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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Moonray who wrote (15392)	5/13/1998 2:31:00 PM
From: W.F.Rakecky	Respond to of 22053

Moonray.....Message Recieved!...thanks I needed that.Found the following on the Yahoo Board Message BoardsHelp - Edit Public Profile - Personalize - SignÿOut Top:Business and Finance:Stocks:Technology:Computer Peripherals:COMS (3Com Corp) <- Previous Next -> Message 4330 of 4823Reply Here's something more upbeat on 3ComFatPang May 1 1998 9:59AM EDTEdge, Center or Middle of Nowhere? By Malcolm Laws, publishing director of Communications Week International and Total Telecom 30-APR-98 3Com, a Santa Clara, California digital networks company, has just pledged $6.6 billion to buy US Robotics, a Skokie, Illinois maker of analog modems. Is 3Com mad? Or are fast modems a panacea for modern communications? ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Neither. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ By striking the deal, 3Com has said two things. First, that it is a major technology company; second, it is prepared to bet $6.6 billion that the market for networks is changing from the corporate to the personal. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The second of these issues is the more significant, but the two are of course related - if it's true that data communication (and the networks that support it) is set to become a consumer activity, then the suppliers in the corporate market will have to change profoundly. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ So, is a supplier like 3Com, deeply entrenched in the corporate sell, able to make the change? It has some very good points in its favor. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ One is its management. In Eric Benhamou, 3Com can boast one of the most far-sighted executives in the networking business. Aside from the grotesquely successful Cisco Systems, 3Com has known few peers over the last five years, outlasting one-time rivals like Ungermann-Bass, outpacing close competitor Bay Networks and outsmarting the likes of Cabletron and Chipcom. As Wall St. analysts have pointed out, combined with US Robotics 3Com will post more revenues this year than Cisco. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Another plus is marketing. 3Com has managed to combine a strategic approach to networking, making it appear less complex than it really is, with the tactical agility in the channel that is essential to growing the customer base - whether business or consumer. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ But the kind of shift 3Com is now facing is never easy. Microsoft has done it, but few others have. US Robotics has done well to build a strong business out of a market most people dismissed as a dead end, but it is an exception. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ 3Com will have to make the biggest changes in its history in order to address the personal communications market. And no matter how good a track record it has, this kind of move is full of surprises. The marketing costs are higher, the margins are lower, the product cycles shorter and the variations between national markets greater than in the corporate sector. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Clearly the sales and distribution channel will be key, which means educating the telecoms carriers into selling and packaging network hardware, software and services in a way that has never been instinctive. Other partners will also come into play: retailers, software developers, Internet providers and common interest groups all will have a role to play. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The pieces all seem to be there; choose the right approach and 3Com will be looking at a prosperous future. But in spite of the much-vaunted growth of the Internet, there is still doubt about when we will all be doing personal networking on a scale that requires a 3Com box or card in the living room or study. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The bid for US Robotics is one of the biggest gambles 3Com could have made, regardless of the two companies skills and the switch from the core to the edge of networking, Let's hope it doesn't lead 3Com into the middle of nowhere. ÿCOMS:ÿ Quote ÿ\|ÿ Profile ÿ\|ÿResearch This Is a Reply to: Msg 4324 by myksin <- Previous Next -> Message 4330 of 4823Reply ÿÿ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Go to: Startÿ\|ÿMost Recentÿ\|ÿMessage List \| Message Number:ÿ ÿ ÿ All Boards ÿ Only in this Board ÿ All ÿÿ Boards & Topics ÿ Authors ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Terms and Conditions Yahoo! is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc. Copyright c 1994-98 Yahoo! All Rights Reserved.

To: Moonray who wrote (15392)	5/13/1998 11:11:00 PM
From: simonds	Respond to of 22053

Moonray, agree. I think March shipment was ok, based on Eric's positive tone on earning's CC. And April was soft based on CFO comment. That leaves this month. If my hunch is right, the channels should start calling in for modem order, and ask for a deal. If that happens, coms should say, " Sorry bud, I'll ship you the modems but discount is on my term; my stock price is already hammered, so it doesn't matter if you order them early or late." If that scenario plays out, it shouldn't take months to move up this stock.