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***WAVE Report Gets Recognized by IDG's Tip World (October 27)
In one day the WAVE Report took on nearly 150 new subscribers. We did not understand why until we realized IGD's Tip World recommended the WAVE Report.
http://www.tipworld.com/samples/emaillist.html
For all our new readers - welcome. If you would like to see our policies and how WAVE works check out WAVE#897 on our web site.
For some of our special issues check out, also on our web site:
· WAVE#885 & 886 - Nicholas Negroponte Keynote at the Electronic Commerce World Conference
· WAVE#865 & 866 - Coverage of DisneyQuestAs always we solicit the feedback of our readers both new and old.
***IDC Predicts Smart Handheld Devices Market Will Surge in 1999 (October 27)
In 1999, the worldwide smart handheld devices market will experience robust growth with device unit shipments reaching 10.7 million units, according to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC). This represents an increase of 45 percent over estimated 1998 worldwide shipments of 7.4 million units. Although the market is strong, the growing abundance of products and anticipation of new smart phone devices offer a major challenge for vendors.
During the 1H98, 3Com retained its worldwide lead of the handheld companion market with 41.4 percent market share, up from 32.0 percent for the same period last year. 3Com continues to grow despite the threat of new Palm- size PC devices. In 1997, 3Com captured 34.9 percent share worldwide, leaping ahead of established leader Sharp Electronics.
Key Findings
· The PC companion market performed under expectations in
1997 due to cannibalization of Windows CE 1.0 devices by anticipated Windows CE 2.0-based devices.
· H/PC Professional Edition devices will have little impact in 1998, but gain corporate interest in 1999 and beyond.
· Palm-size PCs did not decrease 3Com's market share in the
1H98, and are not expected to overtake the Palm platform over the next three years, until more tier-one handheld and PC vendors jump into the market.
· The smart phone market continues to perform under expectations due to high device costs, continuing product delays, and wireless infrastructure issues affecting the US.
· Vertical application device industry continues to exhibit steady year over year growth as market consolidation settles down.In addition, IDC has published a new bulletin on Jupiter, now known as the H/PC Pro Edition. The document concludes that 1999 will be an interesting test year for corporate adopters as they begin to pilot first generation devices. IDC believes up to 300,000 H/PC Pro Edition devices will ship worldwide in 1999, eventually becoming the dominant form factor among all Windows CE keyboard-based PC companions.
However, IDC believes that in order for H/PC Pros to be successful, vendors must pass several hurdles including educating the market and managing user expectations. Vendors also need to provide PC-style service and support programs, and align device price points so they do not collide with low-cost notebooks. IDC believes it will take several generations of the devices to be released before these issues become alleviated.
It's a Small, Small World: Worldwide Smart Handheld Devices Market Review and Forecast, 1998-2002 (IDC #17456), is a revised forecast of the worldwide handheld market. It contains unit shipment, shipment value (US$), and average system price (US$) forecasts, as well as final 1997 and 1H98 U.S. and worldwide market share data.
***Laser Power Corp. Working on Microlaser-Based 3D Display (October 27)
Laser Power Corp. announced the receipt of a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Department of Defense to continue development of a microlaser-based full-color three-dimensional display demonstration system with 2,000,000 voxel (3D pixel) resolution.
This system could potentially by used in military applications such as land or sea battlefield visualization, and commercial applications in medicine, entertainment and air traffic control.
Founded in 1979, Laser Power Corp., through its operating divisions and subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and markets high-performance lasers and optics for industrial, medical and military applications. The Company's laser optics products are sold to laser system OEMs and end-users as original and replacement components in high power CO2 and other lasers. The Company's non-laser optics products are used in a variety of infrared windows, missile domes and other optical elements primarily for the defense market.
***GoodNoise Comments On RIAA/Diamond Decision (October 26)
GoodNoise released the following statement in response to the court's denial of the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Diamond Multimedia from shipping its new Rio PMP300 digital music player.
