Conference 7.286::digital

    It would be real nice if DIGITAL would allow Employees to participate
    in the IPO.   I know I would probably go in for a few shares, but to
    participate externally except in the aftermarket is neigh on impossible.
    
    Bill

    
    hmm....
    
    Neat trick, given the (IMHO) daft prices seen for recent Internet
    related stocks - YAHOO in particular. A way of demonstrating the
    nominal value of AltaVista, and fattening the balance sheet. If this
    works, should bump Digital's stock up a tad too. 
    
    Anyone up for offering 20% of the PCBU. No ? Joke Kratz, Joke ;-)
    
    
    AW

re .2

	I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the only piece of business
to be spun off...

Good candidates:

	semiconductors

	networks
	
	services

Brad.

    
    Please.  Spin off VMS before we've killed the business.  Almost
    *anything* would be better than what we are doing to it, and it's
    customers.
    
    After that you can sign off everything else to MS and become
    Digital Semiconductor and Fruitcakes ;-)
    
    

    I wonder if/how this counts against the 7000 and $490M...

| Good candidates:
|
|	semiconductors
|
|	networks
|	
|	services

How about spinning off VPs?

>Per

    Will Digital become a Westinghouse?  A company of companies with
    outstandingly bad management?
    j
    

> I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the only piece of business
> to be spun off...
> 
> Good candidates:
> 
>   semiconductors
> 
>   networks
> 	
>   services

    Management.


  :-)

                                   Atlant

    
    .5
    
    Don't think it has anything to do with the restructuring at all.
    as for the 7,000, it might, but i doubt it.
    
    Mark

    Check out http::/cnnfn.com/digitaljam/wires/9608/27/digital_wg/
    
    It says "Firm to offer 20% of unit to public thru IPO.
    
    
    Sujit
    

    re:.8
    
    I don't think we'd get much for the management part....
    
    
    
    
    Now that I think about it.. They'd probably want some $$$ from US..
    :-))
    
    Joe
    

    I believe we have a lot of experience in downsizing...let's spin off
    the Downsizing Company :-)
    
    
    ken

> It would be real nice if DIGITAL would allow Employees to participate
> in the IPO.   I know I would probably go in for a few shares, but to
> participate externally except in the aftermarket is neigh on impossible.

	My thoughts as well.  My fathers company offered a % of a
	newly formed subsidie the same way recently, and all employees
	were allowed to participate (buy at the IPO offering price).

	And with most IPO's, it's best to sell the 1st trading day ...

> re:.8
> 
> I don't think we'd get much for the management part....
> 
> Now that I think about it.. They'd probably want some $$$ from US..
> :-))

  "LeAve $100,000,000 iN sMAll, unmArKEd biLLs iN A Baby-AT
  moUNtIng box at thE corNEr of El Camino Real and INFinIte
  Loop DriVe, oR WE're sENding *ALL* yoUR maNAgemEnt tEam
  bACk tO yoU..."
                                   Atlant

    re: .8
    
    >   semiconductors
    >   networks
    >   services
    >	management
    
    
    "One of these things ... is not like the others ..."

    re -.1 We get Sesame Street in the UK too!

    I got the full SEC filing, with the contracts with Digital, officers,
    salaries, products, assets, revenues, etc.  It's a couple of hundred
    pages long, and takes up approx. 1.3MB of storage.  I pulled it 
    from the SEC filing database.  Interesting numbers...
    
    Mark
    

      doesn't it bother anybody that the acronym is AVIS ???
    
    ??
    

    RE: .18
    
> doesn't it bother anybody that the acronym is AVIS ???
    
    Your sarcasm detection meter is broken.  Please fix it.

A copy of the SEC Filing can be found on COPS01::PCSCRTCH:AVFILING.TXT

    Direct from the Filing:

    Ah, so from AVIS to Wierd Al.

RE: .20  Title: It was a joke


I laughed so much, it Hertz.

re .21:

What's the IP hostname for \\cops01?  I don't think I can get there
without it.

Nick (mrmog.reo.dec.com)

    16.67.32.147
    

><<< Note 4805.25 by FORTY2::ebgb.reo.dec.com::nas "Nick.Shipman@mrmog.reo.dec.com" >>>
>
>re .21:
>
>What's the IP hostname for \\cops01?  I don't think I can get there
>without it.

cops01.cop.dec.com

-Hal

    ah, ALTV .. "Paste" to windows users... 
    
    ALTX might have been more appropriate..
    
    ...tom

	I heard ALTA.

    or you can find a copy of the filing for AltaVista on the SEC EDGAR
    database
    
    http://www.dec.gov/edaux/formlynx.htm
    
    search for altavista
    

    That URL should be
    	http://www.sec.gov/edaux/formlynx.htm 
    
    or to get the document faster, try:
    http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1021305/0000950135-96-003825.txt

>> or you can find a copy of the filing for AltaVista on the SEC EDGAR
>> database
    
>>  http://www.dec.gov/edaux/formlynx.htm
    
>>    search for altavista
      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
      I find this hysterical! :-)

/danno

So what domain name are they going to use? altavista.com is already taken.

