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

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (16616)	7/14/1998 8:22:00 AM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Wow, this is a neat trick. Compaq Says the Sub-$1,000 PC Is Now Its Most Profitable Model By EVAN RAMSTAD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Compaq Computer Corp. said its cheapest computer is now its most profitable consumer personal computer, a surprising change in an industry where low prices have long been associated with slim profits. Accelerating sales and a sharp drop in costs pushed the margin on Compaq's $899 computer, which is also its biggest seller, above its more expensive consumer PCs, said Rod Schrock, vice president of Compaq's consumer division. "The big misconception is we make a lower gross margin in the sub-$1,000 market," Mr. Schrock said. "For the consumer business, those are the most profitable desktops." . . . . In addition, Compaq benefits when component prices fall faster than selling prices, as they have recently. Mr. Schrock said Compaq is paying 42% less for home PC components now than it was a year ago. But the average selling price for a store-bought PC is down 18%, according to ZD Market Intelligence, a La Jolla, Calif., market-research firm. Through the first five months of the year, the period for which the latest data are available, Compaq led the U.S. retail market with a 32% share in desktop systems; about 46% of its models sold for less than $1,000, according to ZD Market Intelligence. For PC makers, the home market for years has produced the slimmest profit margins, usually well under 10%. However, Compaq Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Pfeiffer said in April that its consumer division had reached the double-digit profit-margin range and last month said the unit was "doing a fabulous job." Compaq's home PC sales in the U.S. fell behind Hewlett-Packard Co. in May as it cleared distribution channels for the rollout of a new line in June. But, unlike the commercial PC operation, Compaq's consumer unit didn't suffer from inventory buildups that forced an unprecedented two-week factory shutdown in April.

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (16616)	7/15/1998 5:38:00 AM
From: Bill Ulrich	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22053

Apple isn't perfect&#151doesn't alway do things right, but I don't think I've heard anything quite like this: cnn.com &#147The setup routine for Microsoft's new Windows98 operating system deliberately disables files used by competitors' software and installs different versions of those files for the use of Windows 98&#133But the Win98 setup routine does not provide any notice to users that the files are being changed or that the Version Conflict Manager is available if a competitors' software no longer operates properly.&#148 &#147Where do you want to get hosed today?&#148 -MrB (and thanks to Dan S. on the msft/nscp thread for noting it)