Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: XiaoYao who wrote (12976)	12/6/1998 12:05:00 PM
From: DownSouth	Respond to of 74651

"Bring in da NOISE—for Netscape, Oracle, IBM, Sun and Everyone else." Remember the BUNCH (Borroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, Honeywell)? Now we have the NOISE.

To: XiaoYao who wrote (12976)	12/8/1998 2:36:00 PM
From: XiaoYao	Respond to of 74651

MSN MoneyCentral Rated No. 1 Web Site for Investors by Barron's Magazine For The Second Year in a Row 12/08/98 PR Newswire (Copyright (c) 1998, PR Newswire) Industry Recognition, Record High Traffic and Gold NewMedia INVISION Award Mark Success of New MSN Personal Finance Service REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that MSN(TM) MoneyCentral(TM), the complete one-stop personal finance online service on MSN, has been named the No. 1 Web site for financial information and investing by Barron's magazine. Since its introduction in October, MSN MoneyCentral ( moneycentral.msn.com ) has grown to more than 3 million unique users according to Media Metrix, an increase of more than 300,000 new visitors since September's closing figures. Barron's first rated Microsoft(R) Investor, the MSN MoneyCentral flagship investment service, the No. 1 investment Web site in 1997. The 1998 review praises Microsoft for "adding muscle to its already strong site... The discriminating design should serve as a model for rivals still trying to snag eyeballs by shoveling as much stuff as possible onto their sites, hoping people will wade through it to find what they want... We still recommend this unique and carefully crafted assembly of features and usability." Barron's 1998 review also applauds MSN Investor's award-winning Portfolio Manager, writing that MSN MoneyCentral "does the portfolio thing better than anyone we've seen on the Web." Earlier this year, Business Week selected MSN Investor's Portfolio Manager as the best on the Web, stating that "among the leaders... one is clearly superior in richness of detail and design: Microsoft Investor's Portfolio Manager." Last month, the MSN MoneyCentral MSN Investor was awarded the highest honor, a Gold Invision Award for Best Financial Web site, at the NewMedia INVISION Awards Gala in San Francisco. MSN Investor won top honors for technical innovation, creative excellence, overall aesthetics, interface design and effectiveness of communication for the intended audience or user. "We're thrilled by the early successes of MoneyCentral and the recognition it has received in the industry and the press," said Lewis Levin, vice president, Microsoft desktop finance division. "Consumers today need the financial tools at their fingertips that will help them make smarter financial decisions, and MoneyCentral is focused on helping consumers do just that." The online companion to Microsoft Money 99 Financial Suite, MSN MoneyCentral features seamless integration with the MSN network of Internet services, making it easier for consumers to keep in touch, stay informed and get more done online. About MSN MoneyCentral, the One-Stop Personal Finance Resource In October, Microsoft introduced MSN MoneyCentral, the complete personal finance service on MSN.COM. The place to go to manage your money, MSN MoneyCentral features MSN Investor as well as seven other personal finance areas: Real Estate, Money & Banking, Family Finance, Retirement & Wills, Insurance, Smart Buying and Taxes. Part of the MSN network of services that help consumers get things done on the Internet, MoneyCentral goes beyond providing consumers with tools and information to help users assess their financial situation and get started achieving their financial goals.

To: XiaoYao who wrote (12976)	12/8/1998 2:42:00 PM
From: XiaoYao	Respond to of 74651

Microsoft and Barnes & Noble Join Forces By AMY HARMON 12/08/98 The New York Times Page 6, Column 2 c. 1998 New York Times Company In a deal that may prove damaging to the Internet's largest bookseller, Amazon.com, the Microsoft Corporation and Barnes & Noble Inc. said yesterday that they had agreed to weave together their on-line products and services. The marketing arrangement makes Barnes & Noble the exclusive bookseller on Microsoft's popular MSN network. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Barnes & Noble, the nation's biggest bookseller, has been struggling to catch up to Amazon after a slow start in the on-line market. And Microsoft has been revamping its MSN site to make Internet purchasing more appealing to consumers. Under the agreement, Amazon advertisements that link browsers to its on-line store will still appear on the Microsoft site. But visitors who click on the book category on the Microsoft shopping page will automatically be linked to the Barnes & Noble site. Other types of shopping will also be integrated. For example, users of Microsoft's travel site, Expedia, will be told of books they might want to buy based on the information they request about plane tickets and hotels. Also, Barnes & Noble may eventually be featured in the shopping section of Microsoft's WebTV Network service, which allows subscribers to see information from the Internet on television sets. Analysts said joining forces with a powerful partner like Microsoft would probably help Barnes & Noble gain market share in the rapidly expanding business of selling books on the Internet. But at what cost -- and to what degree the deal would hurt Amazon -- is unclear. According to Net Ratings, a Milpitas, Calif., firm that tracks Web traffic, the MSN site attracted approximately nine million visitors in October, ranking fourth after popular ''portal'' sites like America Online, Yahoo and Netscape, where many Web users go to begin their searches. Barnes & Noble also has an exclusive arrangement with America Online's proprietary service, which has about 14 million paid subscribers. But America Online's free site on the Web, which attracted about 21 million visitors in October, links users to Amazon. And Amazon is the exclusive music merchant for MSN. ''This does give Barnes & Noble significant reach,'' said Ken Cassar, an analyst at Jupiter Communications, an on-line market research firm in New York. ''But this isn't a zero-sum game. The market is growing so quickly that Barnes & Noble's gain isn't necessarily Amazon's loss.''