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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Bob Brinker: Market Savant & Radio Host -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Diamond Jim who wrote (9033)	2/28/1999 5:55:00 PM
From: Jeffrey D	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42834

Jim/all, internet use expected to double by 2005. Time to take a closer look at Internet stocks? Jeff << Worldwide Internet Users to Double to 300 Million by 2005 London, Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The number of people using the Internet worldwide will double to 300 million by 2005, with the greatest growth in Asia and South America, according to U.K. market researcher Datamonitor Plc. The number of Online users will rise 61 percent to 95 million in the U.S., more than double to 88 million in Europe and quadruple to 118 million in the rest of the world. Internet use is expected to grow as the cost of access drops dramatically. Companies such as Gateway 2000 Inc., the No. 2 direct seller of personal computers and Dixons Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest electronics retailer, offer free Internet access. ''The trend is good news for Internet commerce,'' said Philip Codling, a technology analyst at Datamonitor. He said Internet traffic was increasing 1,000 percent each year. Datamonitor attributes the growth in traffic to increasing use of audio and video applications, such as telephone calls, playing of music and video-conferencing, which are expected to triple to 6 percent of overall traffic by 2003. Revenue worldwide for carrying data on the Internet is expected to more than double to $19 billion in 2002 as the cost of transferring data falls and demand rises. The London-based market research company said the cost of transferring one terabyte of data, the equivalent of 25,000 music CDs, will fall to less than $300 by 2003. That compares with $80,000 last year. Total revenue received by telecommunications companies and Internet service providers that make up the ''Internet backbone'' is expected to rise as traffic increases and the cost of transferring data decreases with new technologies such as dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM). The Internet backbone is provided by companies such as MCI WorldCom Inc., Sprint Corp. and Cable & Wireless Plc. For the purpose of the study, an online user is defined as a person who uses a Web-enabled computer for at least six hours a week. The DWDM technology allows multiple colors of light to travel down the same optic fiber. Each channel, or color, is independent, so a 32-channel DWDM line can support 32 times as much data down a single fiber line. >>

To: Diamond Jim who wrote (9033)	3/1/1999 9:05:00 PM
From: Jeffrey D	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42834

Jim, RE: US Govt. vs Intel Forgive my rant here but why in the world is our DOJ taking on first MSFT and now INTC? Ah, the heck with the rant, CSCO is next and then probably AMAT. Perhaps their time would be better spent taking on the criminals inside the Beltway than disrupting creative and successful corporations. I hope there is a new broom in Y2000 and Janet R. and her minions are swept out! Jeff << Government Calls Intel a Monopolist -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Filed: Monday, March 01, 1999 07:20 PM EST WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government portrayed Intel Corp. as an out-of-control monopolist Monday, accusing the world's largest manufacturer of computer processors of bullying other companies until they surrendered valuable secrets. In turn, Intel rejected the Federal Trade Commission's characterization, arguing that even the government's own expert economist cannot point to any rivals harmed by its behavior, which it called ''fundamentally fair.'' It called the pending case before an FTC administrative law judge -- pitting the agency against Intel -- ''an assault on fundamental antitrust principles.'' Lawyers for both Intel and the FTC outlined their strategies Monday for the company's upcoming hearing, which starts March 9 and is expected to last six to 10 weeks. Together with the government's antitrust case in federal court against Microsoft Corp., the legal actions confront two of the most important companies in the nation's technology industry. The FTC alleges that Intel illegally withheld from three companies advanced technical information about its upcoming microprocessors to ''extort'' valuable technology that the companies developed independently. It called the company's actions ''a raw exercise of monopoly power to muscle competitors into signing over intellectual property rights.'' ''Simply competing on the merits was insufficient,'' FTC lawyers wrote. ''... Intel's victims had no choice but to accede to its demands.'' The three companies were Digital Equipment Corp., Intergraph Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp., which now owns Digital. Intel, with $26.2 billion in sales last year, makes processors for more than 80 percent of the world's computers and last week introduced its fastest chip ever, the Pentium III. The FTC said ''any hope of meaningful challenge'' to Intel's dominance relies on other companies developing rival technology. In a 71-page filing that quotes the government's own expert economist more than anyone else, Intel doesn't deny that it withheld technical data about upcoming products. But Intel contended it is legal for the company to decide what secrets to disclose to its customers about its upcoming products, information typically contained within so-called ''color books'' -- with red covers for the most sensitive and yellow covers for less important details. Intel lawyers accused the FTC of trying ''to prevent Intel from using its intellectual property to barter in value-for-value commercial exchanges.'' Coincidentally, the government's antitrust case comes during a period of unprecedented competition facing Intel from rival chipmakers, such as from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and National Semiconductor Corp. Just last week, an industry report showed consumers bought more computers in January with AMD processors than Intel -- knocking Intel from the No. 1 spot for the first time and sending its stock price plummeting more than 6 percent. ''Any reader of personal computer ads today can readily see that Intel faces intense competition,'' the company said. Intel said the government's own economist, Harvard University professor Frederic M. Scherer, found no evidence that innovation in the computer industry has suffered. Scherer also is quoted as calling Intel's behavior ''unfair'' but agreeing that its actions haven't directly affected computer chip prices. Instead, Scherer predicted that Intel's efforts on the industry will ''unravel over a period of 10 or so years, and it's just too early to assess those consequences.'' Intel called that ''not a basis for imposing antitrust liability.'' The company indicated previously its witnesses will include Andrew Grove, Intel's high-profile co-founder and chairman, and Craig Barrett, who took over as chief executive officer last year. >>