GoodNoise founder and chairman, Bob Kohn,: "Today's ruling is a clear victory for music fans around the world, and a wonderful decision for aspiring artists and independent record labels who now have access to an alternative channel of distribution. The shipment of the Diamond Rio will further fuel the growth of the Internet as an emerging channel for the sale, promotion and distribution of music."
"Just as the Internet has opened up new opportunities in many other fields, so it has in the recording industry. New, smaller record companies can distribute music cost effectively over the Internet, and new artists can find channels for their music to be heard and distributed." "The investment required to compete with the big record companies is much smaller with Internet distribution than with traditional CD manufacturers and distribution. The advent of MP3 technology, and the prospect of even more powerful technologies, will make Internet distribution even more efficient in the near future."
GoodNoise: The Internet Record CompanyBased in Palo Alto, is a record company focused on the Internet as a platform for the sale and electronic delivery of music.With a compelling repertoire of leading-edge alternative and modern rock artists and bands, the GoodNoise Web site offers music fans an easy and convenient way to sample and purchase great music. GoodNoise was founded in January 1998 by a group of veterans from the music and computer industries. More information on the company can be found at
***Creative Technology Announces First Quarter Fiscal 1999 Earnings (October 27)
Creative Technology announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 1999, ended September 30, 1998. Sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1999 were US$279.0 million, compared to US$287.8 million for the same quarter last year.
Results for the first quarter were:
· Net income for the quarter of US$21.5 million, compared to US$51.6 million for the same quarter last year.
· Earnings per share for the quarter of US$0.23, compared to US$0.55 per share for the same quarter last year.The comparative results for the first quarter of last year exclude a gain of US$18.5 million, or US$0.19 per share, from the sale of quoted investments.
"I am very pleased that so many areas of the company were able to deliver strong results, overcoming difficult economic conditions in several of our markets and allowing us to meet expectations in the quarter," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and chief executive officer of Creative Technology Ltd. "During the quarter, we launched an unprecedented number of new products that are truly exciting and highly competitive."
Creative made a number of announcements in the past several months including:
· The intent to repurchase up to 9.3 million of its own shares from the market-the maximum number of shares (10 percent of issued capital) permitted to be repurchased each year under relevant legislation pending in Singapore to allow share repurchases by Singapore companies.
· The launch of Sound Blaster Live! Value at an extremely attractive value price of US$99. This sound card utilizes Creative's Environmental Audio technology industry standard and provides unmatched, incredibly real audio that is forever changing the way mainstream PC users experience music, entertainment and games.
· The announcement of Creative's Live!Ware program designed to provide the newest enhancements and applications for both Sound Blaster Live! And Sound Blaster Live! Value. Live!Ware underscores Creative's on-going commitment to offer to its current and future customers the latest developments in Sound Blaster Live! audio technology.
· The announcement that over 50 game titles supporting
Creative's Environmental Audio Platform are currently slated to ship this holiday software shopping season. This includes hot new titles such as Activision's Heavy Gear II, Bungie's Myth II, Electronic Arts' Sim City 3000 and Madden 99, Dreamworks' Trespasser and many more.
· The introduction of Creative's 3D Blaster Banshee, a 16MB
2D/3D graphics card combining 3D game play with 2D performance at a price of US$99.99, after a manufacturer's mail-in rebate of US$30 for U.S. and Canada only.
· The introduction of Creative's newest addition to its
Graphics Blaster family-Graphics Blaster RIVA.
· The shipment of the computer industry's first complete desktop theater system for the PC-Creative's new PC-DVD Encore 5x with Cambridge SoundWorks' DeskTop Theater 5.1 speaker system. This system combines the industry-leading PC-DVD and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound technology to deliver a PC entertainment experience that, until now, has only been available on expensive traditional home entertainment systems.
***Interplay Reports Third Quarter
Results
(October 27)
Interplay Entertainment reported results for the third quarter and first nine months ended September 30, 1998. For the third quarter, Interplay reported net revenues of $24.5 million, compared with $23.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Net loss for the third quarter was $15.1 million, or $0.83 per share, compared with a net loss of $5.5 million, or $0.49 per share, for the third quarter of 1997. The 1998 per share amounts reflect the effects of the company's initial public offering of five million shares of common stock in June, 1998.
