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Technology Stocks : CRUS, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank Povoski who wrote (5390)	3/25/1998 9:59:00 AM
From: Don Dorsey	Respond to of 8193

Latest CrystalClear Audio Product From Cirrus Logic Approved by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs; Event Highlights Long History of Microsoft Involvement Business Wire - March 24, 1998 06:17 %CIRRUS-LOGIC CRUS %CALIFORNIA %FLORIDA %COMED %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS %TELECOMMUNICATIONS %INTERACTIVE %MULTIMEDIA %INTERNET %PRODUCT %TRADESHOW V%BW P%BW ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 1998--Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) today announced at WinHEC 98 that the newest member of its industry-leading CrystalClear(tm) PC audio family has received Microsoft Corporation's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) logo certification. The CS4235 (ISA) audio device now joins a long list of WHQL certified audio products offered by Cirrus Logic including the ISA bus CS4232, CS4236, CS4236B, CS4237B with SRS and CS4238B with QSound as well as the PCI bus CS4610 with Dolby Digital (AC-3) and the CS4611. Cirrus Logic's adherence to the WHQL certification process underscores the company's commitment to supporting Microsoft initiatives such as the PC97 and PC98 system design guidelines. Beginning in 1995 with the formation of WHQL, Cirrus Logic has submitted all new CrystalClear audio devices for Windows logo certification. Out of this involvement with WHQL, Cirrus Logic's CrystalClear audio devices have gone on to being supported "in the box" with the Microsoft DirectX releases and service packs for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. Several CrystalClear audio devices will also be supported "in the box" by the upcoming Windows 98 operating system. Additionally, Cirrus Logic continues to actively work with Microsoft, Intel and the rest of the PC industry to update the Windows logo audio requirements as defined by the upcoming PC99 system design guide. Many CrystalClear audio devices will include device driver support for the new Windows Driver Model (WDM) that allows for one device driver to work on both Windows 98 and the upcoming Windows NT 5.0 operating system. In addition, Cirrus Logic is one of a select few audio device vendors working with Microsoft to tune and debug the entire audio WDM architecture. Cirrus Logic has also worked closely with Microsoft to develop methods for measuring audio quality in multimedia PCs. A paper on audio quality measurement written by Cirrus Logic's CrystalClear audio team is referenced in the PC97 and PC98 system design guidelines chapter on audio devices. The audio quality paper can be accessed on Cirrus Logic's website at www.cirrus.com/products/papers/meas/meas.html. Joe Maurin, director of software product marketing for the PC Products Division of Cirrus Logic said, "Cirrus Logic has long been a close partner with Microsoft on Windows developments, especially in the audio arena. Working with groups like WHQL, the Windows 98 development team, the DirectX team and the Windows NT development team are among the many ways we continue our relationship with Microsoft to assure the industry of continued high quality products that improve customer satisfaction on Windows platforms." Microsoft established the WHQL certification program to ensure that hardware products that pass through its rigorous testing procedures are fully compatible with the Windows 9x and Windows NT operating systems. Systems manufacturers using certified components, like the CrystalClear audio solutions, are then qualified to have their systems certified under Microsoft's stringent system design guidelines (PC95, PC95a, PC97 and PC98). Systems that are certified as Windows logo compliant offer end users an optimal experience when using a Windows family operating system. CrystalClear audio devices continue to offer the state-of-the-art quality and performance required for fully immersive interactive PC multimedia. With features such as 3D spatial sound enhancement, 3D positional audio, Dolby Digital (AC-3), CD-quality sound (96 dB signal-to-noise ratio) and DOS games legacy support, CrystalClear audio solutions meet the multimedia requirements for both current and future mainstream PCs. Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of system-level integrated circuits that demand high-performance mixed-signal processing. The company applies its system expertise to enable high-volume applications in data storage, networking, and multimedia for both computing and consumer electronics markets, as well as ultra-high-precision data acquisition applications for industrial automation and instrumentation markets. Cirrus Logic news releases may be obtained by fax by dialing 1-800-359-6414, or by dialing 510/249-4200 from outside the United States, or via the Internet on the world wide web at cirrus.com Note to editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark and CrystalClear is a trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders. CONTACT: Cirrus Logic, Inc. Joe Maurin, 512/912-3016 (reader contact) jmaurin@crystal.cirrus.com or Tsantes & Associates Nancy Sheffield, 408/369-1500 (editor contact)

To: Frank Povoski who wrote (5390)	3/25/1998 10:05:00 AM
From: Grand Poobah	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8193

Frank, I have been a Cirrus shareholder for about two years but followed them before that for a while. I agree that management still needs to do a lot of work if this company is going to take off like it has the potential of doing and as we as investors would like it to do. I expect them to be working on things like product strategies, customer relations, design methodologies, and attracting good employees. If they aren't continually improving those things that spells trouble. But those are also not the kind of things we as the investing public are going to see much indication of until several quarters' results come out. The majority of this thread seems to be ranting and raving that management is not taking any public action to shore up the stock price right now. I would rather that they do a good job behind the scenes doing the things I mentioned in order to insure good results for the next few years. Regarding their relationship with Wall Street, I think they were burned by the lawsuit a couple years ago that cost them $30 million. You are a lot slower to go out and brag about the company's future in order to raise the stock price if doing it has already gotten you sued once. As far as my opinion on layoffs goes, I am as big a proponent of capitalism as anyone else. I think a company should have the right to layoff anyone they want and that in the long run it often benefits the economy because those workers find more productive jobs. Perhaps I am a little emotional about the subject right now because I have just experienced a layoff in the last couple weeks. I survived but a lot of my friends did not. My complaint with some layoffs is that it seems that companies are too shortsighted. It seems that this happens most often in the semiconductor industry where the business cycle is short and extreme. Often six months after a layoff a company is trying to replace all the people it just let go. This is a company's perogative, but it doesn't make much business sense to have wasted all the money on severance pay and then have to train a new employee for the same job. I think the best policy would be to have layoffs when the industry makes a permanent (multi-year) change. For example, the defense industry obviously needed to have layoffs in the 90s; those talented employees needed to be shifted to a part of the economy where their skills could be utilized again, even if the process was painful. Another necessary time for layoffs is when your competitive position has changed substantially and is not likely to recover soon. A sinking ship needs to give up some of the valuable resources it is tying up. That is a beautiful if sometimes harsh part of capitalism. Maybe that has been the case with Cirrus, that as they have lost out to the competition, they have needed to cut workers. I agree with your concern that "Earnings have improved but that was purely done by cost control (ie layoff)." Do you also remember the charge that Cirrus took in March 1997 for overcapacity throughout the year at the MiCRUS fab? How much of an artificial boost did that give to the earnings the rest of the year? However, one big reason for revenues declining is that Cirrus has divested a lot of businesses in the last year or two (Flash storage, Pico Power, PCSI, Nuera). How would they look with that factored in? I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I suspect that revenues would be closer to flat or slightly up if present business is considered.