While the world is currently watching how the fed reacts in regards to adjusting interest rates those savvy technology investors are not worried in the least. As the markets keep their upward locomotion steady I ponder the technology revolution with open ears. I just can?t imagine it ending it?s climb into the blue sky above. Those old-school investors sit in their arm chairs and feel the sky will fall, ?when I was a kid, way back when??, you know the drill.
We have seen recent uphill swings in our technology sector many times in the past five years with one exception? the Internet. Now I know it?s been a wild ride, but for just one moment, Imagine this idea. The Internet made people millionaires in short order right? Thus far I can justify some of these valuations and speak the words ?New Media?.
?Speak the Truth and the Truth Shall Set You Free?
Here I go again you are saying right? You got it! Many of us know the internet stocks, (YHOO) (EBAY) (XCIT) (SEEK, now DIS)? oops, I just typed a well known search engine... gone! ?New Media?. Recently, as even our kids know at this point, America Online (NYSE:AOL) has taken command of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX). I will get to the point, this merger is the beginning of something I will call Worldwide Interactive Media. Once AOL purchased Time Warner many folks were called to the table to discuss their plans for their interactive strategy.
Spyglass (NASDAQ:SPYG) came out with their earnings today, as Sherwood Coasts Group expected they beat the street. Spyglass has a product in which they call ?Prism? content delivery and transformation product, an imbedded web browser called Mosaic (customizable imbedded browser) and spoke about their solution centers ?Akadia?. Akadia is a digital application integration center dedicated to once General Instruments, now known as Motorola, this strategic segment is known as Motorola Broadband Communications Sector.
What is all this stuff? Well the cable box is on the way to show you, I will predict a faster deployment of these boxes as time goes on than originally expected by major Wallstreet analysts. Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Scientific Atlanta (NYSE:SFA) are two of the biggies producing and deploying these set-top devices. This set-top box will integrate numerous types of add-ins produced and managed by various companies. The added features will allow users/customers to view, manage and manipulate media in a way that has not yet been imagined by the typical consumer. These boxes will produce rich programming content and added new possibilities to the typical home or office environment.
?Spyglass Infrastructure Technologies products include Spyglass Prism, a server-based content delivery platform designed to optimize the performance of Web-enabled devices by converting existing Web content for delivery and display on a variety of devices. Spyglass SurfWatch Technologies is content filtering software.? Spyglass Profile
General Instruments and Spyglass have a long term agreement, this agreement should produce software and integration also bringing interactive television to market. This role of Spyglass will bring 40 different software developers together on a global scale to integrate for this new medium. Spyglass also has a large relationship with Microsoft in similar means using the Microsoft CE system.
This integration is more complicated than it looks but rest assured this new medium is on the way. There are complicated processes that will take place in these cable boxes, many of these cable operators are running different systems in different geographical regions. To top it off, even within these particular networks there are different systems that are in need of integration, I feel Spyglass will pull all this noise together in a seamless operational front.
Content is king.
While pondering this recent America Online merger with Time Warner a few things were brought to my attention. Content is king! Companies like ACTV, Inc., (NASDAQ:IATV) and Laser Pacific (NASDAQ:LPAC) . Laser Pacific profile from Yahoo? ?The Company provides motion picture film processing, technical and creative services for visual effects, digital sound editing and mixing and other ancillary and related services that assist in the preparation of film, television and digital content for a variety of distribution methods.? This is only one application, (IATV) ACTV, Inc. has many more revenue streams including eSchool.
ACTV, Inc. is working with major interested partners mentioned above for new developments like ADCO. ADCO will provide an integrated targeted advertising venue that shall host major new advertising data and profit generating targeted advertising, this through their relationship with Motorola whom merged with General Instruments (NYSE:GIC). The current estimates for advertising will bring in billions of add dollars to this sector, (IATV) has many patents that shadow the competition. Viacom and Ted Turner are interested and working partners, as well as AT. (NYSE:T) and many others.
The plans for this ADCO will be to gather and maintain more customized advertising by gathering user data and personally pushing only that content you would normally wish to view. Their recent acquisition of CatchTV will enable viewers to bookmark those selections they find while viewing content and link back to them at a later time.
As with targeted advertising add a bit more rich content, (couch potatoes may just exercise their upper body for the first time) Interactive sports programming. The one click entertainment super shop & super-sideshow is on the way, Questec.com Inc.(BB:QSTI) (One of my first S.C.G. smaller cap companies recommendations) Questec.com is already selling and linking sports memorabilia and merchandise through The Major League Baseball Association. Did you watch The World Series? Questec.com was there. Questec.com plans on adding rich interactive content for Skiing, tennis, baseball, cricket, football, hockey, hoops and soccer. http://www.ereplays.com. IBM (NYSE:IBM) is also licensing eHoops-TM http://www.esports.com. In another release by Questec.com Inc. ?Major League Baseball and SportsLine USA, Inc. Select QuesTec to Provide Technology for World Series® Coverage on Official Web Site. QuesTec Revolutionizes Sports Webcasting.
Bring on the pizza, oh I almost forgot, imagine while watching all this new and exciting sports content and fan interaction with one another (you got it kids, adults to) you get hungry? One click of that remote sends PizzaMan to the door. That cable box will remind them how to get there, remember we are talking interaction and saved preferences all in one box folks! This technology will be sooooo enjoyable you wont go to work anymore, even in times of recession more folks watch the tube. Investments in these new companies may help you retire early with what my expectations are from this entire sector. I still cant help myself from thinking about finally seeing a live downhill skiing event and having the ability to track each athlete with real-time data. I imagine this to be something to the effect of being able to visualize the change in speed from the current downhill racer and that one whom is in first place? a sort of split screen, 3D interaction. One of Questec.com Inc. partners is Silicon Graphics, (NYSE:SGI) using three dimensional technology to smooth out the imaging process. I have to imagine these new media powerhouses, as the likes of recent mega-media-mergers would take a liking to this rich content. Imagine this at the Olympics! See the golf, tennis and baseball demonstrations from Questec.com Inc. @ http://www.questec.com/movies.html.
If anyone is worried about this new medium pay close attention to Bitwise (NASDAQ:BTWS), another company using authentication to close the gap between media authenticity in various forms. ?AuthentiDate technology can function transparently with the major operating systems, allowing all electronic transactions on the Internet or on any machine or network connected to the Internet-to be AuthentiDated. AuthentiDate.com's main goal is to become the leading transparent auditor for all electronic transactions-internet, local area network, wire transfer, etc.? This new company may just have something. (BTWS) ??signed a joint venture agreement with German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst, Chairman of the WINDHORST-Group, for the expansion of AuthentiDate.com's online digital file and paper authentication service into Europe and Asia.? http://www.AuthentiDate.com.
With all the fuss over privacy and rich media document authenticity Bitwise may have something. In a world of leaps and bounds using new technology one needs to have a legitimate paper trail providing true proof of origin, Bitwise plans on using this new medium for online trading transactions authentication.
Grab a hold of all these new developments with an open mind, the facts are clear, the internet stocks have come in like a lion, these media powerhouses will add this rich content to each and every home. Last time I checked I had more televisions than computers. In a world of ever changing media these convergence plays may beat out the net stocks by far. These products are available on a worldwide scale through any cable box, this is not bound by any one continent.
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