Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) articles from April 2001

Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) archives from April 2001

Many Customers in Austin, Texas, Area Face Loss of High-Speed Web Access.
April 2, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Mar. 30--Hundreds of high-speed Internet customers in the Austin area, many of them small businesses, were threatened with the loss of service Thursday when financially beleaguered NorthPoint Communications Group...

Texas Supreme Court Clears Employers to Avoid Workers' Compensation System.
April 2, 2001... Byline: Bruce Hight Mar. 30--The Texas Supreme Court, in a 6-2 ruling Thursday, cleared the way for employers to avoid the workers' compensation insurance system while insulating themselves from lawsuits by injured employees. Leading...

Bankruptcy Experts Warn Consumers about Implications of Pending Legislation.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Apr. 2--Sweeping bankruptcy-reform legislation aimed at stopping consumers from escaping debt will almost certainly be signed into law this year. But some bankruptcy experts warn the law's practical implications may...

Michael Dell Guides His Computer Company through Tough Times.
April 3, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 2--Perhaps no one embodies the massive decline in high-tech wealth and the newfound caution in venture investing more than the richest man in Texas, Michael Dell. In 1998, Dell cannonballed into the venture pool...

Austin, Texas, Company Helps Businesses with Internet Security.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 2--Internet security issues are in the news almost daily, whether it's a breach at an online store that exposes thousands of customers' credit-card numbers or a government Web site defaced by hackers. An...

Austin, Texas, Newspaper Names New General Manager.
April 3, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Apr. 2--Longtime newspaper advertising executive Larry Kline has been named executive vice president and general manager of the Austin American-Statesman. Kline, 52, succeeds Sanford "Sandy" Schwartz, who left...

Austin, Texas, Dot-Com Recruiting Company Fires 40 Workers.
April 3, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 2--In another example of how quickly the economy reversed course and the increasing pressure startups are feeling, Hire.com fired a quarter of its work force Friday. The company, which makes online recruiting...

Saturating Rain Bogs Down Farms in Austin, Texas, Area.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Bob Banta Mar. 29--TAYLOR, Texas--When Terrell Hamann looks out over his farmland 10 miles south of here, all he sees is an ocean of mud and the likelihood of falling profits. A seemingly endless string of rainy days has...

Austin, Texas-Area Judge Orders Firm to Cooperate in Suit over Hip Implants.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Mary Ann Roser Mar. 30--A Travis County district judge on Thursday gave Austin's Sulzer Orthopedics Inc. 30 days to start handing over information sought in a class-action lawsuit over hip implants, saying the company could not...

Circuit-Board Maker Cuts Another 600 Workers from Austin, Texas, Plant.
April 4, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Mar. 30--Multilayer Technology Inc. dropped the other shoe in Austin on Thursday, disclosing plans to close its Northwest Austin plant and shed another 600 workers. The printed-circuit-board maker surprised...

Renowned Austin, Texas-Based Marketing Agency Sold to British Conglomerate.
April 5, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 4--SicolaMartin, Austin's largest, privately held advertising and marketing agency, has been sold to one of the world's global powerhouses, London-based WPP Group. The all-cash deal, which has been in the works...

Austin, Texas-Based Microchip Design Firm Streamlines Operations.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 4--SigmaTel Inc., a 9-year-old Austin chip design company, has lost its co-founder, cut 19 jobs and spun off its chip development effort tied to high-speed Internet access through digital subscriber line (DSL)...

Austin, Texas-Based Tech Firm Cuts 30 Jobs.
April 5, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 4--In an effort to turn a profit by the end of the year-end, 3-year-old TManage Inc. dismissed 15 percent of its workers Tuesday. Chief Executive Glenn Lovelace said TManage cut 30 jobs--25 in Austin and five...

Leaders of Texas Private Technology Companies Talk about Tough Times.
April 10, 2001... Byline: Robert Elder Jr. Apr. 9--When we talk to technology executives these days, it's usually in a moment of emotion -- employees have been fired, money is running low, or a big contract has been signed or a hard-won round of investor...

