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Technology Stocks : RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Technologyguy who wrote (2368)	4/5/1999 2:31:00 AM
From: Eric	Respond to of 5843

did not mean to ignore your comments ... many things are often two-sided, your comments may just be as valid as mine ... since you really want an answer, I will try to please ... first reply to your list of things that are in RNWK's favor ... > 1. RNWK has a much superior product and is putting more emphasis than MSFT into improving the product. (That's what my friends in Redmond say, and what is evident from progress on media players and servers the past 2 years.) I don't have this kind of privileged info from Redmond, but i agree that is probably true at the moment ... that only gives RNWK some breath room, not enough to discount MSFT as a creditable competitor ... MSFT only needs to be in the market to make sure RNWK will never make a penny off its realplayer client ... go back to NSCP, at one point, MSFT was non-existent in the broswer mkt. We all know how the browser war ended. > 2. MSFT is and will be skittish about using the Windows Platform and NT Server in particular to try to kill RNWK given the DOJ attention. true, but don't forget another one of MSFT's weapon, its cash reserve. it can afford to dump its product at a loss ... enough to ensure RNWK will at most have a large mkt share of a $0 market. > 3. RNWK has entered into a large number of important strategic relations that effectively shut out MSFT on this--AOL, @Home, Excite and others. shut out MSFT? for how long? > 4. Rob Glaser is a lot tougher and smarter than Jim Barksdale and Marc Andreeson put together. you obviously know those three quite well to give your substantive comment on those three ... but don't forget that toughness and smartness are double-edged swords ... with all said, i don't discount RNWK at all; after all, why ignore a stock that can make me good money. but i remind myself at a time like this that things can turn on a dime. The time to be excited is when you get in a good stock low ... after a stock makes a big move, it is a time to keep a clear head. i still believe the king in the media industry is content, not the underlying technology that delivers that content. New technology may come and go, content stays. that is why i thought BCST was a better play than RNWK though i had them both, just my unsubstantiated opinion again ...