Conference 7.286::digital

    I'll respond to this on the 29th of May....
    
    Larry

    Gosh, look at all the replies !
    
    karl

I s'pose Ken gets slimed by the press and others because he's in charge of a
company that's seeing hard times.

Well, just as it's difficult (for me, at least) to see where the non-productivity
is in this company, it's also hard for me to see where the failure in the
management, vision and operation of this company is.  I dunno.  It might be
Ken, or it might be his underlings, or it might be a whole bunch of really
competent, smart people, all trying in different directions, all cancelling
each other out.

I really can't say where the problem is.  All I can say is that the whole isn't
working very well right now.  In that light, it's hard for me to direct either
praise or blame towards anyone in the food chain, Ken being no exception.

(Note that this does not in any way dimish my respect for Ken for what he's
done in the past.  It's the present that I just have to give a big "I don't 
know" to.)

    
    
    .0   Are you taking the SERP?
    

    What exactly is the basis for confidence in Digital now?
    
    The Post-VAX Alpha Digital Equipment Corporation could be profitable
    with sales of $9 or $10B with 40,000 employees and be smaller than
    Microsoft, Sun, Apple, and of course, HP is just a few years.
    
    Profitable and smaller.

Ahhh Gi'day...

    My business plan for DEC 1995 (designed on a coster at the pub) came up
    with about just the same numbers. I had a few more employees though...

	I'll frankly admit that I am neither able nor willing to
	judge Ken and his strategies. They're way above my head -	
	(did I really say that?)
	
	But let's not forget, as previous replies have said, who
	founded this company, made it successful, and was hailed
	by Fortune as the most successful American entrepreneur
	ever.

	Another thing - although I've never met him personally, I
	really *like* Ken. He's honest, straightforward, and decent.
	Also he has demonstrated one of my pet beliefs: that an
	engineer can fairly easily handle "business", and can
	perform a lot better than most "business" specialists.

	This is a healthy antidote to the insidious anti-engineer
	propaganda we hear a lot of the time, and not just in
	Digital. Give me an engineer who creates business, like
	Ken, Bill Gates, or a number of successful leaders in Britain
	like Sir John Harvey-Jones, over the bunch of bankers, accountants,
	and yuppies who are held up as a model for emulation!

	/Tom

    Hear, hear ...

    
    Re .8
    
    Like BSS::C_BOUTCHER, I agree with what is said.
    

.8>	Also he has demonstrated one of my pet beliefs: that an
.8>	engineer can fairly easily handle "business", and can
.8>	perform a lot better than most "business" specialists.
.8>
.8>	This is a healthy antidote to the insidious anti-engineer
.8>	propaganda we hear a lot of the time, and not just in
.8>	Digital. Give me an engineer who creates business, like
.8>	Ken, Bill Gates, or a number of successful leaders in Britain
.8>	like Sir John Harvey-Jones, over the bunch of bankers, accountants,
.8>	and yuppies who are held up as a model for emulation!

I don't think anyone would even try to belittle Ken's past
accomplishments... but is Digital currently an example of a business that
is being "handled"? Reading note 1857.42 is what prompted me to enter
this note... it's hard to view .8's comments and 1857.42 in the same
light and feel that we still have our original foundation and beliefs
intact.

Ken may be great at handling a computer business but I feel he's in a
quandary on how to handle the behemoth bureaucratic mess now called
Digital... that was previously a computer company named DEC.

A heartfelt 'good luck' to him if he can somehow return us to our former
glory.

Lee

    In my opinion, Ken has never been held in high esteem by many members
    of the financial community or by many business media types. His style
    is not that of the typical MBA associated with business success - hence
    anytime DEC stumbles, these anti-Ken types are quick to pounce on him.
    
    Yet, Ken is an engineer and engineers like to tinker. Engineers make
    mistakes. Good engineers learn from their mistakes and invent new
    things.
    
    I think Ken has made some mistakes but has righted them in the final
    analysis. His engineering mind is formulating solutions now to recover
    from recent mistakes. He is tinkering with different areas of the
    company daily and - quite frankly, that has always been his style. 
    
    When he stops tinkering and turns control of a part of the company over
    to someone else, troubles seem to occur. 
    
    I am proud of Ken's accomplishments and I admire his unorthidox style
    that turns many off. This style really hasn't changed much over the
    years. The ability of senior level management to decode his messages
    and implement his strategies, however, has not been what it once was.
    