Targeted Ads Are Needed to Sell Texas.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 8--Texas has been trying for more than a decade to figure out how to market itself to corporations and to lure new businesses and jobs to the state. Every legislative session brings new ideas and a change in direction. This year is no...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Business Briefs Column.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 10--MOTOROLA STOCK HITS EIGHT-YEAR LOW: Motorola Inc.'s stock crumbled 23 percent to an eight-year low Friday in a frenzied selloff touched off by fears it will report more bad news next week and speculation -- strongly denied by the...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Business Weekly Planner Column.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 7--ORGANIZATIONS, EVENTS * TUESDAY Austin Association of Information Technology Professionals -- 5:30 p.m. networking, dinner at 6:15 followed by program. Jeff Tyler, chief information officer of Collective Technologies; Carolyn...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, On the Move Column.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 7--ARMSTRONG GALA DRAWS FAMOUS FACES, DONATIONS: Comedian Robin Williams, former Olympic speed skater Eric Heiden, singer Shawn Colvin and Westwood High's own Miss USA Kandace Krueger were among the 1,200 people wining, dining and bidding...

Round Rock, Texas-Based Dell Computer Finishes Round of Layoffs.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Tony Plohetski Apr. 7--Dell Computer Corp. completed layoffs it started in February, firing 350 workers Friday. The Round Rock-based company has now dismissed 1,700 workers, a move that cut Dell's Central Texas work force by 8...

Developers Hope to Acquire Space from Austin, Texas, Residents.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Apr. 10--The residents of the downtown Rainey Street neighborhood are being courted -- again. This time, the suitors are local brokers Perry Lorenz and Robert Knight, who envision a mix of apartments, offices,...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Edith Lank Column.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Edith Lank Apr. 7--QUESTION: During this past year I quit my job and started investing in real estate. I am 25 and bought and sold three houses in 2000. I lived in one that I bought a few years back. I am trying to do my taxes and...

Choice to Keep Mortgage, Refinance Can Be Difficult.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Apr. 7--If interest rates stay near their recent low levels, this year might turn out to rival 1998 for the number of homeowners who decide to refinance their mortgages. In 1998, U.S. homeowners refinanced $1.51...

Central Texas Internet Sales Software Company Lays Off 52 Workers.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 10--ClearCommerce Corp. on Monday became the latest Central Texas technology company to sacrifice workers in an attempt to turn a profit, cutting 52 jobs, or nearly one-fourth of its work force. The company said...

Economic Downturns Affect Temporary Workers in Austin, Texas, Area.
April 11, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 8--Brenda Stockton jokes about going to work for a fast-food chain -- she figures America's appetite for hamburgers is more dependable than its demand for computers. The computer-systems analyst and technical...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Texas Business Column.
April 11, 2001... Apr. 7--IN CENTRAL TEXAS Inland Paperboard and Packaging Inc. agreed to buy Chesapeake Packaging Co. and Capitol Packaging Corp. Inland, a subsidiary of Austin-based Temple-Inland Inc., will pay $120 million for the companies, which make...

Economy's Sad Story Told by Attendance Numbers at San Francisco Job Fair.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Bob Keefe Apr. 11--SAN FRANCISCO--The line at the job fair told it all. Wrapped all the way around the massive Bill Graham Civic Auditorium -- and doubled up at the end because there was no sidewalk left -- unemployed techies...

Texas Senate Approves Regulation of Some High-Interest Loans.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Apr. 11--Consumer advocates won a victory Tuesday as the state Senate voted to regulate a controversial form of high-interest loans. An amendment to legislation reauthorizing the Office of the Consumer Credit...

Motorola Releases Devastating Report on First Quarter Results.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 11--Slumping cellular phone and chip sales hurt Motorola Inc.'s first quarter results as the communications company reported it lost more than a half-billion dollars. The loss was larger than analysts...

