Sony drive into their systems. Much more cautious, I would think, than standardizing on an Intel chip. -nk

To: Rocky Reid who wrote (37839)	11/30/1997 2:54:00 PM
From: Richard Karpel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 58324

>>>they can install the HiFi drive on all of their own boxes (in lieu of the 1.44MB floppy) automatically making it the standard drive.<<< They're not going to install the HiFi drive "in lieu of the 1.44 MB floppy" for the same reason computer makers don't install the ZIP as a replacement for the floppy drive: A computer with a floppy drive would have a competitive advantage over a computer without a floppy drive. This is especially true when the replacement is a storage device -- like the HiFi drive -- that has no installed base.

To: Rocky Reid who wrote (37839)	11/30/1997 7:08:00 PM
From: Cogito	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58324

>>Specifically what aspects do you think that the Barron's article wasn't fair? Simply because credible sources project bad times for Iomega doesn't mean that they have a "hidden agenda."<< Rocky - The first time I read the article, I thought that it was simply the standard product of an technologically ill-informed financial reporter. I then re-read it, and I do believe it has a decided anti-Iomega slant. The reporter discusses the HiFD drive from Sony as if it's simply a matter of fact that it will become the new standard "if all goes according to plan." Then he says, "to be fair" that Iomega has a new product, the Clik! drive, but no digital cameras include it yet. He doesn't mention that no computers include the HiFD drive yet, either. Nor does he say that if all goes according to plan, the Clik drive will be a bigger moneymaker than Zip has been. Neither product is shipping yet, so it is unfair to imply that one will be a hit while the other won't. I consider that biased reporting. Perhaps the reporter is not conscious of the bias, but I believe that he is doing a disservice to Barron's readers. >>I found the Barrons piece to be overall very fair. The Sony threat is legitimate, as they can install the HiFi drive on all of their own boxes (in lieu of the 1.44MB floppy) automatically making it the standard drive.<< Yes, Sony can and undoubtedly will install the HiFD drive in their own computers, and possibly even in all of them. But this will not make it an industry-wide standard. Sony is not even close to being one of the top-ten PC makers, all of which do include Zips in at least some of their computers. - Allen