Tobey Talk
Sunday, March 20, 2005
I'm speculating on the future value of Burst.com. My impression, based on having first heard of the company an hour ago, is that the $60 million is part license fee, part settlement, part vindication but, and most mainly, a significant precedent which irrevocably stipulates that Burst.com is for real. This is a company that just got what amounts to a $60 million settlement on suing Microsoft for patent infringement and theft of intellectual property.
In the securities markets, perception is everything. Some of us make big or little stabs at due diligence in hopes of clarifying or justifying or, before we lose our shirts (again), disabusing our perceptions. Our perceptions may be based on reality or not.I'd be lying to myself if I didn't say my emotions play a good part in my investing strategy. As one who considers lying to oneself a crime second only to murder in seriousness (I don't murder either) .... now I'm getting off track...
It would be a fine thing to see Burst.com become big as well as real, especially if my own little piece of it were to compensate for ignoring my better judgment in the late 90's and buying the junk the Wall Street Crooks were pitching.If the good folk (folks?) at Burst.com is smart, he (they?) will figure out how to make licenses and sub-licenses into revenue streams rather than one-shot lumps of money.
What is clearly evident to this short-attention-span diligence, is that Mr. Lang is damn smart. More to the point, he's got guts and persistence. Will obligations to stockholders be honored? My bet is yes. Brains, guts, and persistence in the face of the kind of superpower opposition Richard Lang has apparently dealt with are exactly the qualities I hope to promote and encourage in the human race - even if it sometimes costs me...And, doing some more research, I see my take resembled by a read in Tech News: (www.technewsworld.com/story/legal/microsoft-burst-streaming-settlement-24004223265901446.html)
In fact, I like it enough to risk a few precious bucks of my war-on-personal-poverty money... Will it go to $40? I'll be happy with $5, but I'm sure I'll be happier with $50. I'm resolved never again to buy anything for more than 10 times earnings unless I know something others don't or unless....
Tobey
