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 : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (51821)	4/20/1999 3:24:00 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Sarmad -- thanks -- looks like the nets are hanging in there. I am impressed with the staying power today.

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (51821)	4/20/1999 4:08:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

The Seattle Times Inside Technology Column KNIGHT-RIDDER / TRIBUNE BUSINESS NEWS - April 20, 1999 16:02 Apr. 20 (The Seattle Times/KRTBN)--CORBIS' PLIGHT: BILL GATES' 'MIDDLE CHILD': Perhaps it's like any family with multiple children. The family portrait for Bill Gates' high-tech progeny includes first-born overachiever Microsoft; ambitious young upstart Teledesic; and the artsy, wandering middle child, Corbis. Corbis? Co-President Steve Davis complains that Corbis is perhaps better known in New York City than in its own Bellevue back yard. Since founded in 1989 by Microsoft Chairman Gates, Corbis has sought to create a name on the Internet as "the place for pictures." Corbis has a vast library of historical, contemporary, fine art and celebrity images licensed for use by ad agencies, design firms and other creative professionals. In its 10-year history, Corbis has undergone some adjustments, from changes in top management to dropping compact discs as a way to deliver images. It's even been known by a few different names before sticking with Corbis -- a made-up word sort of taken from a root that means a woven basket, Davis said, but ultimately chosen because it sounded cool. Part of Corbis' most recent redirection has been an emphasis on individual consumers. The majority of sales still comes from professionals licensing images, but Corbis has started selling prints, postcards and other items to individuals, who can choose from Alaska landscapes, Van Gogh paintings and other images. Starting today, consumers can select from and download more than 350, 000 images for personal use on Web sites, greeting cards, screensavers and presentations. The cost per image is $3. Corbis is joining the commerce network run by Seattle's Qpass, a company started by an ex-Microsoftie. Qpass has built a system designed to make it easier to sell and buy information or other "digital" items that can be sent over the Internet. Buyers plug in their credit-card and personal information once, which gives them access to shop at any of Qpass' member companies. Member companies get the benefit of having Qpass handle the transaction parts of the process. But Gates isn't the only billionaire on the block with an interest in this area. Getty Images has moved its headquarters to Seattle, specifically Fremont. Mark Getty, chairman and co-founder, is a descendent of oil baron J. Paul Getty and is a co-founder of Getty Communications. With 1998 revenues of $185 million, Getty Images dwarfs Corbis. Corbis' revenue was more than $50 million last year, although Davis wouldn't be more specific. Meanwhile, Getty is similarly watching a surge in its business of sending images over the Internet to professional clients. Considering Getty's acquisition of Seattle-based PhotoDisc last year, moving to Seattle made sense, Getty said. Getty Images will, like Corbis, start targeting the consumer market and is considering ideas such as postcards and pictures to hang in homes. Battling with a Gates company doesn't faze the company, Getty said. "If Bill Gates, whose success I respect enormously, spent 99.9 percent of his time on Corbis instead of Microsoft, I'd have more reason to be concerned," Getty said. "As it happens, it is his brainchild, but it doesn't get a lot of the attention that Microsoft gets, and hopefully it will stay that way." The plight of the middle child. COMING UP: The U.S. Small Business Administration will hold two "Y2K Matchmaker Fairs" to pair companies with technology consultants. 8:30 a.m. to noon April 28 at SBA's Seattle office and in Tacoma on May 25. For information, call 206-553-7314. Inside Technology appears Tuesdays in The Seattle Times. You can contact Helen Jung by phone, 206-464-2742; fax, 206-382-8879; or e-mail, hjung(at)seattletimes.com. By Helen Jung -0- Visit The Seattle Times Extra on the World Wide Web at seattletimes.com (c) 1999, The Seattle Times. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MSFT, GETY, END!A$3?SE-TECH-COL News provided by COMTEX