Being a U.S.A. company, they could use altavista.com.us, but U.S.A. companies 
have never been good at using the U.S.A. namespace. 8-)

PJDM

>>So what domain name are they going to use? altavista.com is already taken.


	alta-vista.com ???


 - Jan

    Altavista.com was first registered on 1st February 1995; which begs the
    question, why was AltaVista so-called when the domain name was already
    allocated? The commercial value of a domain name is huge, and the lucky
    bloke who gets thousands of hits from people looking for our AV, must
    be laughing his socks off.
    
    Alta-vista.com? that's a clever idea. Unfortunately, on 08-APR-1996
    someone else (Scott Bannister, whoever he is) had the same idea come to
    fruition, and the domain was registered. Now, this of course begs the
    second question. Why didn't the IBG grab it a year ago? If I were
    Sciott, I'd be offering that domain name for sale to Digital. Oh! Maybe
    he has! Try www.alta-vista.com and where do we go? Why, AltaVista! But
    is it ours? It certainly appears to be. So why don't we own the domain?
    Most curious...
    
    Oh well, let's get back to saving money on paperclips.
    
    Laurie.

>    he has! Try www.alta-vista.com and where do we go? Why, AltaVista! But
>    is it ours? It certainly appears to be. So why don't we own the domain?
>    Most curious...


Looks like we own it at the moment.

Antonio


JANUS> ucx show host www.alta-vista.com

     BIND database

Server:   16.36.0.134      msuman

Host address    Host name

204.123.2.69    altavista.digital.com, WWW.ALTA-VISTA.COM,
                www.altavista.digital.com
204.123.2.75    altavista.digital.com
204.123.2.66    altavista.digital.com

  If you do the following:

  C:\> ucx show host www.altavista.com

  You get...


       BIND database

  Server:   16.127.0.125     evsrv2

  Host address    Host name

  206.61.229.35   WWW.ALTAVISTA.COM

  I don't believe that is ours (Digital's).  They do however have a pointer
  to "Digital's Alta Vista".

  	mikeP

AltaVista Technology Inc. (ALTAVISTA-DOM)
   1671 Dell Avenue, Suite 209
   Campbell, CA 95008

   Domain Name: ALTAVISTA.COM

   Administrative Contact:
      Queeney, Keith  (KQ8)  kqueeney@RAHUL.NET
      (408) 364-8777
   Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Dhesi, Rahul  (RD69)  dhesi@RAHUL.NET
      408-946-9661

   Record last updated on 01-Feb-95.
   Record created on 01-Feb-95.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   BOLERO.RAHUL.NET             192.160.13.1
   HUSTLE.RAHUL.NET             192.160.13.2
   NWNEXUS.WA.COM               192.135.191.1
   NWFOCUS.WA.COM               192.135.191.3

The Peak (ALTA-VISTA-DOM)
   201 W. Springfield Ave., Suite 706
   Champaign, IL 61824

   Domain Name: ALTA-VISTA.COM

   Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
      Banister, Scott  (SB431)  banister@SUBMIT-IT.COM
      217-352-3981 (FAX) 217-352-7139
   Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Nosek, Luke  (LN130)  lnosek@SPONSOR.NET
      2173527087

   Record last updated on 08-Apr-96.
   Record created on 08-Apr-96.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   WINTERMUTE.SPONSOR.NET       205.198.250.1
   NS.CU-ONLINE.COM             205.198.248.3

    I checked with our trademark police a while back and we cut a deal with
    the owner of altavista.com in order to use the AltaVista name.  They've
    been using the name since way before their domain registration.
    
    Not sure if having a pointer to our Search Engine on their home page is
    part of the deal or merely a courtesy.
    
    FJP

Last night's "60 Minutes" included a story about information (and
misinformation) on the internet. The eWatch service (http://www.ewatch.com/)
was profiled.

During a demonstration, they used Alta Vista to search the web for references
to the "60 Minutes" show.

-Jeff
 

From - Tue Apr  8 11:35:18 1997
Newsgroups: rec.humor.funny
From: jburton@nwu.edu (Joshua W. Burton)
Subject: Oh, the humanity!!!
Keywords: original, chuckle, computers
Approved: funny-request@clari.net
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!depot.mro.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!nntp.primenet.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!su-news-feed4.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!fugue.clari.net!funny-request
Message-ID: <Sae4.39b6@clarinet.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 97 19:30:02 EST
Lines: 26
Xref: nntpd.lkg.dec.com rec.humor.funny:7013

Some of you may have noticed the AltaVista Blimp at the World Series game
on Saturday night.  Those who didn't will be understandably reluctant to
believe me, but check their home page---it's real.  Anyway, the more I
thought about the image Digital is projecting here, the more I liked it:

10.	A big bag of hype, with a tiny obsolete engine driving it.
 9.	Rises rapidly and conspicuously, as long as it's hot.
 8.	Expensive to patch, almost impossible to port.
 7.	Rarely up for heavy traffic hours, when it would be really useful.
 6.	Always at whim of prevailing winds.
 5.	Too many hits, and you can watch it crash and burn.
 4.	Engineering staff on bottom, marketing on top.
 3.	Very weird perspective on the message, if you're on the inside.
 2.	Reluctant to address obvious privacy concerns.
 1.	When you try to bring it down to earth, you end up with a bunch of
	guys at the end of their rope.