Travis County, Texas, Chief Appraiser Discusses Property Tax System.
April 12, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Apr. 11--Property owners irate about rising property taxes should complain to lawmakers, Travis County Chief Appraiser Art Cory told a real estate group Tuesday. At a luncheon meeting of the Real Estate Council of...

Amazon.com to Run Borders Group's Online Bookstore.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Bob Keefe Apr. 12--SAN DIEGO--Amazon.com Inc. is taking over the ailing Internet operations of bookseller Borders Group Inc., shoring up its position as the Web's No. 1 bookseller and freeing Borders from the money-losing...

Compaq, Dell Cancel Customer Conferences.
April 13, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 12--First came the warnings about falling profits. Then the layoffs. Now the customer schmooze-fests are getting pinched by the slowing economy. Computer makers Dell Computer Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp....

Motorola Expects Bigger Quarterly Loss.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 12--For Motorola Inc., things will get worse before they get better. Motorola officials told analysts that the company expects to post a deeper loss in the second quarter than it did in the first. Motorola...

Time Warner Cable Official in Austin, Texas, Tackles E-Mail Snafu.
April 13, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 12--In early March, Tom Kinney was just getting a feel for his new job as Austin head of Time Warner Cable when tens of thousands of Road Runner customers lost e-mail services for the better part of a week. The...

Austin, Texas-Area Hotels Add Energy Surcharge to Room Rates.
April 15, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 13--Faced with high energy costs and little hope for quick relief, hotels in Austin and around the country have decided to pass on the expense to customers. The Holiday Inn Austin South notified customers...

Dell Hopes Service Revenue Will Prop Up Its Bottom Line.
April 17, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 16--With hardware prices and profits collapsing -- in no small part by its own doing -- Dell Computer Corp. is increasingly looking toward services business to help shore up the bottom line. The company expects...

Austin, Texas, Firefighters Welcome `Smart' High-Rise Buildings.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Andy Alford Apr. 16--Firefighters have nightmares about high-rise fires. Offices with wall-to-wall carpeting and desks stuffed with paper provide plenty for a fire to eat. Fan-fed fresh air helps it burn while rescuers clear...

Austin, Texas-Based Netpliance Tries to Provide Consistent Internet Service.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Andrew Park Apr. 17--Mike Graham rises every morning around 4 a.m. to open his Lockhart weightlifting gym. Among the 58-year-old's first tasks: check his e-mail. But in the cold early mornings this winter, he often couldn't...

Austin, Texas, Company Provides Training, College Courses on Internet.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Lori Hawkins Apr. 17--When entrepreneur Ed Sattar was tossing around ideas for an Internet company last year, he had two requirements. "I didn't want to spend much on marketing, and I wanted a captive audience," he says. ...

Austin, Texas, Orthopedics Firm Appeals to Patients in New Ads.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Mary Ann Roser Apr. 14--Saying "we care about what our neighbors think," Austin's Sulzer Orthopedics Inc. is running ads in 12 Central Texas newspapers next week in which it pledges openness to the public and restitution for...

Texas Government Sees Increase in Job Applications as Tech Firms Fire Workers.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Apr. 17--A year ago, Esther Gottwald was getting tired of hearing 20-year-olds snicker. At a job fair at Texas A&M University last spring, engineering students could barely contain themselves as Gottwald tried to...

Austin, Texas-Based Startup Companies Look to Corporate Venture Capital.
April 17, 2001... Byline: Lori Hawkins Apr. 16--A lot of venture capitalists are sitting on the sidelines, but another investor -- the corporation -- is still very much in the game. A growing number of Austin startup companies are turning to...

University Co-Op Buys Austin, Texas, Bookstore.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 19--Bevo's Bookstore, located since 1976 across from the University of Texas, has been bought by its neighbor, UT's University Co-op. The University Co-op, which sold much of its space to Barnes & Noble...