For the first nine months of 1998, the company reported net revenues of $106.2 million compared with net revenues of $66.7 million for the same period a year ago. In the first nine months of 1998, the company reported a net loss of $11.6 million, or $0.85 per share, versus a net loss of $20.9 million, or $1.88 per share, for the first nine months of 1997.
During the third quarter, the company released 11 new products including eight for the PC and three on the Sony PlayStation, including Heart of Darkness and Wild 9.
Net revenues by platform for the quarter were 31 percent PC, 61 percent console, and eight percent OEM, royalties and licensing. On a geographic basis, third quarter net revenues in North America represented 63 percent of total net revenues, international represented 29 percent of total net revenues, and OEM, royalty and licensing accounted for eight percent.
Brian Fargo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Our financial performance during the quarter was affected by several factors including higher than expected product returns and markdown allowances implemented during the quarter. These return and markdown provisions, together with shipping delays for Fallout 2 and overall lower than expected worldwide sales for Wild 9, accounted for a significant portion of the loss. This was exacerbated by lower than expected OEM and licensing activity and softness in Asia markets."
Fargo noted that Fallout 2 is scheduled to ship this week. He also reported that two significant titles, Earthworm Jim 3 and Messiah, which were scheduled to release in the fourth quarter, had encountered development delays and would not ship in 1998.
"We continue to have high expectations for these two titles. To ensure that these titles meet the quality standards that we and consumers expect, we now anticipate they will ship in mid-1999. This also means that the fourth quarter 1998 results are expected to be significantly below current market expectations. While we are disappointed by the product slippage of Earthworm Jim 3 and Messiah, we are excited about the anticipated forthcoming release of Baldur's Gate, one of the most anticipated titles in the country," Fargo said.
Interplay President Chris Kilpatrick commented, "Due to the lower than expected financial results and near-term revenue outlook, the company is currently experiencing cash and liquidity pressures. In response to this, we are attempting to negotiate an expanded line of credit and are implementing a corporate restructuring program."
"I believe in the quality of the company's product line-up so much that I am offering to provide a $5 million guarantee to support an expanded line of credit," said Fargo.
Kilpatrick noted that this offer was subject to completion of terms and documentation. He went on to explain that the corporate restructuring program includes reduced headcount and management salary reductions, among other actions. "We are working hard to manage the company's expenses to better match our projected revenue base."The company also indicated that its investment banker, Piper Jaffray, has been retained to evaluate strategic alternatives including reviewing expressions of interest from certain third parties regarding potential strategic relationships or transactions.
***STB Takes Hit with 3D Card Returns
There have been rumors about a high rate of cards based on NVIDIA chips. The WAVE Report has found out the following.
· In the summer there was a unexpected surge in demand for the RIVA 128ZX chip. NVIDIA was unable to meet this demand as it was focusing on the TNT chip.
· The demand was being felt by STB in its shipments to Gateway.
· NVIDIA was having the ZX chip produced by TSMC and STMicroelectronics. TMSC was unable to meet the demand and NVIDIA recommended that STB use STMicroelectronics as a supplier.
· This was the first time that STB had used STMicroelectronics as the supplier of the 128ZX chip.
· The STMicroelectronics chip is not exactly identical to the TMSC chip. The WAVE Report has been unable to determine exactly what the differences are but we have been told some include how the clocking and PLL circuits are implemented.
· STB shipped cards to Gateway using the Stmicroelectronics chip, however, Gateway found "instablity" problems and under terms of the supply agreement determined this was a sufficient failure that Gateway could reject all of these products.
· Gateway returned 30,000 cards and cancelled an order for 60,000.
· STB has reworked the cards with a correction to the problem and they have been sold or in the process of being sold.
