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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 (16561)	7/7/1998 10:22:00 AM
From: David Lawrence	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22053

Creators Of Popular PalmPilot Leaving 3Com To Form Their Own Venture SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- The creators of 3Com Corp.'s best-selling PalmPilot handheld electronic organizer are leaving the company to start a new venture that will make similar devices, The Wall Street Journal's Interactive Edition reported Tuesday. Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky plan to leave the Santa Clara, Calif., company (COMS) at the end of this week to start a company that will create consumer-oriented products. Dubinsky is president of 3Com's Palm Computing unit and a vice president of the networking giant. Hawkins, the device's inventor, works for 3Com part time as chief technologist for the Palm. The PalmPilot, which began shipping in April 1996, has been the most successful entrant in a category that had been written off as dead by many industry observers and venture capitalists. Last year, more than one million PalmPilots were sold to distributors. They held a 63% share of the market for hand-held devices, according to San Jose market-research firm DataQuest. The gizmo was the first personal digital assistant, or PDA, to become a bona fide hit and has become as essential as a wallet for those who rely on it. Its biggest selling point: the ease with which it can transfer data to and from desktop computers. The PalmPilot can access data with a pen-like device, but is primarily designed as a pocket-size calendar and rolodex, mostly for information transferred from a desktop PC. The device became so popular that it now faces competition from a new crop of palm-size computers that run on Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows CE operating system. The Windows CE-based computers began shipping in the late spring. The departure from 3Com is amicable, according to both Dubinsky and Janice Roberts, senior vice president of marketing and business development at 3Com. "I'm disappointed that they wanted to leave, but recognize that not everyone who starts a business wants to run a (big) business," Roberts said. She added 3Com would consider investing in the new, and yet unnamed, company once Dubinsky and Hawkins refine their plans. The new company, which doesn't have financing or even a specific product, is likely to have more of a consumer focus than the PalmPilot, which is targeted mainly at professionals, Dubinsky said. The company, she added, wouldn't attempt to compete with 3Com. Instead, it will license back the Palm operating system from 3Com. Currently, 3Com licenses the Palm operating system to several other hardware makers including International Business Machines Corp. Palm Computing was founded in 1992 by Hawkins. Dubinsky was brought on shortly thereafter as chief executive. The pair developed the Palm device after venture capitalists had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on unsuccessful efforts to produce a hand-held computer. To raise cash, Hawkins and Dubinsky sold the company to modem maker U.S. Robotics in September 1995 for $44 million. It became part of 3Com in June of last year when that company acquired U.S. Robotics. Back in March, 3Com introduced an upgraded version of its popular hand-held computer called the Palm III, which featured more memory, a slimmer design and more programs than the PalmPilot. The upgraded model offered an infrared-beaming technology that allows users to share records and applications by beaming the data to each others' devices. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

To: Moonray who wrote (16561)	7/7/1998 11:34:00 AM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Diamond Multimedia and Nortel (Northern TElecom) to Develop 1-Meg Modem *Anyone up for another modem battle?* Companies to Deliver High-Speed Internet Access to the Home in 1998 VANCOUVER, Wash., July 7 /PRNewswire/ - Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIMD - news), a leader in interactive multimedia acceleration, and Nortel (Northern Telecom) (NYSE:NT/TSE: NTL) today announced that they plan to co-develop a PCI card using Nortel's 1-Meg (one megabit per second) Modem technology. This co-branded DSL (digital subscriber line) solution will combine the functionality of a modem and an ethernet card for extremely fast Internet access. Diamond and Nortel's co-branded product is expected to be simple to deploy as it requires no subscriber service call and no rewiring at the home or central office. The product's ''always on'' connection will be up to 17 times faster than a 56Kbps modem and provide all the features and benefits one expects from a DSL solution: fast downloads of Internet content, no busy signals and the ability to use voice and fax while connected to the Internet. Diamond Multimedia continuously looks for ways to bring faster, leading-edge communications products to the consumer. Nortel's strong central office and digital network experience coupled with Diamond's modem brand recognition and channel experience makes for a winning team. ''We have teamed with Nortel to deliver a cost-effective, quality DSL solution that works in today's network,'' said Jim Cady, vice president and general manager of Diamond Multimedia Communications Division. ''Implementing DSL service requires only a simple upgrade to Nortel's current installed base of switching equipment.'' Industry Support In just eight months Nortel has received over $US 1 billion in total orders for its 1-Meg modem technology. Diamond Multimedia and Nortel believe that now is the best time to combine efforts and develop a product that addresses the growing DSL market. Nortel has already announced major contracts with Transwire Communications, Inc., AGIS Communications, MegsInet and a number of public institutions and ISP's throughout the country. In addition, Microsoft has recognized the potential of DSL products by announcing the development of consumer applications that will work with 1-Meg Modem technology like that found in the Diamond and Nortel product. Diamond and Nortel support the Universal ADSL Working Group as that group works to establish a DSL standard. Diamond Multimedia and Nortel believe that their agreement to co-develop a 1-Meg modem product may actually help accelerate and add insight to the standard-making process. Diamond and Nortel intend to roll-out the 1-Meg Modem product in the third quarter of 1998 and plan to distribute the product through their respective distribution channels. Diamond Multimedia also expects to build other consumer premise equipment using Nortel's 1-Meg modem technology later in the year. More information on Nortel's 1-Meg modem technology can be found at www.nortel.com/1megmodem. Diamond Multimedia holds a leadership role in the modem industry with its Supra modem product line. The SupraExpress 56 line of modems continues to be one of the most popular analog modems available today. Diamond's new dual-line modem, the SupraSonic II with Shotgun technology, offers Internet users download speeds of up to 112Kbps over two ordinary analog phone lines, demonstrates the company's ability to quickly bring advanced technology modem products to the consumer marketplace. Diamond Multimedia is driving the interactive multimedia market by providing advanced solutions for home, business and professional desktop computer users, enabling them to create, access and experience compelling new media content from their desktops and through the Internet. Diamond accelerates multimedia from the Internet to the hard drive with products that include the Stealth and ViperAE series of media accelerators, the Monster series of entertainment 3D and sound accelerators, the Fire series of professional 3D and SCSI accelerators, and the SupraAE series of modems. Diamond's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD, and its web site address is www.diamondmm.com. Nortel had 1997 revenues of US$15.5 billion and has approximately 73,000 employees worldwide. SOURCE: Northern Telecom Limited