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Technology Stocks : S3 (A LONGER TERM PERSPECTIVE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Lin who wrote (9160)	2/4/1998 10:51:00 PM
From: Jan A. Van Hummel	Respond to of 14577

Bill, I am in for me uncharted waters but with a little bit of help I am trying to circumvent the icebergs. Your post is mostly accurate, but like to make the following observations: Creative Lab compatibility is only important in DOS, and DOS is slowly becoming extinct. Windows does away Creative Lab compatibility The new standard is DirectX including DirectSound and DirectMusic. SonicVibes, as well as other PCI audio solutions are compatible with the old Creative Lab standard. It is also Direct3D compatible and has A3D acceleration. There is no such thing as Dolby 3D. If you agree that DOS is fading away, there will be only PCI. PCI audio prices may come down, but won't approach ISA audio levels this year. Perhaps some time next year. Microsoft's influence cannot be underestimated. If an OEM is not certified by Microsoft they are forced to buy Windows without a discount. I understand some of these discounts can reach $5/copy, so not insignificant if you are a major OEM. That's why Microsoft caused many of the changes in recent years. Few like it, most complain about it but the changes did occur. The transition is already happening. By the end of this year all new systems will have PCI audio (except perhaps for some of the no-name boxes). This transition is bound to not only benefit S3 but also other PCI audio maker like ESST and CRUS. Jan