I see there are two tadpole threads, which is the official one?

Ian2

both are, one is a trading thread, this is more a news thread.

Ainsoph posts on both I post on both.

Information is King. see you at the AGM.

M

thanks

From Shares Mag


Chief executive of 'punters favourite' resigns

Shares in punters favourite Tadpole Technology were rejuvenated by the resignation of long serving chief exec Bernard Hulme this week. The shares rose 13% to 5.6p, indicating the decline in Hulmes standing in the city.
David Lee, the non exec chairman appointed by Hulme five years ago is taking over the reins as exec chairman. Hulme has agreed to be a consultant for the next 6 months.
The company recorded a record deficit of 11 million last year. It sold the declining hardware division at christmas, while the enterprise software side has increased sales to 1.8 million but is still unprofitable.
Hulme never quite convinced institutions that he was tough enough to turn around this stricken company. Though he bought 647,000 shares they were purchased at prices much higher than the current level and his options at a strike price of 10p are also under water. Whether Tadpole will ever return to profit remains a moot point.
The shares are for gamblers only.


M

problem with outfits like shares magazine is that i am ure they have no idea at all what TAD really does, christ knows it is diffcult enough for us to have an understanding

how on earth they can focus on last years sales but no qualify them with the profitability of cartesia and the other developments post year end is beyond me

they should either write a full and balanced argument and discussion of not at all

Most of the casual coverage gets it wrong ..... unfortunately ..... but guess they don't really have the time


ains

you mean shares mag with its huge circulation doesn't have hundreds of well informed knowledge writers who are well briefed in all areas writing for it but goes for the easy soundbite?

perish the thought

I used to subscribe to Shares Magazine but became fed up with their shallow and less than reliable analysis - so I cancelled.

I see from the above that nothing has changed !.

:-)) ...... I think you get the idea dick ..... are you going on Monday - should be an interesting afternoon



ains

ainsoph

i am in town but shares in a nominee account so too lazy/working/can't be bothered etc

sure it will all be written up on the boards although i know that is no excuse

i think it will be interesting but all they have to say is "its on course" i.e. profitability in 12 months that is all they need and even if another few mm GEM needed no problem

if anyone is going to ask questions i would like to know about Leica and how much Webex and Autodesk generate and what happened to healthcare wins

but i assume they will be said anyway....

;-)

contra - i agree

but doesn't make it right - its no diferent to ramping or deramping on a bulletin board

I take your point about the nominee accounts ..... some brokers still arrange for you to be able to vote them - but not most.

I rarely go to AGM's but this one might be a little different. There are no big institutional holders who have declared their interests and I understand several of the well know retail holders will be attending




ains

well then - they should vote of TC and not raqtify the accounts if the directors' bonuses are too high (in fact if there are any, they have options at 10p)

that would get em moving

its held down the road from me as well!!!!!!!! - the product of a playstation generation is my defence

I think TC is in for a rough ride and none of the agenda items is guaranteed to be passed without comment ..... bring the playstation with you :-)) .... you can always leave after a bit albeit the after meeeting discussions could go on a bit and may be useful



ains

LOL!!!!

that would be rude, zelda is out on the gameboy on monday and to sit through an AGM playing it.....

DD

bring the play station, be something to ammuse us all.


M

I hope you blokes give them stick at the AGM, they deserve it

best of luck

Iain

09:28 Friday 28th March 2003
Evan Hansen, CNET News.com


Reuters has hired away David Gurle, a key member of the team developing Microsoft's Greenwich corporate messaging service
News powerhouse Reuters Group said on Thursday that it has hired away a member of the team in charge of developing Microsoft's Greenwich instant messaging software for corporations.

David Gurle, director of programme management for Microsoft's Real Time Communication group, will join Reuters on 1 April, where he will serve as global head of collaboration services.



Greenwich server software allows businesses to support secure instant messaging on a network. In addition, it offers a bridge to Microsoft's popular consumer MSN Messenger instant messaging network. Reuters last year became the first company to test Greenwich, launching Reuters Messaging, based on the technology. According to Reuters, Gurle was a key member of the team that developed the tool.

"Financial institutions are traditionally ahead of the curve in finding and effectively using technology to push their businesses forward," Gurle said in a statement. "With Reuters' strengths in content, its trusted brand and Reuters Messaging services, I see a tremendous opportunity to leverage those skills and further develop the true innovations of real-time communications and collaboration for the financial industry."

Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment.

The job switch comes just three weeks after Microsoft unveiled a test version of Greenwich and as rivalry heats up in the market for business-grade instant messaging software and services. Microsoft joins a list of technology's biggest names that have signaled their intent to compete for the corporate instant messaging market, including AOL Time Warner's America Online unit, Yahoo!, IBM's Lotus division, Sun Microsystems and Oracle.

