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To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (312)	5/12/1998 2:32:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Respond to of 1722

Sun seeks injunction against Windows 98 PALO ALTO, Calif., May 12 (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc. said Tuesday it is asking a federal judge to issue an injunction to force Microsoft Corp (MSFT - news). to include a ''compatible'' version of Java in its Windows 98 operating system. Lisa Poulson, a Sun spokeswoman, said the computer maker had asked U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose to issue the injunction. She said Sun was seeking a similar injunction for Microsoft software development tools. Poulson said the company has seen enough Windows 98 source code to determine that it contains ''incompatibilities'' with Microsoft's agreement to license Java from Sun. Sun sued Microsoft in October, contending that Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 browser and other products violate the 1996 licensing agreement between the two companies. In March Whyte issued an injunction barring Microsoft from using the ''Java compatible'' logo on two products pending the final outcome of Sun's lawsuit. ''We'd be gratified to settle this matter at any time, but until that happens we believe it is important to look at Windows 98 as a delivery vehicle for Java technology and to make sure that, at a minimum, there are at least as many copies of a fully compatible Java implementation in the marketplace as there are copies of Microsoft's incompatible technology,'' Alan Baratz, president of Sun's Java software division, said in a statement. Poulson said the latest motions were filed under seal because of proprietary information in the documents. However, she said Sun would try to get permission from Microsoft or the court to unseal the complaint.

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (312)	5/14/1998 1:22:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

[In other words, Chrysler's profits were actually $1 billion less than reported:] Chrysler execs could reap $1 bln in shrs -WSJ NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Chrysler executives could collect shares in the new DaimlerChrysler AG with a value of more than $1 billion as their stock options are converted into shares early, the electronic edition of the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Under German corporate law, where the new company will be registered, options are not provided for and that forces the executives to exercise their options into new shares of DaimlerChrysler, the Journal said. The paper cited documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton "could see more than $100 million in DaimlerChrysler stock." The value of Eaton's stake is based, the Journal said, on analysts' expectations that the merger values Chrysler's shares at about $61 each. "According to the companies' SEC filing, existing Chrysler options will be converted into DaimlerChrysler shares based on their current spread, the difference between the current market price of Chrysler shares and the price on the option, plus a two percent premium," the paper said. Under the merger agreement, executives will be allowed to sell these shares immediately, after the deal is completed, the journal said. Additionally, any of Chrysler's top 30 executives who lose a job in the next two years due to the merger would receive a multimillion dollar "golden parachute." Chrysler agreed to merge with Germany's Daimler-Benz AG on May 7. Chrysler's stock closed at $51 down $1.50 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. ((New York Newsdesk 212-859-1700; Fax 212-859-1717))

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (312)	5/14/1998 6:40:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1722

IBM CEO sees potential double-digit revenue growth By Richard Melville NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp (IBM - news) may be poised to emerge from years of single-digit revenue growth, powered by its surging computer services business, the company's top executive said Wednesday. Speaking at IBM's annual meeting with financial analysts, Chairman and Chief Executive Lou Gerstner said computer services would continue to emerge as the engine of growth at IBM in coming years and could help lift revenue growth rates into double-digits for the first time in his tenure. Revenue growth has been a top concern among some analysts who cover the company now that IBM's organizational turnaround is largely done and expense levels are seen as under control. IBM's services business, which contributed $5 billion of the company's $17.6 billion in revenues in the first quarter, grew at 28 percent on a constant-currency basis last year. Even with unit growth rates in the mid-teens, Gerstner argued, the services business would eventually pull overall revenue growth at IBM to double-digit rates, assuming growth at other units held steady at 1997 levels. ''If you take the number I think might be possible for services,'' he said, ''the conclusion doesn't change, you just get there sooner.'' While IBM has repeatedly warned the services unit's growth rate is unsustainable on a long-term basis, Gerstner rejected the idea he would settle for slower growth soon. ''There are a lot of people at IBM who are telling me we can't sustain this 20-plus growth rate (in services),'' Gerstner said. ''I'm not ready to accept that.'' That growth will also translate into profit generation, he said, adding, ''There is little doubt that in 1999, services will become the largest profit contributor of any business unit in IBM.'' While stressing all growth-related comments were intended as long-term in nature, Gerstner's tone was nonetheless a departure from meetings in recent years, when he counseled against growth expectations beyond the high-single digits. Beyond services, Gerstner pointed to software, storage, microelectronics and the company's original equipment manufacturing business as growth areas. A recent letter of intent to sell hard drive components to Western Digital Corp (WDC - news), for example, will bring as much as $500 million in additional revenues in 1999 if the deal is completed as planned, he said. Gerstner also let slip that IBM would soon announce several new products in its high-end storage systems business, an area the company has lost market share to EMC Corp (EMC - news). He did note some current trouble spots, such as the company's business in servers, the high-powered computers that run networks. That business is a mixed picture, he said, with bright spots in supercomputers and IBM's midrange AS/400 model but lackluster results in lower-end systems. Also under pressure is the company's personal computer unit, which continues to cope with a severe price war. Issues like those facing some of the company's hardware businesses make it even more important for growth areas to carry the load. Gerstner said he was confident computer services would remain a booming industry for years to come. ''I have been in and out of almost every industry in the world and I have never seen a better growth business than the (information technology) services business,'' Gerstner said.