Investors See Green in Digital Photos from Austin, Texas, Company.
April 19, 2001... Apr. 19--A year ago, Austin digital-image company Applied Science Fiction planned to raise $68 million through an initial public offering. Those plans fell apart a few months later, but on Tuesday the company got the next best thing: $55...

Intel Remains Optimistic despite Profit Plunge.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Bob Keefe Apr. 19--Intel Corp.'s profit plummeted 82 percent in the first quarter, but executives cautiously indicated that they're finally starting to see some improvement. "Our first quarter is characterized by rapid...

Austin, Texas, Political Confidant Joins New York Public Relations Firm.
April 19, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Apr. 19--Julian Read can't stay long. He's on his way, as usual, to the airport. "Takin' Miz Connally to Houston," Read drawled apologetically, while staffers rushed around his Congress Avenue office Tuesday...

Circuit Board Maker Solectron Cuts 831 Jobs in Austin, Texas.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 19--It's probably coincidental that Solectron Corp. slashed more than 800 jobs at its Northwest Austin plant Wednesday, only two days after Cisco Systems Inc. surprised investors with news that it will write off...

California-Based Advanced Micro Devices Gains on Rival Intel with Record Sales.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 19--Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gained on archrival Intel Corp. and reported record revenue for the quarter in the face of a horrendously weak quarter for chip makers. AMD reported revenue of $1.19 billion...

Owens Corning Sues Texas Agency over $330,000 in Lost Job Training Funds.
April 20, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Apr. 19-- The Texas Department of Economic Development is fighting a legislative battle to stay alive. Now it faces another fight in court. Fiberglass and building materials company Owens Corning sued the...

Dell Cuts Costs across Board, Reports Show.
April 22, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 20--Dell Computer Corp.'s cost-cutting measures have left no part of the company untouched, even its plans for advertising. Dell has consolidated its advertising expenses under one company, DDB Worldwide, from...

Competition Grows in Austin, Texas, Broadband Industry.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 22--Competition is coming to the broadband market here, slowly but steadily. Working literally block to block in East and Northeast Austin, Grande Communications is delivering cable television programming,...

Mutual Fund Company Closes Call Center in Austin, Texas.
April 23, 2001... Apr. 22--Nearly 500 more local workers lost their jobs Friday. Janus Capital Corp., saying its call center business is being hurt because more people are using the Internet, closed its North Austin call center Friday morning, eliminating...

Dell Takes Title of Largest Personal Computer Sales Company from Compaq.
April 23, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 20--Dell Computer Corp., which has been pouring kerosene on the flames of a computer price war it started, has wrested the title of world's largest personal computer seller from Compaq Computer Corp. Dell...

Austin, Texas-Made IBM Servers Provide a Profit Platform.
April 23, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 22--There were a lot of smiles on the faces of IBMers in Austin last week. Big Blue pulled away from the pack of computer makers, delivering surprisingly strong earnings at a time when others are struggling...

Austin, Texas, Unemployment Rate Rises, But Stays Relatively Low.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 20--The unemployment rate in Central Texas went up in March for the third straight month, rising to its highest rate since June 1999. The Texas Workforce Commission reported Thursday that unemployment...

Texas Senate Puts Limits on Interest Rates for `Payday Loans'.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Juan B. Elizondo Jr. Apr. 20--After lengthy debate Thursday, the state Senate narrowly voted to set relatively low caps on the interest rate that can be charged on so-called payday loans. Even at the lowered rates, Texans who...

Building Boom Creates an Inventory of Luxury Homes in Austin, Texas-Area.
April 23, 2001... Byline: R. Michelle Breyer Apr. 21--Hints of an economic downturn are hard to find along Escala Drive in Barton Creek, where sprawling villas and opulent chateaus rise from cedar-topped acres. At the Summit at West Rim, a tony new...

