CompuServe Thread

Well, you DO have to consider: They are spending $14M on advertising, they have hired on at least 6 high level Execs that I recall hearing about, and these guys have to take a little while to get up to speed (which they have been doing) as well as to have an effect (of which the ads are but the first sign). In the midst of all this, the sales of the 64/128 line have (finally) begun plummetting, and this contributes to the softness. You are right: A company that loses money half the time WILL have trouble trying to keep up. Likewise, a company that doesn't TRY to keep up will have trouble making money more than half the time. Right now, it is the cost of doing business, that cannot be neglected, that is causing the earnings to tank (a bit). If we hear CBM news out of Comdex, that will be a VERY encouraging sign, since 1) Rumor has it that the 3000 line will be unveiled there (a change for CBM in actually DOING something noteworthy at Comdex) and 2) That there is likely to be an ad campaign for the spring, targeted at business buyers. Presumably, this depends to an extent on the success of the fall A500 campaign, which ought to be measured on the basis of the number and dollar values sold. –Gabe