CompuServe Thread

#Commodore Federal Offic

20 messages in this thread
#58711From: Kenny G. RabyJul 24, 1989 10:47 PM
From Federal Computer Week, Jul 17, 1989 One of C. Lloyd Mahaffey's first goals as vice president of marketing for Commodore Business Machines Inc. will be to set up a federal office. According to the article this guy resigned from Apple's federal group earlier this month and turned down several other offers before he was recruited by Commodore's Harry Kopperman. He says "Give me about six months, by the firest of the calendar year you'll see Commodore in the federal market with some impressive products" In addition to creating a federal group he will lfocus heavily on selling to higher education and business. Called Commodore "probably the most well-kept secret in the computer business" After taking a close look at the Amiga: "I couldn't believe it, the machine has a full multi-tasking, Motorola Inc. 68000 processor and icons. What it doesn't have is good marketing and a bredth of applications. The product has never been positioned right, never evangelized the software developers." Maybe Commodore's marketing will take a turn for the better (can't get much worse).
#58715From: Rob SalmonJul 24, 1989 11:14 PM
And today's Wall Street Journal said what those products are. This quarter Unix; October quarter 386SX Clone; and January quarter 68030 machine. Just gotta be patient a while longer. Rob
#58748From: Steve AhlstromJul 25, 1989 2:45 AM
Not to mention the networking stuff CBM bought/licensed from AmeriStar
#58866From: Ethan SolomitaJul 25, 1989 9:10 PM
A 386 clone is coming out next quarter? I assume you mean in the clone line, not a BridgeBoard! — Ethan
#58951From: Rob SalmonJul 26, 1989 9:32 AM
Ethan, who knows? I was jst quoting the Wall Street Journal which said a 36,…er, 386SX computer. Sounds like the clone line, not a bridgeboard. Kinda makes sense in the clone line; it would share lots with the 286 machine in production now. Rob.
#58766From: Steve PietrowiczJul 25, 1989 6:38 AM
Never evangelized the software developers? He must not know to many Amiga developers…… 🙂 Steve
#58797From: Richard Rae/SYSOPJul 25, 1989 12:01 PM
Gads, doesn't THAT sound encouraging! Let's hope he takes the (Boing) ball and RUNS with it! Rick
#58865From: Ethan SolomitaJul 25, 1989 9:09 PM
The future of Commodore SOUNDS good. All the right signals are coming out, although the stock market doesn't think so. Today, at 4:01, the stock was at 10 7/8, having been even lower much of the day. As I just bought 30 shares of CBU stock, I can now call myself a part owner of the company, even though an incredibly minute part it is. I really think its a steal at this price. It used to be at 19 3/8, so I can't imagine it going much further down unless Commodore reports another quarter of loss in the next year. — Ethan P.S. God help us, let Copperman and Mahaffey do well, and let Gould let them do well!
#58897From: Allen MittsJul 25, 1989 11:01 PM
Ethan, Just curious… What's it cost to but a share of CBU stock? Regards, Allen
#59059From: Ethan SolomitaJul 26, 1989 11:33 PM
Today the CBU stcok went down even further to about 10 1/4. This is getting ridiculous! — Ethan
#59162From: Steve AhlstromJul 27, 1989 7:12 PM
Not ridiculous — let it drop a bit further then buy all you can afford. Sure wish I'd have bought at 4 a couple of years ago (and sold at $18-$19 a couple of weeks ago). -sja
#59201From: Ethan SolomitaJul 27, 1989 10:26 PM
I already bought at 11 1/8! Today it dropped to 10 1/8, down an 1/8. That's the least of it! It went down to 9 5/8! I envy the person who bought down there! — Ethan
#59209From: Steve AhlstromJul 27, 1989 10:30 PM
If you're nervous about it you probably shouldn't be playing the market. If you believe the dooms-day economists, start buying precious metals.
#59210From: Rob SalmonJul 27, 1989 10:49 PM
Nobody ever talks about the Commodore options. Wonder why….. If you really want to play with Commodore, play the options. All the stock gets you is high buy-sell commissions and once a year a glossy photo of the ever-youthful Irving Gould. The stock does move up and down regularly, and (in l988, anyway) predictably. While the stock went from about $9 to $16 from Jan88-Jan 89, the options offered regular opportunities for 100-300% return over a fairly brief periods of 45-60 days. I use a technical charting program to follow the market and confirm its signals with mundane measures like the width of the smiles on the local dealers' faces and, in fact, the degree of optimism in this Forum. Lately, the dealers' smiles seem satisfied but not rapturous (Machines doing ok; software doing well). Anyway, I bet that some time between now and Sept 30, the stock will see $12-$13 a share. Let's say today I bought one option (NOV 12 1/2) for $62.50, giving me the right to buy 100 shares at $12.50 anytime from now until the third Friday in November. If the stock goes to $12.50 in Sept, the right to pay that same price in November will be worth maybe $100-150, at which point I will sell that option for a profit of somewhere between 65 and 150 percent. And I WILL sell it at $150 and not hang on hoping for more. If I put the same money into the stock and it goes from today's $10 to $12.50 I make only 25 percent. The risk is that if the stock stays at $10 from now to November, I lose everything, while the stockholder has lost nothing. Comment on today's action. The stock went to 9 3/4 by midday on low volume at which point steady buying in good sized blocks (one for 50,000 shares) moved in and pulled it back over 10. So unless that was Ethan buying the 50,000, 10 seems like a pretty solid floor for now. Oh, well, it beats the ponies. Rob.
#59221From: Steve AhlstromJul 27, 1989 11:27 PM
hehehe — I like your way of thinking (and, of course, agree). I would like to know a bit more on the charting program you use.
#59279From: Ethan SolomitaJul 28, 1989 3:02 PM
I'm not nervous about it for my stock, I'm nervous that the Amiga may never sell beyond the A500! — Ethan
#59234From: Don Curtis/SYSOPJul 28, 1989 1:06 AM
Ethan, Buy on the way down, that way your average cost per share goes down so when the stock goes back up…you'll make more profit per share. Don
#59251From: Allen MittsJul 28, 1989 8:29 AM
> Today the CBU stock went down even further to about 10 1/4. This is getting ridiculous! Either that or it's getting close to the time to buy. 🙂 Regards, Allen
#59280From: Ethan SolomitaJul 28, 1989 3:02 PM
If you're gonna buy, buy now cause I doubt its going much lower. — Ethan
#58891From: RON TROYJul 25, 1989 10:39 PM
Signs of intelligent life in CBM mismarketing? Ron