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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karl who wrote (7464)	1/30/1998 8:46:00 AM
From: Roads End	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

SUNW inked a deal with these guys last week. It looks like to me the only threat Gates has is DOJ. Actions such as these will eventually be his own undoing since he is not smart enough to know when enough his enough. RealNetworks Beats Estimates, But Investors Send Stock Lower By NICK WINGFIELD THE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION SAN FRANCISCO -- Shares of RealNetworks slipped Thursday in spite of fourth-quarter results from the Internet audio-software firm that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Thursday, RealNetworks' stock lost 3/4, or 4.4%, to 16 3/8 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.67 to 1619.49, while Morgan Stanley's high-tech 35 index added 1.52 to 465.17. RealNetworks released fourth-quarter results after the market closed Wednesday, reporting a net loss of $2.6 million, or nine cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.5 million, or five cents a share, for the year-ago period. That loss was narrower than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call for a loss of 11 cents a share. Revenue, meanwhile, was $10.3 million, an 80% jump from the $5.7 million recorded during the fourth quarter of 1996. Seattle's RealNetworks helped pioneer use of audio on the Internet by developing software that "streams" sound, a technique that enables users to avoid lengthy waits by listening to audio feeds as they are downloaded to their computers. The company's RealAudio software has become the clear leader for broadcasting sports games, musical concerts and news radio over the Internet. The company has also made significant inroads into the video market with RealVideo, though that market is growing more slowly since streaming motion pictures are severely hampered by the limited speed of most Internet connections. "In the audio space, there's no second place," said Mr. Powers. "It's Real or it's nonexistent." Not nonexistent for long, though. Although RealNetworks clearly has the leading brand and presence on top Web sites, Microsoft is gunning for a larger role in the streaming-media market. In fact, the Redmond, Wash., software giant took a 10% stake in RealNetworks in July for $30 million, and the spent another $30 million to license some of the secret ingredients of RealNetworks' streaming technology. Microsoft plans to combine RealNetworks' software with its own streaming technology, known as NetShow. Microsoft has also invested in another video streaming firm, VDOnet, and bought a third, Vxtreme, outright. Its moves in the streaming market are being examined by the U.S. Justice Department as part of its antitrust investigation into Microsoft. With a head-to-head battle with Microsoft all but certain, RealNetworks held an initial public offering in November, hoping to raise enough money to fortify its position in the market. Since opening at 12 1/2, the stock has fluctuated between the high- to mid-teens. John Powers, an analyst at BancAmerica Robertson Stephens, said he wasn't surprised to see the stock dip slightly a day after its earnings announcement because it's trading at such a high multiple of 1998 earnings expectations. "It's one of those pricey stocks where no news is good enough" to cheer investors, he said, adding that he doesn't expect to see a profit from RealNetworks until the end of 1999. There is one financial certainty in RealNetworks' immediate future: The company will get $2.4 million in revenue a quarter for the next several years from its $30 million technology-licensing deal with Microsoft, according to Mr. Powers.

To: Karl who wrote (7464)	1/30/1998 8:51:00 AM
From: Roads End	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 64865

Also from todays WSJ. Looks like we'll have to deal with this "old" story all over again today. Windows NT Workstations Outsell Unix Machines for First Time Ever By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Shipments of computer workstations using the Windows NT operating system from Microsoft Corp. outsold those with the Unix operating system for the first time last year, according to a report from research outfit International Data Corp. The company said that in 1997, 1.3 million workstations were sold equipped with NT, compared with 660,000 units with Unix. In addition, NT shipments increased more than 80%, compared with a 7% decline for Unix. The numbers are another indication of the increasing penetration of Windows NT into areas that were once the sole domain of Unix. In 1996, sales of the two types of machines had been essentially equal, said Tom Copeland of International Data. Workstations are high-powered desktop computers used by engineers, designers and others; for years, these machines ran almost exclusively on Unix. But with the advent of NT, as well as the introduction of more powerful microprocessors from Intel Corp., Unix shipments have been waning. The International Data study said that in the NT market, Hewlett-Packard Co. was in the top spot with 17.2% of workstation units, compared with 15.5% for Compaq Computer Corp. and 9.9% for Dell Computer Corp. All three were growing at rapid rates. Sun Microsystems Inc. dominated the Unix part of the market with 43% of units, followed by 16% for H-P. Mr. Copeland said other Unix workstation providers, such as Silicon Graphics Inc. and International Business Machines Corp., were "faltering." While NT workstations are outselling Unix machines, their average price of roughly $5,000 is a third the average price of a Unix machine. For that reason, the Unix portion of the market brought in more revenue than the smaller NT sector, at $11.2 billion compared with $3.1 billion, said International Data.