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To: BillyG who wrote (35720)	9/4/1998 4:09:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Anybody can make a MPEG-2 codec........................ eet.com Posted: 9:00 p.m., EDT, 9/3/98 Zuken scouts partners for system-on-a-chip design center By Yoshika Hara YOKOHAMA, Japan - Zuken Inc. is investing $10 million and reaching out to intellectual-property (IP) providers in the United States to establish a system-on-a-chip design center here. Fueled with the cash, new relationships with IP companies and new tools in development, the pc-board CAD powerhouse hopes to position itself at the leading edge of next-generation chip and board-level design. Zuken is eyeing the design of system-level chips and so-called systems-on-board for networks, communications and graphics applications specified by customers in Japan and in Asia. The design center will merge "Zuken's design technology, especially for printed-circuit boards, and know-how accumulated at RealVision Inc., our 3-D-graphics ASIC-design subsidiary," said Jinya Katsube, senior managing director of Zuken. Zuken will look to differentiate its systems based on IP cores, many of them sourced in the United States, Katsube said. "We're looking for IP for networks, communications and graphics. Superior IPs exist in the United States. The role of the new design center is to ally with U.S. IP providers, bring competitive IP to Japan and provide full technical support for the IP up until practical implementation in the end user's system." Zuken said it is negotiating with a number of U.S. companies on use of their intellectual property. Katsube said such relationships will prove mutually beneficial. "U.S. IP providers recognize the large potential of the Japanese market, but it is difficult for a [foreign] IP vendor to enter the market alone," said Katsube. "IP providers who want to expand their sales in Japan and Asia" may find it easier to do so via partnerships, Katsube said. Zuken sees opportunities in the process shift from 0.25 micron to 0.18 micron. "It is not a simple shrink, and design tools have to change," said Katsube. "Such a change allows newcomers like us to enter the design market." The company has been taking design orders for roughly a year and has turned around such designs as an W-CDMA prototype and MPEG-2 codec. A Gigabit Ethernet design is in the works.

To: BillyG who wrote (35720)	9/4/1998 4:24:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Divx still can't get funding. They may cut the promotion. It could die....................................................... Circuit City seeks investors for Divx / Top executive warns of earnings cut RETAIL Tuesday, September 1, 1998 BY GREGORY J. GILLIGAN Times-Dispatch Staff Writer Circuit City Stores Inc.'s new Divx digital video disc system could become more of a drag on earnings later in the current fiscal year if additional financing isn't in place. The Richmond-based chain had hoped to line up more funding for Divx before its national rollout -- now slated for late September -- to help pay to promote and market it. But while Circuit City continues to talk with potential investors, none has come on board yet. The chain's top executive warned Wall Street yesterday earnings could be reduced by about 45 cents per share in the second half without the additional funding. And, he said, the marketing budget for Divx would be cut by about 40 percent, too. "We will attempt to find a financing structure that we believe is appropriate and recognizes the prospect for this business," Richard L. Sharp, Circuit City's chairman and chief executive officer, told analysts in a conference call yesterday. "We haven't gotten a written formal offer, but the discussion with the people who have indicated interest, we have not found attractive," Sharp said. Despite the not-so-rosy forecast for Divx, Sharp said he expects second-quarter earnings to be in line with Wall Street estimates largely thanks to a strong performance in the retailer's core consumer electronics business. Overall profit, after figuring in the losses at CarMax and Divx, should be up 15 percent compared with a year ago. The second quarter didn't end until yesterday, and Circuit City seldom gives guidance to analysts and investors on earnings before a quarter is completed. But Sharp said the company felt compelled to do so because the retailer's stock has taken a nose-dive in the past two months. It has lost 25 percent of its value just in the past week, and 44 percent of its value since mid-July. Circuit City shares were down $3.3125 yesterday in heavy trading, falling about 9 percent to close at $30.875 on the New York Stock Exchange. "Given the volatility of the stock recently and the rumors reacting significantly to it, we thought we needed to give some guidance," Sharp said.