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To: Night Writer who wrote (47797)	2/12/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

* OT * NW, well.... at least fatbrain.com is up today! jajajajaja El Looks like we have a winner in the name game... by: joef_99 1266 of 1275 Computer Literacy May Change Name to Fat Brain: Bloomberg Forum 2/11/99 20:5 Computer Literacy May Change Name to Fat Brain: Bloomberg Forum San Francisco, Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Computer Literacy Inc., which runs an online book store for technical professionals, may change its name to Fat Brain, Chief Executive Chris MacAskill said. Computer Literacy wants an easy-to-remember name of eight characters or less. The company is working on a list of 10 possibilities with branding specialists Interbrand Group, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., the world's biggest advertising company. The Sunnyvale, California-based company, which sells books, interactive training software and instruction manuals, has put off changing its name for months as it went through an initial public offering on Nov. 20. Now it hopes to present a new name sometime after reporting earnings in mid-March. ''When we've tested the name Fat Brain in focus groups, it's blown everything else away,'' MacAskill told the Bloomberg Forum. 'It's so important on the Internet to have a distinctive name that cuts through all the noise.'' Computer Literacy recently registered several Internet addresses related to the name Fat Brain. It also registered addresses related to the names Hot Brain, Brillion, Aroya and Clever Logic. The company's board of directors will vote on proposals for the new name on Feb. 17. MacAskill also said he sees most of the company's growth coming from sales through its ''FindITNow'' initiative, in which Computer Literacy sets up stores on the private computer networks of technology companies such as Sun Microsystems Inc. The companies can create recommended reading lists and keep a handle on expenses, as well as providing workers an easy and fast way to order information. Computer Literacy maintains such stores for around 100 companies, MacAskill said, and sales through the stores account for 50 percent of revenue. ''Business to business e-commerce is the next huge wave and we're right on the crest of that,'' he said. Competition Computer Literacy competes with online book sellers Amazon.com Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc. in the same way that Home Depot Inc., the largest U.S. retailer of home-improvement supplies, competes with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, MacAskill said. ''There is some overlap, but generally 50 percent of the products we have they don't stock, and vice versa,'' he said. Computer Literacy has been adding products to its store. It now sells electrical engineering and basic business titles and software used by computer programmers. In the past year, the company has also sold more interactive training material and instruction manuals for sophisticated computer-related products. The two product lines account for 20 percent of sales, and MacAskill sees that ratio increasing. As other Internet companies combine or are snapped up by bigger rivals, Computer Literacy has also held talks. ''We get plenty of calls all the time about being acquired and we're making calls about doing some acquisitions ourselves, MacAskill said, while adding that nothing is imminent. Computer Literacy is looking to buy a company that can contribute articles and other editorial material to its site. In the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Computer Literacy lost $2.89 million, or $1.84 a share, on revenue of $5.23 million. MacAskill declined to forecast when the company would make a profit. Computer Literacy first sold shares to the public for $10 each. The shares rose as high as 24 1/2 on the first day of trading and have since fallen as low as 11 3/8. Computer Literacy rose 5/8 to 14 1/8 today. --Greg Chang in the San Francisco newsroom (415) 912-2992/pkc