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 : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frederick Smart who wrote (7975)	3/25/1999 4:43:00 PM
From: Annette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

My, wasn't THAT an advertisment for Novell.... Why didn't he ALSO say that computer owners will see cheaper PCs and NOT buy DELL anymore....

To: Frederick Smart who wrote (7975)	3/25/1999 5:47:00 PM
From: RocketMan	Respond to of 41369

I really believe Steve Case purchased Netscape because he knew AOL's position lacked depth and integrity when it came to pure technology-related offerings for business to business and individual to business e-commerce. Yes, I think this is right on the mark. Remember AOL is just eyeballs at this point - pure content. Only partly true, their partnerships over the last year have become quite formidable, and account for an increasing percentage of revenues. However, inasmuch as they would not have partners ante up the kind of up-front money they do without eyeballs, I suppose this is also a true statement. As for Sun, they're a box vendor, pure and simple. The good news is that Sun created Java and Jini and they are desparate to claim app space somewhere where they can sink app hooks in verticle markets so they can move "higher" and claim some piece of the goldmine - THE INDIVIDUAL. Sun lacks eyeballs. Netscape has eyeballs, but doesn't know what to do with them. Yes, but Java is what AOL is hanging its hat on for the "AOL Anywhere" paradigm. The knock against Java so far has been its slowness for real-time web apps, but that is changing with a lot of different flavors of Java that can be embedded in microchips to act as engines for all kinds of things from being a smart TV remote to cellular phone-based internet interfaces. I think this is why Case was interested in Sun, and the boxes they agreed to buy was just the price they had to pay to get the Java.