--
Selected by Jim Griffith.  MAIL your joke to funny@clari.net.
Attribute the joke's source if at all possible.  A Daemon will auto-reply.

The best of old postings from RHF are now also available in the new
group rec.humor.funny.reruns.  Unless you've been a loyal reader since '87
you may want to subscribe to that too, since RHF does only new material.
The archives are also at http://comedy.clari.net/rhf

I've never seen the AltaVista Blimp, but I have noticed a Lycos TV 
comercial.  I can't remember the TV network.


							-Paul

    The title of the base note has been changed (AltaVista instead of
    Alta Vista).
    
    And on a somewhat related note to DIGITAL suing Alta Vista...
    Wall Street journal, April 29, 1997
    
    Ticketmaster Sues Microsoft Corp. Over Internet Link
      "Ticketmaster Group, Inc filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court
    against Microsoft Corp., alleging that the software giant is engaging
    in "electronic piracy" by offering a link to Ticketmaster's Web site
    against the company's wishes.
      The suit challenges one of the most basic operating practices of the
    Internet..." (that's the gist of it anyhow).
    
    Ticketmaster and Microsoft in court.  Hmmm.  This is one of those rare
    cases where I root for the lawyers.
    ;-)
    K
    K 

    Excuse me?
    
    Wotz this?  Ticketmaster is complaining about a LINK?! About what is
    essentially Free Advertising?
    
    There must be more to it than this!

    There was a more complete description elsewhere, I think Edupage.
    
    Ticketmaster and Microsoft had been negotiating a connection. 
    
    Ticketmaster already has some sort of legal agreement with other big
    providers (either Prodigy or AOL or both).
    
    The negotiations fell through, and Microsoft decided to put up a link
    anyway, even though they knew Ticketmaster didn't want the link until
    certain conditions were met.
    
    I believe the Microsoft link may bypass some of the features of the
    Ticketmaster site (advertising, disclaimers, or whatever) that
    Ticketmaster wants everyone to see when they come in.
    
    There are other legal cases pending that cover linking to somebody's
    site without permission, especially when proprietary content is
    involved (one site which sourced news linked to stories in another
    newspaper's site bypassing the header and making it look like the news
    came from their site and not the real source).
    

	Interesting that Ticketmasters chief stockholder, Paul Allan,
	owns 9% of Microsoft. (being the co-founder of MS afterall)
	
							mike

    Getting back to the original .0 topic whatever happened with the
    IPO.  Did it happen I don't recall seeing anything on it.
    
    Robin 
    

    A short blurb that I read about Digital in the Computer Reseller News
    stated something to the effect that Digital hasn't yet decided whether
    or not to spin off the AltaVista Software Division.
    
    Harry
    

    The Boston Globe had an article yesterday on Internet IPOs. I dont
    recall all the gory details, but the gist is that this craze is over.
    On average all the recent IPOs were now selling way below their highs.
    They cited several examples of major drops. 
    
    We missed this boat.

    In the US, can a  BOD be held accountable for their actions or inactions? 
    By this I mean can they be sued for poor decision or inaction?
    
    Recent decisions by BOD's in Australia have been subject to legal 
    proceedings. This has made some "professional directors", people who sit 
    on many boards of many companies more a less as their living, 
    very very nervous people.
    
    - John

>       <<< Note 4805.157 by BIGUN::BAKER "Where is DIGITAL Modula-3?" >>>
>                           -< Are Directors liable? >-
>
>    In the US, can a  BOD be held accountable for their actions or inactions? 
>    By this I mean can they be sued for poor decision or inaction?

In the US, virtually anybody can be sued for virtually anything.
Only the most frivolous matters are rejected without some court action.

Recent changes in US Securities law have changed the way stockholder suits 
can be pursued, however.  For example, you will now see the trailing weasel
words in most financial press releases that says "statements in this report 
other than those of financial fact are 'forward looking statements'
according to the definition in <the new laws>."
This means "we're doing well and expect to meet our goals" is a hope, not 
a promise.  Before the change, stockholders who bought and lost money
on such a generaliozation would sue for being enticed to act on such
misleading statements.  Some say that the law underprotects stockholders,
however.

- tom]

I thought it was amazing that stockholders were suing people for not being 
clairvoyant. Where's the Amazing Randi when you need him? (http://www.randi.org 
if you don't know who he is.)

PJDM

re: .153, .156

The president of Netscape has voluntarily reduced his salary 
to $1 per year in the face of the loss of 2/3 of Netscape's
share price (though other reports indicate he exercised a pile
of stock options that netted him $10 million despite the drop).

The point is that if golden Netscape can suffer to that degree in the market,
what hope does any web-related IPO have of getting off to a good start.

Either the time has passed or it's the lull before the next storm of stock
market frenzy, but in either case the time is not now.

- tom]