Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) articles from December 2000

Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) archives from December 2000

College Students Compete in Austin, Texas, `Moot Corp.' Competition.
December 1, 2000... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Dec. 1--In the lobby of the McCombs School of Business, a stock-market ticker reported that the Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,598 on Thursday -- the first time the technology-heavy index had closed below 2,600...

Computer Stocks Plummet on Market as Gateway Issues Profits Warning.
December 1, 2000... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 1--Investors' worst fears about a slowdown in the computer industry were confirmed Wednesday night when Gateway Inc. warned that fourth-quarter sales and profits would be far lower than investors expected. The...

Texas Judge Halts Software Company's Plans to Buy Online Firm Outright.
December 1, 2000... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Dec. 1--A state district court judge has temporarily halted Trilogy Software Inc.'s plans to acquire the one-third of pcOrder.com Inc. it doesn't already own. Judge Paul Davis issued a temporary restraining order...

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Brings Its Southern Tradition to Austin, Texas.
December 3, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 3--Few things other than football can compete for fans' attention at the annual University of Texas-Texas A&M game. But on Nov. 24, heads turned away from the action briefly as a plane flew over...

Rising Costs, Interest Rates Put Austin, Texas, Homes Beyond Reach of Many.
December 3, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 3--As a state employee making $31,000 a year, Christy Smith's ream of homeownership remains just that -- a dream. Smith abandoned her hope of buying a house in Central Texas' sizzling real estate market when a...

Tech Firms Feel Market's Slump in Losses from Investments.
December 4, 2000... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 4--As Wall Street turns up its nose at technology, tech companies are feeling the pain in more than just their own stock prices. The market for initial public offerings is on ice, and that's drying up some of...

Time Warner Expands Video-On-Demand Service to Austin, Texas, Customers.
December 5, 2000... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 5--Starting this week, some Time Warner Cable customers in far West Austin and the village of Bee Cave will be able have video-on-demand service, ordering any movie they want from a menu of more than 100 titles....

CEO of Austin, Texas, Chip Maker Is Made Head of New Parent Firm's Food Group.
December 5, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 5--Michael Schall, president and CEO of Guiltless Gourmet, has been named president of the food group at RAB Holdings Inc., one month after the holding company bought the Austin maker of baked tortilla chips....

Study Ranks Austin, Texas, Among Top U.S. High-Tech Cities.
December 5, 2000... Byline: Marilyn Geewax Dec. 5--WASHINGTON--Austin was among the biggest economic winners in the high-tech revolution of the 1990s, according to a study being released today by a major industry group. Of the 60 "cybercities" studied by...

Intel, Analog Devices Display New Wireless Communications Chip.
December 6, 2000... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 6--On Tuesday, giant chip maker Intel Corp. and technology partner Analog Devices Inc. showed off what their engineers in Austin have been working on for nearly two years -- a next-generation communications chip...

Dell Computers Turns Focus Toward Servers.
December 6, 2000... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 6--With nothing but bad news coming out of the desktop-computer market these days, Dell Computer Corp. turned its attention Tuesday to one of the industry's few bright spots -- servers. While personal-computer...

Austin, Texas-Based Digital Effects Company Bought by Microsoft.
December 6, 2000... Byline: Heather Cocks Dec. 6--Digital Anvil has gained a parent company -- but in the process, it will lose its highest-profile talent, Chief Executive Chris Roberts. Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced plans to buy the Austin game...

Austin, Texas-Based Internet Service Company Delays Installations.
December 7, 2000... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 7--Austin-based Vectris Communications announced Wednesday that it has postponed installation of high-speed Internet service lines this week as it attempts to conserve cash while searching for new financing. ...

Caldwell County, Texas, Residents Want Companies to Clean Up Oil Wells.
December 7, 2000... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Dec. 7--The four rusting pump-jacks on Don Tiller's Caldwell County pasture were stopped by the oil-price plunge in the mid-1980s, but the impact from the wells underneath lingers on. Storage tanks for oil and...