    I trust Ken to provide his unique and effective leadership during our
    rebound.
    
    Rich
    

    Re. 8/12
    
    Very well put.
    
    Dave Robert
    

    You can't spend 20 years with DEC, and not feel a certain fondness
    and admiration for Ken....but, that doesn't change the fact that he
    stubbornly refused to recognize the brave new world when it was
    staring him full in the face.  This stubborness continues.
    
    In the Sunday business section of the paper here, virtually the entire
    section was devoted to a very thorough analysis of the next new wave
    in information processing.....the so-call multi-media phenomena. 
    Leaders were identified as IBM, Apple, HP, etc.  Sculley was quoted as
    saying this would be bigger that PC's....."really, really big".
    
    DEC was N-E-V-E-R mentioned.  This is the thing that left Ken "cold"
    a couple months ago.  I sadly submit that Mr. Olsen is making the same
    mistake again.                     
    
    SERP'ing Off To Taos...........Dick

    .0  Am I the only one who *though* she detected a note of sarcasm? 
    Mebbe just how it came across to me...
    
    ...mms

    A parable
    ---------
    Once upon a time there was a farm specialising in selling turkey 
    eggs.  For many years the farm was very profitable because the farmer 
    knew what he was doing, turkeys knew what they were doing and the
    customers liked the eggs.
    
    Then recession hit the turkey-egg business. The customers no longer
    wanted plain brown eggs, but coloured ones. The farm started
    losing money.  The farmer was worried and the turkeys were worried.
    
    The farmer was thinking about disposing of all his current turkeys and 
    buying a whole new set of turkeys.  he did not want to take this
    action because he had got attached to his turkeys and felt a strong
    sense of loyalty to them. But survival allows little roon for
    sentiment.
    
    Tossing and turning in his sleep one night he entered a nightmare 
    in which he had changed into a turkey and was strolling around the
    barnyard.
    
    He discovered that a group of turkeys had called a meeting of all 
    the turkeys to discuss the implications of the loss-making position 
    of the farm.  At the appointed time, they all gathered in the old barn.
    The "Farmer-Turkey" snuck into the back of the throng.
    
    There was such a-gobbling and a-gabbling, and self-righteous ruffling 
    of feathers, wattles and wings, that nobody could hear themselves think.  
    
    The head turkey stretched his neck, demanded silence, and started his
    peroration, commencing with a review of the current performance of the
    farm and the fact that the farm was losing money.
    
    " I fear that the farmer will get rid of all of us" he said gloomily
    and went on, "and we know our job so well. The hen-turkeys are happy 
    and settled.  We have agreed a schedule for servicing them 
    so that there are no fights, jealousy and nobody 
    gets ill from overwork.  And we sorted out the pecking order 
    some years ago."  
    
    He concluded dismally:  "All that will be lost if a new set of 
    turkeys are brought in !", 
    
    The farmer-turkey nodded to himself. All that the speaker had said was
    true. It was a happy, productive farm.  
    
    He reflected that the throng did not realise that the turkey-egg 
    market had changed.  People now wanted to buy eggs speckled 
    with colours.  The farm supplied only plain brown eggs.
    
    "If WE are doing our job properly, then it must be the farmer's fault !" 
    said another turkey standing on an old hay-cart.
    
    "That's right !" said his neighbour, "let's get rid of him and everything
    will be alright again !"
    
    There was a fresh outbreak of a-gobbling and a-gabbling as bird after
    bird leapt onto the haycart, feeling good that they had made a
    decision.
    
    "BUT !!!!"  shouted the lead-turkey.    The hubbub calmed.
    
    In a calmer voice he went on: 
    
    "But if we do that, who will buy the coloured grit that will 
     speckle our eggs so that the customers get the colours they are asking
     for ??"
    
    Some turkeys nodded their heads and quietly dropped off the haycart.
    
    The farmer awoke with a start, thinking about his dream. There were 
    certainly big risks in firing one set of turkeys and hiring a set of 
    unknown turkeys.
    
    And the idea of the coloured sand was a good one !
    
    When the sun came up, the farmer was still pondering his drea.
    
    
    The End
    -------
    

    Thanks for your support,I truly appreciate the nice things being said.
    As for you guys with the negative "vibes",you can all take a flying
    leap.
    
    Ken

    Frankly, I don't know what to think anymore. I really don't.
    
