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Technology Stocks : Mapics, Inc. (MAPX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Oegerle who wrote (61)	3/2/1998 6:23:00 PM
From: Hoatzin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 141

Bill, Technology: I don't know if you read the argument MAPX makes for the AS/400 platform, I posted a link to it while back. It's not quite the obsolete junk you might think. But re-writing for NT, or even pseudo "platform independence" (Java) is certainly a wise move. Client defections: The decision to change vendors for one of these packages is not done on a whim, especially among the manufacturing clients that MAPX has (Wall St firms wizz away millions flitting to and from the latest hot technology, by contrast.) And it is a multi-year project. So I don't think there will be massive loss of clients to competitors. (But those are just my thoughts, I have not surveyed any MAPX clients, nor do I have any relevant industry contacts.) Usefulness of "p/e": (BTW, what follows is just my opinion tonight, I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow(g)! And if what you are doing do works for you, then all power to you.) "p" is an easliy verifiable fact, I can look in the newspaper. "e" is a much more problematic variable, a creation of accountants (sorry, JDN!), subject to all kinds of massaging, manipulation, distortion, seasonal and cyclical swings and many other factors. Some people look at p/e versus the expected growth rate, but since the "projected" or "guesstimated" growth rate is also unreliable, this to me just adds another dimension of uncertainty to an already imperfect measure. (BTW, I bought some MSFT recently and I have no idea what the p/e is! 40-something, I am guessing. But I think it reasonable that one should pay a higher price for one of the most successful businesses (and best performing stocks) in the history of the planet, when there is every indication that success will continue.) Just for fun, I did a comp chart of MSFT, SUNW, CPQ and STK for 50 months techstocks.com and 100 months techstocks.com Interesting, aren't they? Kevin