New Jersey-Based Wireless Firm May Halt Operation of Texas Pagers.
December 7, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 7--As many as 20,000 pager customers in Central Texas are in limbo following reports that they soon may be left without service. New Jersey-based TSR Wireless LLC closed some of its operations earlier...

New Condo Development in Austin, Texas, Sells Units Quickly.
December 8, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 8--Its sales office isn't even open yet, but the developer of the Four Seasons condominiums Its sales office isn't even open yet, but the developer of the Four Seasons condominiums. Developers at two other...

Austin, Texas, Energy Company Tries to Meet Demand for Tech Companies.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Andrew Park Dec. 11--Some people look at the Web and see ones and zeros. In Roger Duncan's eyes, it's all nines. To Duncan, a vice president at Austin Energy, nines are the ultimate measure of how well the city-owned utility is...

Investment Strategist Answers Questions about Finances.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 11--Mary Farrell, a senior investment strategist with PaineWebber Inc., is author of "Beyond the Basics: How to Invest Your Money, Now that You Know a Thing or Two." An analyst with almost 30 years of...

Movie Theater Construction Outpaces Demand for Cinema Entertainment.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Krissah Williams Dec. 11--For Austin moviegoers looking for plush stadium seats, digital sound technology and state-of-the-art screens, the two megaplex theaters less than one mile apart on Interstate 35 are a movie mecca. They...

Atlanta-Based Media Firm Buys Six Newspapers in Central Texas.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Amy Schatz Dec. 11--Cox Newspapers Inc. announced the purchase of a group of six Central Texas community newspapers Friday from Westward Communications LLC, a Houston-based newspaper group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ...

Texas Real Estate Market Begins to Slow Down.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 11--Some Central Texas real estate agents are seeing signs of slowing in the housing market, but they're not sure whether it's the typical seasonal falloff or a signal of a broader economic slowdown. Several...

New Jersey-Based Wireless Company Shuts Doors Unexpectedly.
December 11, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 11--Monday morning, Jennifer Flok went to work like as she does every other day. By 3 p.m., she was out of a job, along with about 30 other local TSR Wireless employees. "People didn't know anything at...

Austin, Texas, Welcomes Wave of New Retail Stores.
December 12, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 12--Conn's opened the first of its six planned Austin stores Monday, but the regional appliance and consumer electronics chain isn't the only new retailer coming to town. From doughnut and hot-dog chains to design...

Austin, Texas-Based Tivoli Systems to Sell Software Unit to Peregrine.
December 12, 2000... Byline: Heather Cocks Dec. 12--Tivoli Systems Inc. said Monday that it will sell one of its software units for $105 million, a move that fits into the company's ongoing effort to streamline its business. Peregrine Systems Inc. agreed...

Austin, Texas-Based High-Speed Internet Service Lays Off Workers.
December 13, 2000... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 13--Embattled Vectris Communications said Tuesday that it will cut its work force by at least 185 workers, or 84 percent, as it attempts to keep its high-speed Internet service alive. The layoffs will become...

Austin, Texas, Newspaper Executive Is Promoted to Atlanta.
December 13, 2000... Dec. 13--ATLANTA--Sanford "Sandy" Schwartz, executive vice president-general manager of the Austin American-Statesman, has been named vice president-general manager of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Effective Jan. 1, Schwartz will...

Drkoop.com Backers, Leaders Convene.
December 14, 2000... Byline: Andrew Park Dec. 14--SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Just a few months ago, it would have been nearly inconceivable that Drkoop.com Inc. would be around to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, as required by the Securities and Exchange...

Microsoft Issues First Profit Warning.
December 15, 2000... Byline: Bob Keefe Dec. 15--Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, warned Wall Street late Thursday that it is cutting its earnings expectations for the quarter and the year, the latter by about 5 percent. The news,...