***Compaq Delivers Breakthrough Value with $699 Presario Internet PC (October 12)
Compaq introduced Presario Internet PC. The Presario 2266 is just $699 (after rebate). Complete with a M II 300 MMX enhanced processor, 64 MB of memory, 512 KB L2 cache, 32X MaxCD-ROM drive, a 4.0GB hard drive, a 56K V.90 modem, the fully-loaded Presario 2266 provides the power needed for today. Designed to grow with consumer lifestyles, the Presario 2266 offers expandability for tomorrow with room to add PCI Cards, extra hard drives, and ZIP or Superdisk drives. The Presario 2266 also comes equipped with a standard floppy, to protect consumers against obsolescence. In addition, this new Presario has two USB ports to provide consumers with easy connectivity to printers, joysticks or scanners.
***IEEE 802.11 Adopts Proposal by Alantro Communications (October 12)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 international standards committee, responsible for developing wireless local area network (WLAN) specifications, recently adopted a proposal developed by Alantro Communications for a high-performance option for high-speed wireless data transmission.
The IEEE 802.11 committee is currently working on the draft for a high-speed mode (up to 11 megabits per second) to the existing wireless LAN standard. This new standard will enable users to wirelessly connect their PC's, workstations, and other products at speeds up to 5.5 times faster than the current standard.
The Alantro Communications proposal is a, variable-rate scheme that will offer enhancements such as extended range, increased reliability, and multipath immunity, while remaining compatible with the existing standard. This design extends direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) radio transmission, combined with advanced forward error control (FEC) technology, to maximize throughput in varying environments.
The new IEEE 802.11 standard for high-speed wireless LAN is expected to be complete in 1999.
***DeskArtes Oy introduces software for 3D CAD Data Viewing and Repair (October 13)
DeskArtes Oy introduces Industrial Design System, a free-form 3D modeling and visualization software for industrial designers. DeskArtes Rapid Tools is high-end data processing software for rapid prototyping (RP).
The company is announcing DeskArtes Expert Series. Implemented on native Windows, the Expert products contain the most easy-to-use yet powerful functions for viewing, verification, repair and further processing of 3D product data. They offer special advantages with superior IGES/VDA format recognition, as well as STL format faceting and repair.
As the first company in its field, DeskArtes makes its STL viewing module (View Expert) available free of charge. It enables the user to display, shade, rotate, clip and print 3D models, as well as copy and paste to other Windows applications. The add-on modules further allow for measuring and annotating of 3D models, displaying, separating and repairing problem areas (Data Expert), up to designing parts and positioning, combining, offsetting and slicing of the models (RP Expert).
For more information, contact DeskArtes Oy, Kalevankatu 3A, FIN-00100 Helsinki, Finland, phone +358-9-644-335, fax +358-9-644-330, e-mail woodward@deskartes.fi.
***Karta Announces New Dimension for PowerPoint Users (October 12)
Karta Technologies announced KartaNarrator software which is a program that adds a virtual narrator to Microsoft PowerPoint 97 presentations.
KartaNarrator software enables PowerPoint users to use animated characters to narrate their presentations on-screen.Currently there are five animated personalities to choose from, with new characters being created continuously. The narrators include Merlin, the wise old wizard with the friendly eyes and a curly white beard; Bill, a clean-cut businessman in a blue suit, that gives an air of staunch professionalism; and Genie, with his turban, folded arms and floating appearance can add a magical element to any presentation; other characters include Audie, the talking computer monitor, and Robby the Robot.
KartaNarrator is priced at $299 with educational and multi-copy discounts available. To place an order or to locate a reseller in your area, call Karta Technologies Inc. at 800/72-KARTA (52782) or visit their web site.
***Cendant Starts Production of Four New Titles using NeMo Dev (October 15)
Virtools announced that it is working on four titles using NeMo technology. NeMo Dev is a behavioral interactive 3D games development platform for the PC. NeMo Dev allows rapid prototyping of real-time 3D content, as well as full product development. It is an integration platform for programmers (creating behaviors), graphic and sound designers (importing media, as 2D, 3D objects, and sound) and game designers (overviewing the whole production cycle). NeMo Dev's component-based architecture enables maximal reuse of code on projects.