Instant messaging has taken off in the corporate sector, according to analysts, and has become a popular means of communication for workers. In 2002, 84 percent of businesses surveyed had IM software running on their networks, according to research firm Osterman Research. This year, that percentage is expected to rise to 91 percent, and nearly 100 percent in 2007, the study predicted.

Reuters Messaging connects more than 250,000 financial professionals via its instant messaging service, according to information posted on the Reuters Web site.

Reuters spokesman Kyle Arteaga said Reuters provides the service free to its customers in the financial sector. He said Reuters Messaging launched in October 2002 as the first test of Greenwich. Since then, Reuters Messaging has been adopted by some 1,000 companies in 100 countries.

For now, the service allows financial professionals to communicate with each other, but it is expected to be opened up to users of Microsoft's consumer MSN Messenger product through the company's pending MSN Connect programme. Further interoperability could come later as the industry sorts out standards, although that is unlikely to come anytime soon.

According to Arteaga, Microsoft wanted to test its service with the financial community because its requirements are among the most stringent in terms of winning regulatory approval for instant messaging use in the workplace.

Reuters sees the primary value of instant messaging as a way to enhance the company's current products and create new products and has no plans to charge for its IM service in the future, Arteaga said.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=2469714

Microsoft Gears Up for Server Software Launch
Fri March 28, 2003 08:04 PM ET
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O , the world's largest software maker, said on Friday it completed work on its flagship server software for managing computer networks, which will ship next month after a series of delays.

Microsoft is turning its attention to corporate software as it lays the groundwork for its .NET strategy, which aims to deliver software and services over the Internet.

The new server software is also being launched at a time when Microsoft faces stepped-up competition from Linux, the free operating system that is being adopted by an increasing number of businesses for their network computing needs.

Microsoft said that Windows Server 2003, previously known as Windows .NET Server, was released to manufacturing on Friday, which means that computer makers will start loading it onto machines ready to ship and that Microsoft will start making boxed CD-ROM copies.

More than 5,000 software engineers worked over three years to develop the new software, Microsoft said.

Similar to its strategy for bundling features into each new product upgrade, the new Windows server software will be able to handle file, printing, e-mail, Web pages and applications on top of basic networking functions.

Other features, such as messaging and the ability for groups to work on a single file or document, will be available as add-on features while the specialized database storage server, SQL, will remain separate.

"Windows Server is the foundation for our overall server business," Bill Veghte, Microsoft's vice president in charge of the servers group, said in an earlier interview.

Veghte said the new server would offer twice the performance of its predecessor and require a third less administrative staff.

Although some customers have described the new server software as "version 3.0" referring to Microsoft's pattern of getting its software right on the third try, one analyst hailed the software a comprehensive upgrade.

"The improvements in performance all across the board are substantial," said Peter Pawlak, lead analyst for server applications at Directions on Microsoft, an independent research company in Kirkland, Washington.

BIG PUSH ON COST AND SECURITY

Microsoft is marketing the software on the basis of its potential to lower network costs for businesses at a time when corporate information technology budgets are being squeezed.

Microsoft and Linux, which both work on Intel Corp.'s INTC.O microprocessors, have both been chipping away at Sun Microsystems Inc.'s SUNW.O share of the Unix server hardware and software market for the past few years.

Other features of the new server software include the ability to handle a larger array of multiple processors, greater memory as well as advanced 64-bit processors -- areas where Linux has been gaining ground.

Microsoft has had to push back the launch of the Windows Server software several times, most recently last year when it opted to beef up the security of the product. That delay came after Microsoft adopted a company-wide crusade of "Trustworthy Computing" to make its products more reliable and secure.

Microsoft's server software has been a frequent target of hacker attacks and malicious programs, most recently in January with the 'SQL Slammer" worm that slowed Internet traffic worldwide.

Veghte said that Microsoft had spent more than $200 million to make its flagship server software more secure.

"This is really the first product that has been through the whole trustworthy computing security review," Pawlak said, "That's one thing that corporate customers are going to value."

I like these bits:


Microsoft is turning its attention to corporate software as it lays the groundwork for its .NET strategy, which aims to deliver software and services over the Internet.


Microsoft said that Windows Server 2003, previously known as Windows .NET Server, was released to manufacturing on Friday, which means that computer makers will start loading it onto machines ready to ship and that Microsoft will start making boxed CD-ROM copies.

Other features, such as messaging and the ability for groups to work on a single file or document, will be available as add-on features