Compaq Computer to acquire 13% of Silicon Graphics for $135 million

Article Abstract:

Compaq Computer Corp will buy a 13 percent stake in Silicon Graphics Inc for $135 million, with an agreement to pay $50 million more for a license for technology. The purchase will position Compaq for a move into the workstations market. The agreement will provide Compaq with expertise involving high-end software that displays full-motion graphics in three dimensions and could enable Compaq to compete with such established workstation manufacturers as Sun Microsystems Inc, HP and IBM. When the agreement was announced, Compaq's stock rose $1.375, closing at $64.375 on Apr 3, 1991, on the New York Stock Exchange. Silicon Graphics' stock, however, fell $4.50, closing at $38 a share, apparently because Silicon Graphics has announced that revenue for the company's 3rd qtr, ended Mar 31, is likely to be below revenue reported in the 2nd qtr, which was $136 million.

Electronic computers, Computers, peripherals & software, Compaq Computer Corp., CPQ, Equipment and supplies, Investments, Securities, Silicon Graphics Inc., SGI, Computer graphics, Workstations (Computers), Workstations, Licensing, Computer Industry, Stock

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Artificial reality: computer simulations one day may provide surreal experiences; Jaron Lanier develops way for the user to control and 'feel' video action. A kind of electronic LSD?

Article Abstract:

Jaron Lanier, founder and CEO of VPL Research Inc in Redwood City, CA, is an articulate and attention-grabbing representative of a network of 'artificial-reality' researchers and inventors who envision electronic fantasy worlds created by computer simulation. Lanier and his colleagues believe that artificial realities will transform entertainment, education, engineering and medicine - even pornography. According to Michael McGreevy, who oversees artificial-reality research at NASA, artificial realities are more significant than the personal computer: 'You can explore living environments,' he says. Applications are starting to appear: architects can design buildings and lead prospective clients on inspection tours; and Mattel Inc, the toy company, has introduced a computer glove that controls Nintendo games. Lanier calls artificial reality 'electronic LSD.'

Computer programming services, Innovations, Officials and employees, Technological forecasting, Industrial research, Biography, Biographies, Research and Development, Future Technologies, Simulation, Future of Computing, Lanier, Jaron

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'Virtual reality' patents gained by French firm

Article Abstract:

The venture-capital unit of Thomson CSF SA has gained control of basic US patents on virtual reality held by VPL Research Inc of Foster City, CA, in which the French company held a minority stake. VPL pledged its patents to obtain a $1 million loan from Thomson's venture capital unit, and lost the patents when it failed to repay the loan. The loss of the patents could be a serious blow to US efforts to be competitive in virtual reality, in which computerized techniques give users the feeling that they are living and moving in an imaginary world. Virtual reality was pioneered with Air Force and NASA funding. Several Japanese companies are aggressively developing the technology.

Thales S.A., Intellectual property, Foreign Competition, Patent

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