NeMo Dev is a professional production tool for 3D games and interactive 3D content, based on the concept of reusable encapsulated behavioral components. It is an integration platform for programmers (creating behaviors), graphic and sound designers (importing media, as 2D, 3D objects, and sound) and game designers (overviewing the whole production cycle). NeMo Dev includes :
· a behavior engine and a 3D rendering engine
· a standard library of reusable behavioral components
· a graphic user interface
· an SDKWith NeMo Dev's graphic user interface, developers can import 3D models, textures, keyframe animations and sounds, then quickly apply interactive behaviors to them - designing, testing and refining the gameplay on the fly.
With NeMo Dev's software developers kit (SDK), developers can create new reusable behaviors - as C++ Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) - to expand NeMo's existing library. Since developers can program new behavioral components one time and add them to the behavior library, they will be accessible to each team member through the user interface and be reusable on future projects. Developers can also replace NeMo's 3D engine with their own and access the behavioral engine to integrate it with their own technology.
NeMo Dev will be available directly from Virtools for $45,000 (five seats unlimited user license including distribution fee for first published title, flat fee per title for following published titles).
*** Technology Review Takes Critical Look at WWW Consortium (October 13)
Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation, has a lead story which takes the first critical look at the World Wide Web Consortium, or the W3C and its founder, Tim Berners-Lee. TR reports on "little-known" or "little-understood" aspects of how the Internet works, and how it's run and what effect it has on individual lives.
Simson Garfinkel's investigative report shines a light on this organization, which will have a large impact on the Web's structure in the 21st century. To some of the W3C's critics, it is unsettling to think of a consortium made up primarily of corporations, with meetings closed to the outside world, making policy that affects us all," said John Benditt, editor-in-chief, Technology Review.
Based at MIT, the shadowy W3C has more than 250 corporate members - companies that have financial stakes in the Internet-including such giants as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, IBM and Cisco Systems. The consortium also has as members non-profit organizations, industry groups and government agencies around the world. Its members have a decisive authority on how the Web will operate in the future. In spite of that influence, almost nobody outside the telecommunications industry understands what the W3C is and how it works. While its technical work is widely admired, the W3C has raised eyebrows with projects that have more to do with regulating online society than managing the flow of bits. In addition, some in the industry complain that the group's decisions reflect the thinking of one man: Tim Berners-Lee, so-called king of the Web. The top-down, personalized management of the consortium as structured by Berners-Lee, is criticized.
The magazine will be available on newsstands Oct. 27, 1998 and can be read on-line.
***Time Warner Cable Selects Scientific-Atlanta's PowerVu System (October 14)
Scientific-Atlanta announced that Time Warner Cable has selected a PowerVu digital video compression system to deliver up to 100 channels of AthenaTV programming in support of a national rollout of digital services. AthenaTV will provide numerous multiplexes of digital programs to cable headends which will pass through to digital set-tops. The PowerVu system enables AthenaTV to offer video programming, provide program flexibility, and allows cable operators to maximize use of digital cable spectrum.
The two companies have also committed to create a National Addressable Center (NAC) for centralized subscriber management of digital set-tops. Having a NAC allows cable operators the choice of national or local control for their digital set-tops. National control will improve the economics of launching Explorer 2000 set-tops for smaller cable systems and allow digital services to be launched more rapidly and broadly.
The initial Time Warner Cable application of the PowerVu system allows MPEG signals to pass from a national uplink through a cable headend for delivery to any existing Scientific-Atlanta or other OpenCable-compatible digital set-top."
The PowerVu system is Scientific-Atlanta's third generation of satellite- based digital video compression equipment.
***Fakespace, Dassault Systemes and Silicon Graphics Integrate Immersive design (October 13)
Fakespace, Dassault Systemes and Silicon Graphics announced a development for integrating immersive visualization with CATIA Version 5. The integration of three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic visualization platforms from Fakespace and CATIA Digital mock-up applications enables customers to manipulate, assemble, and disassemble virtual mechanical objects while navigating through the entire CATIA digital mock-up.
Advanced visualization platforms from Fakespace enable mathematically accurate stereo viewing, navigation, and manipulation of 3D CATIA models. The BOOM HF (Hands-Free), is a virtually weightless CRT-based stereoscopic display system that attaches lightly to the head so that both hands are free to manipulate a model, or to interact with real or "virtual" controls.
