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More Buyout Rumors (2/4/98)
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The 'net is abuzz with more buyout rumors, but for a change of pace they're not talking about Apple. This time, Sun is said to be considering a buyout of Netscape. Bloomberg News reports that Netscape's stock jumped a little this afternoon because of the takeover whisperings.
Netscape, as you know, just posted a sizeable loss at the end of its last quarter, and is laying off hundreds of employees as a result. Netscape has also announced that it is no longer going to be developing Sun's Java into its web browser, instead leaving that responsibility up to third parties. Sun, on the other hand, has been buying up companies like there's no tomorrow, and given that Netscape's only real competition in the browser market is Microsoft (who is just plain Java-antagonistic), there's sense in the idea of Sun buying Netscape to keep the idea of a pure-Java-enabled browser alive. Sun also has inroads into the corporate arena, where Netscape is trying to peddle its server software.
Typically we at AtAT are skeptical of takeover rumors (honestly!), but after the Compaq-Digital deal, anything seems possible. And a Sun-owned Netscape doesn't sound like that bad an idea, provided we Mac users still get the browser.
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SceneLink (422)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 2/4/98 episode: February 4, 1998: In a dramatic shift of strategy, Cupertino floods the airwaves with new ads that actually mention a product. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Bill Gates gets a facefull in Brussels in a bizarre scenario even we couldn't dream up, and Netscape's sagging stock price takes a sharp upturn amid rumors of a buyout by Sun...
Other scenes from that episode: 420: Think Different Again (2/4/98) How 'bout that? Apple finally did a TV commercial that continues its "Think Different" advertising campaign. And hold onto your hats-- even though it's only fifteen seconds long, it breaks two cardinal Apple ad rules; it focuses on an actual product, and it makes a direct comparison to the competition. This long-awaited new commercial features an Intel Pentium II processor getting a piggy-back ride from a snail... 421: Microsoft Slapstick 98® (2/4/98) Some days, it really seems like some benevolent deity is acting on our behalf, crafting real-life events so bizarre that even we couldn't make them up. It seems that Microsoft head guy Bill Gates was heading into a building in Brussels to meet the Prime Minister of Flanders when he was hit in the face with a cream cake, Bozo-style...
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