    Gene

	I think anyone who has ever worked for DEC holds a certain
    amount of respect and admiration for Ken Olsen (probably even
    Edson deCastro).  After all, how could anyone not respect a man
    who founded a company which did so well for so long (especially
    if their bread was buttered by this company)?

    	However, people who base their respect for a man solely on
    on the success of the company he presides over are forced to
    reconsider this level of respect when the company falters.  The
    fact is that due to Ken Olsen's somewhat reclusive nature, the
    vast majority of people have very little other than the success
    (or failure) of the company upon which to base their opinions of
    Ken Olsen.  Aside from the occasional speech or DVN broadcast,
    how many people can really say they know or understand this man?

	I find it hard to respect a person I know relatively little
    about.  I also find it hard to understand why the President of
    a high tech company such as ours would seemingly be so against
    using the very technology we are trying to convince customers
    that they should spend their hard earned dollars on.  It seems
    to me that both of these problems could be solved if Ken were
    to lead the way for upper level management and begin to utilize
    this technology to communicate more openly with employees (not
    to mention the rest of the world).

    	I am encouraged to hear that Bob Supnik is an avid noter,
    yet some of the other avid noters who were VP's have also left
    DEC.  If only Ken Olsen would jump in and occasionally speak to
    the employees in notes, E-mail, or even in person (although
    this option is a low-tech approach), then I think some of these
    potential misconceptions (i.e. Ken's alleged "coldness" towards
    hot new technologies, etc.). might be cleared up.

	On the other hand, the longer Ken Olsen appears to reject
    the very technology we are attempting to get the world to buy,
    then the more I feel its time for him to step down and let some
    new blood run this company.

				  -davo
    (who is not SERPing, not leaving voluntarily, but who is ready to
     fight like hell to help make this company successful once again).

    I have heard KO in person deny that graphics WS and MultiMedia are
    anything but toys for hackers.. that his secretary can do anything he
    needs with just a VT terminal and a word processing package, and that's
    what the market needs.
    
    karl

re Note 1907.14 by PBST::LENNARD:

>     in information processing.....the so-call multi-media phenomena. 
>     Leaders were identified as IBM, Apple, HP, etc.  Sculley was quoted as
>     saying this would be bigger that PC's....."really, really big".
  
        The irony here is that we are well positioned -- technically
        -- to handle multimedia, but it may count for naught.

        Bob

re: .20,

>    I have heard KO in person deny that graphics WS and MultiMedia are
>    anything but toys for hackers.. that his secretary can do anything he
>    needs with just a VT terminal and a word processing package, and that's
>    what the market needs.

	I've heard this legend myself, but when did he say this exactly?
    If he said it within the past year or two, then I will be the first to
    say that Ken despartely needs a reality check.  If however, as I suspect,
    he said it four to six years ago, then I think he deserves a little
    latitude as he may have been basing his statement on some facts most
    people aren't aware of (such as the fact that our previous multi-media
    product called "IVIS" failed miserably along with the Pro-Series computer
    and until recently, DEC had little else to offer in that market space).

				    -davo

    RE: .20
    
    >I have heard KO in person deny that graphics WS and MultiMedia are
    >anything but toys for hackers.. that his secretary can do anything he
    >needs with just a VT terminal and a word processing package, and that's
    >what the market needs.
    
    I visited the Georgia Tech media lab last week and looked at how they
    put together the interactive multi-media presentation that won the bid 
    for Atlanta to host the 1996 olympic games.  Very impressive.  The only
    DEC stuff in evidence was a VT100.  They didn't perceive DEC as having
    anything much they could use in the area of multi-media.
    

    I like to leave all of you with an excerpt that may demonstrate a
    change in Ken Olsen thinking from ten years ago..

    This is quoted( without permission) from " Thriving On Chaos" by Tom 
    Peter's pg 413.

   "When a company has a layoff, it's most often the management's fault....
    In a recession people want to test me, to see if I'm brave enough to
    have a layoff. I'm willing to take that ridicule because it's
    paid off to hold on to our people.  I don't have layoffs to see how
    brave I am... We have big investments in the people.... It's also good
    business for our people to have confidence that we will not lay them
    off just to help our profit short-term. This faith in the company is
    important."
                                                     

    				Ken Olsen
    				President, Digital Equipment
     				in a 1982 speech  to Wall Street analysts,
                                1982

    
    Re: .23
    
    I visited a Multi-Media presentation booth in DECworld. It's based on
    dual 5000-400 system, with SCSI 200 Meg, and VCR, CamerCoder, and set
    of Hi-Fi stero sound system. It's very impressive, and I will vote
    it as state of art technology.
    