The BOOM HF provides high-resolution (1280 x 1024), up to a 140 degree field-of-view, and perfect tracking in a lightweight system. The display is supported by a counterbalanced structure, so its weight does not rest on the user's head as it does with an HMD (head-mounted display). The support structure, which includes optical encoders for tracking, keeps the BOOM solidly suspended so it is easily passed from one user to the next. For collaborative use, the BOOM can also be linked to a projected screen system where groups can follow along and share observations with the immersed viewer.
***Access and Shikoku Electric Power Form an Alliance (October 12)
Access Co.(Tokyo) and Shikoku Electric Power Co. (Kagawa, Japan) agreed to develop a remote control system for consumer mobile information appliances with Shikoku's OpenPLANET, an integrated remote monitor and control system, and Access' powerful embedded Internet software technologies.
The systems will allow users to remotely control consumer electronics devices from outside their homes by cellular phones, PHS (Japanese small cellular phone), PDAs (personal digital assistant), car navigation systems, and other mobile devices. Access will also co-develop with Shikoku Electric Power the electric power meter server with Access' embedded software technologies.
OpenPLANET by Shikoku Electric Power OpenPLANET is an integrated system of remote controlling and monitoring via the Internet for any electronic devices from anywhere and anytime.
Home consumer electronics products with electrical power connection are controlled by a server integrated with the electric power meter. This server is connected to the Internet and the home electronics products can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The communication method is based on the mobile data communication such as cellular phones and mobile information appliances.Applications of Remote Control of Consumer Electronics Products Access' embedded Internet technologies including NetFront browser for consumer electronics; Compact NetFront for small devices; and JV-Lite, a Java Virtual Machine compliant module for consumer electronics, will be integrated into home remote control electronics with mobile devices via OpenPLANET.
The browser software and JV-Lite are client software embedded in mobile devices that can communicate with the electric power meter server to execute Java applications for the control of home electronics. For example, users can operate the air conditioner and boil water in the bath by a cellular phone or inform home your current location from your car using the car navigation system. Additionally, the integrated technology can be applied to an agent application server and a remote monitoring system for industrial use.Access and Shikoku Electric Power plan to jointly develop a small and low-priced electric power meter server aimed at mass production.
Shikoku Electric Power promotes a plan to locate the electric power meter server to home starting year 2000 after completing the testing. In the near future, Shikoku Electric Power, in cooperation with other electric power companies, will build a new global network which covers national households. Access and Shikoku Electric Power will cooperate to develop a global network for home, content and service providers, and intelligent mobile devices. Also, both companies will promote standard specifications and API design for realistic system developments as well as conducting research with related companies.
Access, headquartered in Tokyo, with an office in Santa Clara, Calif., is a leading Internet software company with its flagship products NetFront and Compact NetFront. Since its inception, Access has established close working relationships with leading worldwide consumer electronics companies. Over one million units of software licenses have been shipped and adopted by more than 30 major consumer appliances makers for TVs, set top boxes, word processors, PDAs, car navigation systems, cellular and PHS phones, and dedicated terminals.
NetFront 2.0 is a modularized, comprehensive embedded software suite for designing consumer Internet appliances. NetFront offers system designers a cost-effective, turnkey solution with software modules and open APIs that consist of a WWW browser, Email, PPP, HTML parser, HTTP, TCP/IP, FTP, SMTP, POP and other network communication modules. It supports the latest WWW standard specifications. Other complementary modules include JV-Lite, clean-room Java compliant Virtual Machine module; encryption module for information appliances (Crypt module) and compact Secure Socket Layer (SSL) module; and Internet Personal Information Manager (PIM) function .
JV-Lite is a clean-room Java compliant Virtual Machine (VM) module with small class library. Since JV-Lite is a Java compliant VM, developers can easily use commercial development tools for any Java applications development. JV-Lite and class library can be embedded in ROM and JV-Lite supports various Real-time OS because of its platform independent design.CompactHTML Access submitted the original markup language Compact HTML for small information appliances jointly with Matsushita Electric, NEC, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, and Sony to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Access released Compact HTML-based browser called Compact NetFront, which will be integrated into cellular phones and released in late 1998.