Congress Holds Key to Online-Privacy Concerns.
December 17, 2000... Byline: Marilyn Geewax Dec. 17--WASHINGTON--At this time of year, millions of Americans are shopping online for the holidays, checking on financial investments and gathering end-of-the-year tax information. But as their personal and...

KPMG Takes Big Risk with Plans to Put Government Services Online in Texas.
December 18, 2000... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 18--The dot-com boom is fading on the commercial Internet, but it's just getting started in the halls of government. State officials, enthralled with the notion of improving service and cutting costs while...

Cisco Systems Has Eye on Expansion in Austin, Texas.
December 19, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 19--Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest supplier of computer networking equipment, is scouting sites in Austin for a possible expansion that would initially require 20 to 30 acres. "Austin is a place that...

Austin, Texas, Online Training Company IBT Cuts Staff by 25 Percent.
December 20, 2000... Byline: Amy Schatz Dec. 20--Internet education company IBT Technologies Inc. dismissed 23 of its 90 employees this week amid a management shakeup, the company confirmed Tuesday. An IBT official said former University of Texas System...

Software Company Adds Space in Austin, Texas, to Market.
December 22, 2000... Dec. 22--Computer Sciences Corp.'s Austin work force has shrunk by almost a quarter since the company agreed in 1999 to lease three downtown blocks from the City of Austin. That employee shortfall has prompted CSC to lease more than half of the...

Younger Bush's Texas Ranch Appraised at Nearly $1 Million.
December 23, 2000... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 23--President-elect George W. Bush owns 1,583.22 acres in Crawford. There are two homes--one 3,398 square feet and the other 2,096 square feet. A third home is nearly complete, and the local appraisal district...

Insiders at Austin, Texas-Based Web Tech Firm Tender Buyout Offer.
December 23, 2000... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 23--A group of Netpliance Inc. insiders offered Friday to buy the struggling maker of Internet-access devices. The group, headed by Netpliance CEO John McHale, offered to pay 65 cents per share -- nearly double...

State Tax Officials Unanimously Approve Overhaul in Sales Tax Methodology.
December 23, 2000... Byline: Marilyn Geewax Dec. 23--WASHINGTON--Tax officials representing about 30 states, including Texas, Friday unanimously approved model legislation that, if passed by their legislatures, could dramatically change the way sales taxes are...

Lubbock, Texas-Based Bank to Take over Austin, Texas, Bank in January.
December 24, 2000... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Dec. 24--With the new year, City National Bank of Austin will have a new owner, a new name and, soon, a new location. PNB Financial, a Lubbock-based bank owned by Plains Capital Corp., will take over ownership...

Tight Job Market Has Texas Students Calling the Shots.
December 24, 2000... Byline: Katy Marquardt Dec. 24--University of Texas senior Dianna Lucio is a part-time waitress now, but sheill be a hot commodity for employers in a variety of fields when she graduates next year. Lucio, who is double-majoring in...

Dilemma to Buy or Sell Confronts Investors in Era of Tech Stock Uncertainty.
December 24, 2000... Byline: Bob Keefe Dec. 24--When Microsoft Corp. warned Dec. 14 that it wouldn't meet its quarterly earnings, many investors bailed out of the company's stock as fast as they could, sending its shares careening more than $10 a share over...

Paducah, Ky., Computer Programmer Looks Forward to Dull Holiday.
December 28, 2000... Byline: Heather Cocks Dec. 28--Cheerfully, without a whit of dismay, David Perry is predicting a New Year's Eve equally dull as to last year's dud. The date change from 1999 to 2000 had the potential to trigger 30,000 dormant computer...

Austin, Texas-Based Web Garden Firm to Shut Down Operations.
December 29, 2000... Byline: Andrew Park Dec. 29--After five years as one of Austin's Internet pioneers, Garden.com is winding down operations this weekend, having put a Sunday deadline on finding a partner to bail out any of its businesses. Already, the...