Netscape Bull's Rebuttal
by by Rick Munarriz ([email protected])

There's nothing I love more than having the ability to change my M.O. on a dime. Yi-Hsin has looked over my past Duels and figured I would try to pun-ish her and slam the Gates. Forgiving that last sentence, I have turned over a new leaf. I am a new Edible! Just like Netscape is a new Netscape.

"Let's face it, when people think of Netscape, they think of the Web browser, not the company's other products," Yi-Hsin wrote. Color me retro, but I remember when people were saying the exact same thing about a company that was known only for its operating system. DOS? Doh! There was just no way that company could diversify and take-on WordPerfect and Lotus, yet Microsoft did, and quite well, actually.

But despite the Justice Department's best intentions, let's not boil this down to a Microsoft vs. Netscape deathmatch. It's not Netscape's fault that it is going to be the first of many lucky beneficiaries of a fed up governing body. I mean, do the math. Last week Netscape was a $2.5 billion company. Microsoft is valued at $250 billion. Even my fellow Gates-loving Fool would have to agree that Netscape is at least 1/100th the company that Microsoft has become -- other than that, let Microsoft pick on somebody it's own size, like China or something.

My sparring partner is also quick to belittle the incredible popularity of Netscape's website as a function of users not resetting their start-up home pages. That is a problem that has not seemed to diminish investor enthusiasm for America Online, the second most popular site. She claims that these users would prefer to head out to a portal like Yahoo! Well, if that's the case, and I do agree, then kudos to Netcenter for finally realizing that potential. This is the new Netscape. It's there wearing a Kiss Me, You Fool! t-shirt and lucky are the Fools who are lining up for the first smooch. This is the new one-stop Internet hot spot. From shopping to local news to dozens of software updates, this is the brand-name rich, market-cap poor Netscape after the makeover.

Yi-Hsin, who, along with Brian Graney, can coax some pretty potent words from company executives in their StockTalk feature, has Yahoo!'s CEO claiming that Netscape is late to the portal party. What? Enough with the double standard! It's okay for Microsoft to crash the Web browser bash but Netscape, which has been online long before these euphorically silly named search engines even existed, is now suddenly tardy to something ever-changing?

I love Yahoo!, but naturally Mr. Koogle is a biased authority who will naturally opt for bravado rather than recognize an important new competitor. After all, I would be defensive, too, with the re-emergence of a company that is expected to earn more than Yahoo! next year. Trying to suppress the potential is pointless. When Oracle's Barry Ariko was named Netscape's Chief Operating Officer last week, the stock shot up $6 the following day.

Yi-Hsin feels that "Netscape is a net from which you need to escape." I have a better use for that net, fishing -- because, as the last true Internet bargain, this is not the one you want to let get away.

Next: The Bear Responds