    It can do video, text, and voice integration for sure. Impressive
    presentation too. The product is not from Central Engineering for sure,
    because, I remember it's from Maryland or Washington area F.S group.
    
    It has been long way since IVIS.
    
    Michael..

    The burden of proof isn't to "date" a story attributed to Ken Olsen and
    the excuse it because, well, that was 1988 and not 1990.
    
    The "let's hear it for Ken" would ring a lot more clear in our ears if
    he had clearly articulated a vision of computing since around 1982 new
    models of the VAX family were being introduced with a clear commitment
    to compatibility with the 11/780.
    
    Do we have a statement of computing in the 90's from the last few
    years that hasn't yet become an embarassment to recall?

    Re:Multimedia
    
    Has anybody else noticed how daft those speakers look next to the 
    computer plus all the other add ons that come with a system.
    
    It's there that the clue to the problem lies, that is that the future
    of this type of communiction will be in an integrated system where
    the computer is just part of the 'commnication machine' therefore
    just being a computer manufacture etc will be irrelevant, we should
    buy one of the best TV manufacturers etc etc and start moving in to the
    next era of communication!!         
    
    -Dom

>             <<< Note 1907.23 by COGITO::AHERN "Dennis the Menace" >>>
>     I visited the Georgia Tech media lab last week and looked at how they
>     put together the interactive multi-media presentation that won the bid 
>     for Atlanta to host the 1996 olympic games.  Very impressive.  The only
>     DEC stuff in evidence was a VT100.  They didn't perceive DEC as having
>     anything much they could use in the area of multi-media.

What they did use was an Amiga 2500 made by Commodore.  They took it all the
way to Tokyo to run the presentation.  
 
Just thought that I would fill in the blank... 

Cheers,

JK
 
              --==++    "CARPE DIEM - Sieze the Day!!"    ++==--                

    re .22 : KO stated his position on MultiMedia as an answer to a
    question of mine in this office in the summer of 1991.  Less than 
    a year ago.
    
    re .27 :  >we should buy one of the best TV manufacturers etc etc and 
    	>start moving in to the     next era of communication!!         
    
    There's a firm called FROX which markets a slick HDTV with a windows-
    like interface and a joystick-style remote that is built around a SUN 
    SPARCstation.  Tell me about MM on our RISC platforms again.
    
    karl

    
    
    And what did Big Blue do recently? 
    
    They are going into multimedia bigtime...

We could wait for Tandy to enter the multimedia market and resell their boxes
with our logo on them....

    
    
    Then wait no longer !!!!!!!
    Tandy has two. One based on the 2500SX/25 and the other on
    the new (sorta) 486SX/25. The later is $3099 complete BUT
    no include software on CD 'cept the system and demo discs.
    
    Rick A

    (coming late to the KO discussion but anyway....)
    
    It's possibly worth remembering the KO is one of the few people who
    could opt for a voluntary redundancy package today (and up till now).
    
    That he hasn't, at least says he cares about making the company
    successful again.......
    
    JK

    Prayer isn't going to do anything. Most Deities (at least the one's I
    know) don't care much about corporate entities...
    
    q
    

    
    >Prayer isn't going to do anything. 

    yes it does ! 
    i saw it on TV too ! 

    a paralyzed man for 50 years, suddenly stood up and walked when he was 
    blessed on his head with a prayer !

    another one had his short leg blessed with prayer, and it got longer to 
    match his other leg !

    so, please dont tell us that prayer isn't going to do anything !

    thank you very much,
    /Nasser

    Yes, send me money and I'll make your company better.
    
    /a

Yes but can you do anything to make his phony non-English spelling better?

8^)

    re: .1
    
    Where is your response, Larry?

           Re: .35
           
>   Prayer isn't going to do anything. Most Deities (at least the one's I
>   know) don't care much about corporate entities...
    

           I believe Prayer is what helped this company get as far as it
           did.
           
           And, Yes God does care about the people who work for those
           corporate entities... If we just turn to Him.
           
           Steve
           
           PS- Pray for Ken whenever his name is mentioned.   It's MUCH
           better that criticizing the man.

re .-1 (etc)

Can you take that stuff elsewhere please?   I find it offensive.

