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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stoctrash who wrote (33447)	5/26/1998 4:02:00 PM
From: DiViT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Another DVD scheme emerges... -------------------- news.com By Stephanie Miles Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM May 26, 1998, 12:50 p.m. PT news analysis Just when it seemed the DVD (digital versatile disc) world had abandoned its standards battles and settled into a tenuous detente, a technology announced today from Multimedia 2000 gives developers yet another DVD option. DVD Multiplay bridges the gap between standalone DVD players for the TV and drives that come bundled in PCs by allowing the same disk to play in both. Currently, the two are not compatible. Today's announcement from Multimedia 2000 could be momentous for the DVD world, as consumers are holding off from becoming "early adopters" until software titles proliferate and the standards battles are over. "For those people who are torn between buying a standalone drive and watching DVD on their PC, this is the best of both worlds," said Richard Doherty, an analyst at The Envisioneering Group. DVD is primarily available as a read-only high-capacity storage medium, which is attractive to consumers looking to view high-quality games on their PCs or movies on their TVs. But the market is awash with a panopoly of competing technologies. The difference between DVD Multiplay and DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, or Divx is that Multiplay allows developers to reach a broader audience with the same platform. Rewritable DVD, or DVD-RAM, is beginning to become available in selected upgrade kits and high-end PCs. Another flavor of recordable DVD, DVD+RW, will hit the stores early next year. To further complicate matters, Divx, a limited-use version of DVD developed and supported by Circuit City for consumer rental purposes, is expected to become widely available this summer. It's no wonder that consumers are confused by the panopoly of DVD options, and are waiting for the dust to clear and a victor to emerge before buying in, said Doherty. "We're suggesting that people hold off from [buying DVD-RAM drives] unless they really have to have it," he said. "If you take a disc from a DVD-RAM drive, you can't plop it into a DVD-ROM drive. They're not compatible yet." DVD-RAM drives will be backwards compatible, according to Ken Weilerstein, an analyst at DataPro, meaning they will be able to read CDs, rewritable CDs, and DVD-ROM discs. However, existing DVD-ROM drives will not be able to read DVD-RAM discs. "The thing that's holding up DVD-ROM is that there isn't a compelling need for read-only drives," Weilerstein said. "But if you had a drive that could read DVD-ROM and write DVD-RAM at a price that's competitive with CD-recordable, that would be a very competitive product." Multimedia 2000 may help spur developer interest, and in turn attract consumers to DVD, Weilerstein speculated. "They're making it easy as a developer to reach a lot of people," he noted. "By reaching two different kinds of machines, they're expanding the potential range of customers. It could help the DVD market in a small way."

To: Stoctrash who wrote (33447)	5/26/1998 6:00:00 PM
From: Alex Dominguez	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

My are we stooping to new lows??? Insults and attacks...What does Innovacom have to do with your bad investment in CUBE????? It seems that the 3 stooges on this thread like to post every DVD related article known to mankind on this thread but fail to address the question of why not remove the top mangement???? Why is the stock near its 52 week low??? Why not show the street something "new", like new mangement and fresh blood.Its pretty obvious contracts and wins have not helped this stock at all.Thats the plain truth. Call it what you will,but this stock has never recovered from its debacle.Analysts need something new from CUBE to get excited about.I say remove the top brass and bring in fresh blood.Your only other option is to merge or be taken over by someone. So keep the personal attacks coming,but it wont help your investment one bit. Alex(buying cube at 15 and getting rid of it at 20 :-)

To: Stoctrash who wrote (33447)	5/26/1998 9:40:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Kirch. Still ticking...................................... infoseek.com Telekom also announced it would spin off its cable television network and seek partners to break it up into regional companies, but a Commission source close to Van Miert said this in no way appeased his fears over reduced competition. ''This is totally independent. It's an announcement that Deutsche Telekom had made in November last year orally...but the problem with Kirch/Bertelsmann'' is different, the source said. Rival cable companies have been the most vocal opponents of the deal along with German public broadcasters. Speaking at the European Parliament, Van Miert insisted that the alliance, as it stands, would create a monopoly and pledged to resist any political pressure. ''Some people think that, with political pressure they can get their way,'' he said without elaborating. He also rejected suggestions from some MEPs and in German newspapers that Europe would lag in the development of digital television if the deal was blocked and that it would leave the floor to Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch. ''You're saying 'you should turn a blind eye' that Mr Murdoch will come along and will take over (the German market),'' said an emotional Van Miert. Van Miert declined to comment on signs that the 20-member Commission may be split over sinking the deal, a rare occurrence in the history of European merger control. Santer said in Bonn on Tuesday that he had not decided yet whether or not to follow Van Miert. Other EU commissioners including Martin Bangemann, a German in charge of industrial policy, research chief Edith Cresson and economic affairs boss Yves-Thibault de Silguy were also believed to be nervous about blocking the deal. Van Miert said the European Union executive would have to make up its mind on Wednesday, but did not rule out that a final ruling may come only next week to allow more time for further talks. ''The Commission has to fix its position tomorrow anyway,'' he said. Under European merger rules, the Commission has until June 3 to give its verdict. Merger decisions must be reached by a simple majority. The Commission has only blocked eight mergers since 1990, when it became the clearing house for mergers and takeovers affecting the 15-nation EU market, but has imposed conditions on many others. On Monday, an overwhelming majority of antitrust experts sitting in an EU advisory merger committee recommended against the merger for the second time this month, Van Miert said, adding that Luxembourg was the only dissenting voice. Luxembourg is home to CLT-Ufa, Europe's largest television and radio company, which resulted from the merger in 1997 of the television interests of Bertelsmann and Audiofina.