Planned Strikes in Movie Industry Could Impact Texas Economy.
April 23, 2001... Byline: R.W. Deutsch Apr. 20--While the impending strike by the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild threatens to cost Los Angeles' economy an estimated $457 million a week, it could also have a serious impact in Austin....

Augusta, Ga., Semiconductor Designers, Online Loan Site Get Investments.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Lori Hawkins and Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 22--Last week was a good one for chips, with two Austin semiconductor design companies raising a total of $22 million. Wintegra Inc., which has operations in Austin and Israel, secured $11...

Austin, Texas-Based Software Firm Lays Off 340 People.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 22--Trilogy, an early anchor of the Austin high-tech economy, fired a third of its work force Saturday, the first major staff reduction in its 12-year history. The privately held company, which develops...

Austin, Texas, Startup Continues Research into Digital Holographic Machine.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 23--Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1990s, C.E. "Tommy" Thomas found himself working up to 80 hours a week, trying to keep up with his research while federal funding. Investigating the...

Cincinnati-Based Telecom Company Announces Record Revenue.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 20--Helped by the growth of its Austin-based subsidiary, Broadwing Inc. reported record first-quarter revenue of $578 million Thursday, countering financial slumps suffered by other telecommunications companies....

Austin, Texas, Used Computer Dealers Take `Garage Sale' Online.
April 23, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 23--Wood carvings that Doug Coplin bought from artisans deep in Mexico collect dust against the wall in his narrow, cinder-block North Austin warehouse. The handsome, brightly painted artifacts are about 20 feet...

St. Paul, Minn.-Based 3M Announces Job Cuts in Austin, Texas.
April 25, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 24--3M Co. cut 100 jobs in Austin on Monday as part of a companywide work force reduction of 7 percent, or 5,000 jobs, in the face of weak international business conditions. The St. Paul, Minn.-based company...

Houston-Based Compaq Computer Corp. Announces More Job Cuts.
April 25, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Apr. 24--With the personal computer business reeling and the economy still wobbling, Compaq Computer Corp. is biting the bullet and taking its lumps. The Houston-based company said Monday it would make even deeper...

Austin, Texas-Based Software Company Reports $5 Million Loss.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 26--Software services company Perficient Inc. reported a $5 million loss for the quarter but said the company is stable thanks to cost-cutting. The loss, at 99 cents per share, was up from a $4.8 million...

Profits Shrivel at Austin, Texas-Based Tech Company.
April 26, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 26--Silicon Laboratories Inc. posted its first quarterly loss as a public company Tuesday, saying weak personal computer sales led to a slump in sales of its popular chip set used in computer modems. The company...

Austin, Texas-Based Software Services Company Vignette Sees Revenue Decline.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 27--Vignette Corp. announced Thursday declining revenue and a quarterly loss in line with estimates. The software services company's revenues were $90.1 million for the quarter, down from a record $124...

Austin, Texas-Based Software Company Seeks Buyers for Two Spin-Off Firms.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 27--In a further effort to refocus its business, Trilogy has notified two of its spinoff companies they must find buyers by June's end. The Austin software company told CollegeHire and InsuranceOrder.com...

Texas Textbooks Closes Doors in Austin, Texas, in Wake of Yearlong Demise.
April 27, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Apr. 26--One week after its two competitors on The Drag merged, Texas Textbooks Inc. has gone out of business. But company President Morris Woods blamed a "downward spiral" that began within, rather than the...

Austin, Texas, Consulting Company Provides High-Tech, Scientific Support.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Apr. 30--A small biotechnology company started work in Austin last fall to expand on research conducted at the University of Texas. Its founders had grand plans for their work, but ran into one roadblock right...

Reliable High-Speed Internet Access in Demand in Austin, Texas-Area.
April 30, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Apr. 30--In late March, Michael Sidoric found that the much-hyped Information Superhighway has developed a few potholes. NorthPoint Communications Group, the high-speed Internet provider Sidoric's business...