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Technology Stocks : HAUP - Hauppauge Digital -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: westes who wrote (575)	5/23/1999 1:07:00 PM
From: genejockey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1149

Will, the problem that I have with your analysis is that you are ASSUMING a HAUP linkup with Broadcast/Yahoo, when there is not the slightest bit of evidence for it. You are reasoning a $200 valuation(and sound very eloquent in doing so) because of a statement in BW from "one New York money manager" that HAUP will soon announce a venture with a large Internet broadcast company. Huh, you gonna bet it all on what "one New York money manager" had to say about HAUP... no doubt this guy is heavily invested in HAUP. Also, what in Mark Cuban's statement suggests HAUP specifically? It seems to me that digital video and audio will be a crowded field and that HAUP will be just one small player in it. There is no need for a Yahoo/Broadcast to make an alliance with HAUP when they can specify a standard and have card makers follow. HAUP has no leverage here to get a good deal of any kind from the major players. It's funny that you are basing so much analysis dependant upon a Major portal linkup. I will just remind you that "a money manager" once reported in BW that SATH is in closing talks with a major portal and should be announcing a deal very soon... The portal turned out to be Oracle... as in SATH was using an Oracle database to run their site. OUCH! Will, it doesn't matter if 99% of what you say makes sense, cause that 99% is predicated on the 1% that ain't gonna happen -especially in the short term-... a HAUP and MAJOR Internet company linkup.---- Not Howie----genejockey

To: westes who wrote (575)	5/24/1999 9:26:00 AM
From: B. A. Marlow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1149

Enjoyed your well-reasoned comments, Will. Frankly, I don't see an exclusive deal with anybody other than RNWK or MSFT, either from HAUP's standpoint or from that of a strategic partner. One of the reasons supporting this scenario is that exclusivity with a portal, TV network or content provider would be the kiss of death for any proprietary HAUP software technology (and licensing opportunities thereof). MSFT and RNWK have the ability to enter into an exclusive deal with HAUP because they control the "media desktop" in one way or another. Most other "exclusive" partner candidates could not expect to control potential future licensees--if they can be "controlled" at all--such as CREAF, ATI, Matrox and INTC, among prospective players. In addition, TV networks and portals would have a hard time supporting a de facto desktop digital TV standard "owned" by a perceived competitor. None of which is to say that HAUP couldn't enter into a strategic alliance with the likes of YHOO/BCST, NBCI (Snap/XMCM/Cyclone/CNBC/NBC.com, etc.), CBS, DIS/SEEK, T/ATHM/XCIT, NWS/FOX, VO/USAI, TWX, CMGI (iCast)/LCOS, or Paul Allen/Vulcan/GNET. But it really couldn't be exclusive or it would run the risk of marginalization. (AOL/NSCP is not included in the list because it's likely to be behind the scenes of a RNWK deal, a reason to favor RNWK.) Also, for what it's worth, Cuban has maintained that BCST intends to remain "software-agnostic" over the long term, thus diminishing the likelihood of an exclusive relationship between HAUP and YHOO. All-in-all, though, these developments are quite favorable. For serious product penetration to occur (anything close to 1 percent of a major portal's user base), however, the street price of the digital tuner card will need to come down to no higher than $199-$299, say twice the level at which HAUP's analog products now sell. Better still would be motherboard integration (via license), which is not out of the question down the road. At $500 or more, the digital product will likely remain the province of geeks and opinion leaders. Meanwhile, congratulations on your "payday." BAM