[Major companies are approached on sponsoring major gay event] Part: 2 of 2
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Convex, in Long-Awaited Move, Unveils
Supercomputer in Bid to Revive Growthing, a technology that gangs together large
numbers of microprocessors to work as a
single machine. Mr. Paluck said that
Exemplar provides about three times the
performance of comparably priced ver-
sions of Convex's traditional vector super-
computers.
Jeffry Canin, an analyst with Salomon
Brothers Inc. in San Francisco, said, "It's
a very key product, and on the positive
side, I think it's a very well-thought-out
design." But Salomon isn't recommending
the stock, Mr. Canin said, "because we see
the normal product transition risk." Con-
vex is expected to introduce a new version
of its C-3 line later this year, but sales will
probably be limited to existing customers,
Mr. Canin said.
In New York Stock Exchange composite
trading yesterday, Convex shares rose 25
cents to $7.125.
By using Hewlett-Packard's chips in
Exemplar, Convex engineers are trying to
solve one of the biggest hurdles for any
new computer design - getting applica-
tions software. Exemplar can run software
already written for the PA-Risc chip,
which has about one-third of the market for
workstations based on reduced instruc-
tion-set computing, or Risc. If developers
rewrite as little as 10% of the code in an
application to run in parallel, the program
will run far faster on Exemplar than it can
on the workstations, Convex says.
Hewlett-Packard says it will help sell
Exemplar as a "compute-server" that
works with workstations to perform diffi-
cult computations. "Joint selling makes a
tremendous amount of sense," said Gary
Eichorn, Hewlett-Packard's vice presi-
dent, workstation systems group. "Every
time a large Convex system gets sold, a
whole pile of workstations gets sold with
it," he said.
Video Game Market
reak on Hardware
circuitry, but will still play existing game
cartridges; owners of the company's Sega
CD system can also play their disks with
the accessory.
"We fully expect the game play on this
machine to exceed the current 32-bit ma-
chines on the market," said Thomas Ka-
linske, president of Sega of America. "And
you don't have to pay $500 for it."
Mr. Kalinske's comment is a critique of
the price on 3D0's Interactive Multiplayer.
The only current manufacturer, Matsu-
shita Electric Industrial Co., recently cut
the price to $499 from $699 after 3D
offered to give away shares of stock as an
inducement to manufacturers.
Some analysts agreed that the Sega
strategy could cast a cloud over 3D0's
attempt to build support for its new hard-
ware platform. On the other hand, 3D0 h
a head start in developing new 32-b
games and other applications software.
"That lead is 3D0's to capitalize on u
e not," said John Taylor, an analyst with
n L.H. Alton & Co. "There still is an op-
W portunity for 3DO to establish an installed
base if they can come up with a killer
application."
Bob Farber, 3D0's senior vice presi-
dent of sales and marketing, said it had
heard of the new Sega product from soft-
ware developers, and isn't particularly
worried.
"It sure looks like this is just further
validation of what 3D0 has been saying all
along - that the current generation of sys-
tems just isn't good enough to provide the
level of experience that consumers
want."
3D0's stock rose $2.25 to close at $26.75
a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The other big video game player, Nin-
tendo Co., argued that accessories such as
the Super 32X will have limited appeal to
software developers, who make more
money selling games for the huge base of
installed 16-bit systems. Nintendo took the
different route of developing an accessory
chip that fits in 16-bit cartridges and
improves their performance. Meanwhile,
Nintendo is working with Silicon Graphics
Inc. to develop a more advanced game
player expected in 1995.Digital Equipment Has
Plans to Sell Preferred
Totaling $500 Million
By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Stftff Reporter
MAYNARD, Mass.-Digital Equipment
Corp., boosting its leverage in the face of
continuing losses, said it plans to offer $500
million of preferred stock in the form of
depositary shares.
The computer maker will offer 20 mil-
lion of the depositary shares at $25 apiece,
each with a one-fourth interest in a new
Series A cumulative preferred stock. It will
be Digital's first preferred-stock issue.
The dividend rate, redemption provis-
ions and dividend payment dates will be
established at the time of sale, expected
to take place later this week. The issue
won't be convertible, Digital said.
In composite trading yesterday on the
New York Stock Exchange, Digital com-
mon shares closed at $32.375, up $1.375, or
4.4%, in heavy trading.
Digital, which until last year had virtu-
ally no long-term debt, now has $1 billion of
debt with $1.2 billion of cash on hand. It has
ut its work force and expenses sharply
nd reported steep losses in the recent
years, struggling with a difficult product
transition.
Some analysts interpreted the offering
as boosting the chances of a new charge
against earnings. Noting that Digital's last
major financing came shortly after a $1.5
billion charge for layoffs and plant clos-
ings, Barry Willman of Goldman, Sachs &
Co. said he expects a new charge for still
more cuts to come sometime later this
year.
A Digital spokesman declined com-
ment, except to say that the new financing
"would obviously give the company more
flexibility."
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[Major companies are approached on sponsoring major gay event], clipping, March 15, 1994; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc916672/m1/2/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.