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Technology Stocks : Novell (NOVL) dirt cheap, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (24991)	1/15/1999 10:22:00 AM
From: Loring	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Are you suggesting that NOVL leave its core business and move into the consumer market? Wouldn't this entail developing a consumer product? If so, wouldn't this take at least a 2-year plan? To see something ready for market outside of the core business would have to have been started in 1997 at NOVL.

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (24991)	1/15/1999 12:14:00 PM
From: Frederick Smart	Respond to of 42771

Sorry guys. Lost the post....

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (24991)	1/15/1999 3:18:00 PM
From: PJ Strifas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Hey Paul, I don't think MSFT has the right approach to this issue either. I find it somewhat lacking that one product can do some many things (workstation/server/enterprise server, etc). Makes me wonder if it's really just a workstation with too much piled on top. I mean is it a server with just some code disabled to become a workstation or a workstation with some add ons to make it a server platform? Sort of like buying a Ferrari with only 4 cylinders working for an economy car or a Hugo with a jet engine attached to make it a super-sports car. But NetWare for Small Biz 4.2 isn't a bad product. It's only shortcoming is that you can't add it into a large directory tree or add more licenses than 50. Otherwise, point for point, it will give NT a run for it's money. Especially in that one area MSFT is making gains on NOVL -- small businesses still using NetWare 3.x. As for E-commerce and vision, I think you may have hit Schmidt's one weak spot. I don't see him having the "amazon.com" mentality at all. In fact, I see him more as the ISP/Carrier/Enterprise type guy. He may well make inroads into the Fortune 100 companies with his products and may even get the large carriers (telecom) to incorporate NOVL products into their networks but I don't see him pushing a platform solution for e-commerce at all. Although they do have licensing for Netscape Server Suite which is THE e-commerce platform right now. Somehow there needs to be more synergy with SUNW for that to succeed. Then again, I'd much rather see NOVL focus their energies on the products they have right now while developing or financing start-ups to make headway into other areas. Their current crop of products can and will make the right tools for others to create those e-commerce solutions. Let's remember that NOVL can not be compared to Amazon.com or eBay in that they are 2 very different companies. One builds and develops the systems the internet and corporate networks work on while the others are virtual companies who are really just retail outlets. Something to think about: Do you think we will see a balkanization of the networking companies? I mean with services becoming more and more popular, will we see universal OS with services created/promoted by individual companies? I keep reading more and more about companies creating software whereby their service(s) will run on a competitor's OS (MSFT has File & Print Services for NetWare and NOVL has NDS on NT as well as UNIX services). I don't have the insight to say with certainty what that may bring but I do see it becoming an interesting side show. Peter Strifas

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (24991)	1/18/1999 9:34:00 PM
From: PJ Strifas	Respond to of 42771

Hello Paul! I was trying to find the post you had made regarding Home Networking but didn't have the time to search for it so... I just read an article in this week's PC MAGAZINE by Bill Howard. He's a big fan of Home Networking. It's a very insightful article with information on how to make your home a good "cyberhome" from wiring your PCs, sharing printers, Audio/Visual piping (for cable TV, Satelite DSS etc), phone services et al. I tried to find this article online but PC Magazine doesn't have this up on it's website just yet. Basically too long to re-type but if it becomes available, I'll see what I can do. Some points made: a) wiring the house for convergence of media b) CEBus -- Consumer Electronics Bus wiring (structure wiring system for your home) c) some estimate pricing Also some websites to look into: cedia.org What is CEDIA? The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, or CEDIA, is an international trade association of companies. These companies specialize in planning and installing electronic systems for the home - typically media rooms, single or multi-room entertainment systems, home automation and communication systems, and integrated whole-house subsystems providing control of lighting, security and HVAC systems. The association was founded in September, 1989 and has a total membership of more than 1,200 member companies. ustec.com <--CEBus wiring panels I think reading the article will much inspire you :) Peter