    Re: .-1
    
    I find notes calling other notes offensive offensive.  Including this
    one.	:-)

    You may find that note offensive but in the spirit of "valuing
    differences" it must stay right where it is.
    
    Ken

So, because of "Valuing Differences", it's suddenly appropriate
for a notesfile about "Working at DEC" to become the forum for
discussion of

(a)   is there a god?

(b)   and if there is, does it approve of capitalist corporations?

Ah, what the hell.  I was fed up with quibbling about grammar, anyway.

    re .46
    
    I agree with dave.

    i agree with Carrol who agrees with Dave.

    I agree with Phil.
    

    ref .-1
    >   <<< Note 1907.49 by VAXUUM::KEEFE "O-musubi kororin, suton-ton" >>>
    >                             -< Who's Dave? >-
    
    Gee wiz, you dont know who is Dave?
    where have you been all this times?
    
    /nasser

>So, because of "Valuing Differences", it's suddenly appropriate
>for a notesfile about "Working at DEC" to become the forum for
>discussion of
>
>(a)   is there a god?
>
>(b)   and if there is, does it approve of capitalist corporations?

    Not necessarily. But it does mean that people who believe in God are
    just as free to say so as someone who doesn't is to say that. Debate
    belongs elsewhere but simple clear statements are (or should be) ok.

    			Alfred

>       <<< Note 1907.49 by VAXUUM::KEEFE "O-musubi kororin, suton-ton" >>>
>                                -< Who's Dave? >-
    
    Dave Garrod who wrote .46 among other notes. 
    
    			Alfred

    Re .52 --
    
    MU::PORTER wrote .46. Is MU::PORTER Dave Garrod? 
    
    In that case what the heck, I agree with Dave too. 

Hey, this valuing differences stuff is all very well, but
DON'T EVER CALL ME DAVE GARROD.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..................

    I'm sure I agree.  Now all I'll have to do is figure out which note.

    I didn't write .46. Dave Porter (MU::PORTER) did. I would hate to be
    confused with Dave Porter. I may be grouchy, but not that grouchy!
    
    Dave GARROD

    Sorry. Everybody looks the same in notes. Don't know how I
    confused you two though. I must be working to hard.
    
    		Alfred

    Hey, can we now send all gripes about NMAIL to Dave Garrod?

    Gee.... for a moment I thought I had logged into SOAPBOX !

re .43  -- Interesting that the complaint finding Christian expressions 
	   offensive should come from someone sporting a p-name and node 
	   name from a "religion" that was, as far as I know, invented to 
	   provide something for the British hip-hop group KLF to sing about.

	   They got Tammy Wynette to appear on their album, but as far as I 
	   know she agrees with .42.

	   Be that as it may, I believe I have read that Ken has strong 
	   religious feelings.  (See, I *can* stick to the topic!)

re .60:

What's so Christian about .42?

    Just when valuing differences rears its ugly head again, Dick Lennard
    retires :-). We could have really gotten some good discussions going. As it
    is, this will probably die after a few hundred more replies.
    
    - John
    
    P.S. - Dick if you have someone watching notes for you, good luck in
    your retirement

subs/Christian/Judeo-Christian

    Gosh, Tom, you don't know about the JAMs and the MuMus and the
    Illuminati and the aliens and the Atlanteans. Run do not walk and read
    Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's Illuminati Trilogy. Then you
    will understand the songs of the KLF much better. :-)

    
    What was the topic of this Note?  Does anyone remember by now
    that the original discussion was initiated by a rah-rah expression
    of gratitude for Ken Olsen followed by the pros and cons of that
    expression based on people's feelings and experiences as a DEC 
    employee?  This note has digressed to a point where it does not
    promote, one way or the other, the intended purpose of this Note.
    Where is the value of such digression?  Is there a purpose in the
    later debate over the efficacy of prayer or "Valuing Differences"
    that contributes to the original purpose of this Note?  
    
    A former IBM employee told me that all non-business related "notes
    files" were eliminated because of the expense and non-productivity
    of the activity.  In addition to this, it would seem that DEC man-
    agement could add that Notes promotes anomisity.  The recent memo
    from Corporate regarding Notes conduct seemed to hint at that.  It
    would certainly be a loss if what happened at IBM happened here.  
    I can't speak (write) for anyone else but as things become more
    tense at DEC I have become more disposed to turn to this and other
    files to relieve that tension with information not available else-
    where in the company, descriptions of what is happen to others and
    opinions and advice on how to handle the everincreasing uncertainity.
    