***Quickturn Launches New Product Family and Services Group (October 12)
Quickturn Design Systems introduced a family of products, called SpeedBridge rate adapters, and a new verification consulting group, called VIPER (Verification and Integration Platform Engineering).
The product and service offerings are aimed at reducing time-to-emulation for design applications in telecommunications, multimedia and networking markets.The consulting services and family of rate adapter products are an outgrowth of implementation work conducted by the company's Time-to-Market Engineering (TtME) services group. The SpeedBridge rate adapters and VIPER support teams are focused on improving the verification process for designers developing complex chips and systems.
SpeedBridge products are used to speed up an in-circuit emulation system to an environment that is running at 10s to 100s of MHz. The VIPER teams provide expertise to ease the integration task and make the designs verifiable in the turnkey validation environment. Current SpeedBridge products include:
· Ethernet SpeedBridge
· PCI-based network interface card; provides Ethernet data at emulation speeds; supports 10/100 Mbit Ethernet data
· PCI SpeedBridge
· connects emulated PCI designs to standard PCs; supports 32
BIT PCI revision 2.1
· AGP SpeedBridge
· connects emulated AGP designs to standard PCs; supports 1X and 2X modes as well as SBA requests
· RGB SpeedBridge
· connects emulation-speed video data into monitor-ready analog or digital streams; supports maximum resolutions to 1920 X 1200; allows touch screen controlEthernet, PCI and AGP SpeedBridge rate adapters are available immediately as stand alone products. U.S. prices are $15,000 for the Ethernet SpeedBridge, $50,000 for the PCI SpeedBridge and $50,000 for the AGP SpeedBridge. RGP SpeedBridge will be available in Q4 1998, priced at $20,000 stand alone. Turnkey SpeedBridge solutions accompanied by VIPER support services are priced according to specific customer requirements. SpeedBridge and VIPER solutions can also be incorporated into comprehensive TtME service engagements.
***Parametric Technology Reports Fiscal 1998 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Financial Results (October 15)
Parametric Technology Corporation, one of the world's leading providers of software solutions for mechanical product development and enterprise information management, today reported its fourth quarter and annual results for the period which ended on September 30, 1998.
Parametric Technology's total software revenue for the fourth quarter was $250.0 million, compared with $256.0 million for the same period last year. Net income for the quarter was $45.3 million, or $0.17 per share, compared with $40.3 million, or $0.15 per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. Parametric Technology's total software revenue for fiscal 1998 was $1, 018.0 million, compared with $979.8 million for fiscal 1997. Pro forma net income was $197.6 million, or $0.71 per share, compared with pro forma net income of $144.4 million, or $0.52 per share, for fiscal 1997. Including acquisition and non-recurring charges, Parametric Technology's net income for fiscal 1998 was $86.7 million, or $0.31 per share, compared with net income of $87.7 million, or $0.32 per share, for fiscal 1997. All earnings per share amounts represent diluted earnings per share. These amounts also reflect a two-for-one stock dividend, effective March 6, 1998. At the close of the fourth quarter, Parametric Technology's cash position was $426 million with no outstanding debt. During the quarter the company spent $50 million on stock repurchases, buying back 4.7 million shares of its common stock.
"We executed according to plan in the fourth quarter; our financial performance is in line with our expectations indicated when we reported our fiscal third quarter results in July," said Steven C. Walske, PTC's chairman and chief executive officer.
Walske noted that PTC introduced a new pricing and packaging program during the quarter that enables customers to cost-effectively scale from individual productivity solutions to an integrated system for the entire product development process. "Our aggressive, competitive pricing and packaging initiatives contributed to significant activity in the fourth quarter. We attracted a record 1,650 new customers worldwide while also shipping 9,525 new seats of software during the quarter."
He added, "We now have more than 22,000 customers and 196,000 end-users of our software products worldwide - a tremendous asset as we begin to integrate our product engineering and information management software technologies."
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