frrom TidBITS -- Sulley's new job

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

Sculley's New Job
-----------------
  A number of readers wrote in with more details regarding Spectrum
  Information Technologies, the company that hired John Sculley as
  CEO. Whether or not you like Sculley, under his leadership Apple
  grew at an incredible rate, so it might be worth watching Spectrum
  in the future.


  Apparently, Spectrum works in the field of linking computers with
  cellular phones. They designed some of the current modem-to-
  cellular phone interfaces, including the Axcell, which Applied
  Engineering sells. The company is reportedly about to release a
  single-chip version of the Axcell device, which would enable other
  companies to easily add cellular interfaces to devices like the
  Newton and the PowerBooks.


  Spectrum claims that its patents cover any link between cellular
  phones and modems, as well as any use of the wireless error
  correction protocols that necessary for handling noisy cellular
  connections or the pause when a cell handoff occurs. Like many
  technology companies with patents, Spectrum now claims that anyone
  who does anything similar infringes on that patent. The specifics
  are for high-priced lawyers to decide slowly, but I prefer to see
  companies compete on merit, not legalities. The first company to
  be dragged into the legal boxing ring is Microcom (the company
  that created the MNP protocols used in most modern modems),
  presumably over the MNP-10 error correction protocol, which
  Microcom created specifically for cellular connections.


  In addition to all the legal nonsense, Spectrum had some doings on
  Wall Street last spring. Reportedly Spectrum issued a press
  release saying that they'd signed a deal with AT&T worth hundreds
  of millions of dollars. Spectrum stock shot up from around $3 to
  around $13 overnight, only to fall right back down when AT&T
  announced that the deal wasn't worth anywhere near that much.
  Irate shareholders immediately filed suit, and that lawsuit is
  still in progress. Their stock rose again for real when their
  patent was approved a month or so ago, and again when they
  announced that Sculley would become the CEO. Spectrum counts IBM
  and Rockwell International among its licensees.


  Perhaps the most interesting part is that Sculley pushed the
  Newton heavily in his last months in control at Apple, and the
  Newton relies on wireless communication for much of its appeal
  beyond being a fancy DayTimer. Given that Sculley has close ties
  to the White House and that anything wireless must in some fashion
  go past the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), his actions
  make sense in that context.


  Information from:
    Pythaeus