    Come July, I may be turning to this and other files for tips on 
    finding another job!!!  I have a real vested interest in seeing
    this form of communication continue productively.
    
    Of course, IMHO.....
    
    And as to the topic....no one will ever be able to strip Ken Olsen
    of his many accomplishes both in the industry and with this company.  
    I do not see were suggesting that now that the industry and the 
    company have changed so radically over the intervening 30+ years
    that new leadership be considered is an insult to Mr. Olsen.  No
    one person can be all things, under all circumstances through all
    time.  Mr. Olsen has obviously made some serious mistakes but to 
    balance the picture he has made some brilliant decisions.  Regretably,
    one of the most serious mistakes is failing to prepare a predecessor
    which may one day cost Mr. Olsen his company (DEC stock is dropping
    to an almost irresistably low quote).
    
    
       

    re: .65
    
    "the purpose of this note" is not the paramount concern of anyone here.
    We are expressing our views of Digital in this note and in the
    conference, nothing more and nothing less.
    
    If you have hard numbers regarding the "expense and non-productivity"
    of Notes, please let us know about them.  We share your concern.  Also,
    what is the "expense and non-productivity" of any exchange of opinion
    conducted in person, in writing, and over the telephone in Digital?
    
    It is this suspicion that somehow Notes is causing a loss of
    productivity that has caused Digital to yield the groupware market to
    Loutus, Microsoft, and others.  Frankly, I'm tired of hearing people
    using this medium to deprecate it.  It is hypocrisy.
    
    We're not here to eulogize Ken Olsen's achievements.  We questioning
    whether he is presenting to Digital employees a clear plan that will
    restore profitability to the company and whether he believes that
    Digital will be a niche company specializing in RISC microprocessors,
    midrange computers, and services with 50,000 employees, or among the
    world's leading full-line computer companies offering the best
    alternative to IBM that will grow beyond 125,000 employees in the next
    five years.
    
               

    RE: .42
    
    Satan roolz
    
    
    

    Sell.

    RE: .67
    
    ... But, JESUS WINS!
    
    
    

re.68

   Sell, yes, but what's missing is panic.

    DEC 39 3/4, change -1; DJIA 3406.99, change +10.89 at 16:16.
    Report entered at Wed Jun  3 16:15:57 1992.
    
    

    Yep.  The market did sell, just after we made our employee purchases.
    
    When I watched Ken yesterday afternoon, I thought he was telling us to
    sell.  I didn't realize he was talking to the investment community.  Oh
    well.  Another botched message.

    For the millionth time,
    
    for the purchase of stock under the ESPP, Digital makes purchases
    in the stock market throughout the year and accepts the profit or loss
    of the purchases.
    
    Digital does not send one large BUY order to the floor of the New York
    Stock Exchange on the day of the purchase.

I thought Ken's messages were very clear...

  "We've busted the company..."

   "Digital needs it now"

8^)

Bob

    re:.74
    I don't think people were thinking about a big DEC "buy".
    
    I think the price of DECstock takes a small downturn twice a year on
    EPP day because there are lots of SELL orders placed by employees on
    those days.  More supply = lower price.

    re:76
    
    The amount of stock bought and sold by DEC employees in the stock plan
    is way too small to effect the price of the stock on the stock market.

     Re: .77
    
    Agreed. It's institution doing the dumping during past two weeks.
    They sensed that recession end is around the corner, thus they
    exchanged their portfolio more into cyclic stock, like auto, chemistry,
    and building etc. 
    
    I don't have any statistics to support the trend. However, it shouldn't
    be too hard to find out how many analyst put us on BUY/HOLD/SELL
    category.
    
    What's street talk on Wall st ? Anyone like to share ?
    
    
    Michael...

Ahhh Gi'day...�

    The analysts  projections  I've  seen  have put Digital on SELL! Only a
    very few on still on HOLD.  I would buy a few more, but I think Q4 will
    take us below $30 not $40.

    Hey Michael,
    
    What do you mean "recession is right around the corner"? George Bush
    says we're coming out of one and he wouldn't lie!
    
    Ken

    SOAPBOX is the conference where political opinions regarding the
    economny and Bush are discussed.

    
    
    -.1...Patrick...lighten up!...}-)