Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 74

El The Arizona Republic Friday, November 21, 1997 HTBfllT iQm1iaJmf, vnrrwiiTritTiTii1ftrr stripped-down PC with no hard drive and no floppy disk drive. The data and applications reside on a r.pntral Kfrvfr rnmnntpr Microsoft partners ignoring company's legal woes received prime real estate for less than what displaying elsewhere would cost. The MCI unit develops software that helps business customers figure out which computer systems are best for them. Was she concerned about bad publicity? "You're the first person to ask," said Chui, a marketing coordinator. The Microsoft spoofers, who work for Palladium Interactive software, didn't let the feel-good fest rain on their parade.

They said their tiny Larkspur, Calif, company drew lots of interest in their parody of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 98 operating program, which goes by a name that can't be mentioned here because of its sexual connotations. Calls to Microsoft seeking com ment were not returned. The program includes games such as Billagotchi, an on-screen, "cyber pet." People must feed money to and it tend to its needs or else it throws a tantrum. It also includes jabs at Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which the Justice Department contends is used by Microsoft to illegally shut out competitor Netscape. By Duncan Martell Bloomberg News International Business Machines Corp.

will sell a device that creates a digital network for the home in time for Christmas next year, as the company angles for a market that its top personal computer idea executive calls "the last frontier." Code-named the Home Network, the effort at IBM is one of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Louis Gerstner's top projects and stretches across many of the company's divisions, Trey Smith, chief technology officer for the PC unit, said in an interview Thursday. Market research firms such as International Data Corp. and Data-quest are projecting 300 million people around the globe will be on the Web in the next three to five years. That growth will be fueled partly by existing PC technology becoming a standard for a host of information appliances. MICROSOFT, fivm Page El soft Windows and Windows NT operating programs, making it important to look at software that was compatible.

In a nearby 5-foot booth, Riza Chui of MCI's outsourcing unit, a Microsoft partner, said Microsoft's ubiquitous image helped sales. Besides, the Canadian subsidiary "The home is really a wide-open field of opportunity," Smith said in a speech to investors gathered in Scottsdale for Cowen 17th annual semiconductor conference. "What's ahead is really a radically different world from the stand-alone in Luxembourg said. Attached to this box would be such devices as a digital video disk player for movies and games, a scanner, printer, monitor and fax, all connected by wireless transmission rather than wires and cables. Arizona Mills debet robs Mesta Mall of regulars ri 1 i i A i Jobless protest More than 20,000 protesters from European Union leaders take action expectations for their first-ever jobs even set overall targets for reducing r.

iD JO By Lisa Gonderinger The Arizona Republic Every one of 10 restaurants in the Arizona Mills food court had a double line snaking around its counter Thursday. Seats at one of the hundreds of nearby tables were a hot commodity, and many shoppers wound up standing at counters, eating their food with packages at their feet. Just a few miles down the road, at Mesa's Fiesta Mall, no one had a long wait at the many restaurants. Open tables were a dime a dozen. Everyone from mall owners to economic-development officials have been nervously watching as Arizona Mills moved toward its much-hyped opening Thursday, wondering what the effect would be on Arizona's burgeoning malls and power centers.

Many area mall owners said they weren't worried, that Arizona Mills may initially capture a huge crowd of curiosity seekers, but once the newness wore off, people would be back shopping at their old, convenient favorites. A worker at the Pretzels Gyros stand at Fiesta's Food Court said the crowd was much slower than a usual Thursday, and she guessed Arizona Mills was the reason. "But I think things will probably get back to normal after everybody satisfies their curiosity," she said. Shannon Smith, who works at a Body Shop kiosk in Fiesta Mall, said she saw a difference first thing Dusan vranicAssociated Press across Europe converged on Luxembourg on Thursday, demanding that against joblessness. The 15 government leaders were trying to play down summit, a two-day meeting that opened Thursday, warning that it will not the ranks of Europe's 1 8 million unemployed.

For PC applications, the consumer can purchase one or a few of IBM's network stations its version of the network computer as needed for word processing, personal finance and spreadsheets, for example. A is a The usual mall walkers weren 't here. There are usually a lot of regulars that I didn 't see. This is like a really slow Monday rather than a usual Thursday. Shannon Smith employee at body shop kiosk at fiesta mall in the morning.

"The usual mall walkers weren't here," she said. "There are usually a lot of regulars that I didn't see. "This is like a really slow Monday rather than a usual Thursday." April Kampikas, who runs a kiosk for jewelry seller Silver World, said she, too, saw a much smaller crowd roaming the mall Thursday. "We've hardly had any sales today," she said from her perch in the middle of the mall. "I would call the difference in the number of people significant." However, she guessed that the mini-drought in sales might not be long-term.

She guessed prices at Arizona Mills may not be tnat much lower since retailers would probably have to pay higher rent in a fancy new mall. "I think it comes down to prices, and if those stores have to pay a lot more in rent, I'll bet their prices single-story mall without worrying about escalators. "It makes shopping with a stroller very easy," she said. Joseph Henry, 17, of Phoenix, said he had the day off from school and decided to check out the mall "to see what the fuss was all about." A regular at Metrocenter, he wasn't knocked over by the new mall. "It seems like an older people's mall," he said.

"It has a lot of outlet stores." Dream of Tempe The opening of Arizona Mills was the culmination of years of work and frustration for Tempe. The city is landlocked and cannot expand, and always has wanted a regional mall to secure its sales tax base. Several projects came and went, with some of them proposed on the land where Mills eventually built at Interstate 10 and the Superstition "Dilbert brings humor and a sense of familiarity to our ads, which will break at the start of the holiday shopping season," said David Fuente, chairman and chief executive of Office Depot. The 30-second spots will run through the middle of January in various time slots on ABC, NBC and the cable network TBS. The commercials were created by Wyse Advertising of Cleveland.

The agency sought to contrast the PC." The Home Network product will be built around a computer server, which stores and manages information on networks, that Ar-monk, N.Y.-based IBM will call a digital information appliance, Smith -w "It's a spectacular site," Maes said. "It's like the Carefree with lots of huge granite boulders, saguaros and good elevations with fabulous views." Rancho Vistoso 's Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course adjoins the Tortolita site and Maes said there are plans for a second golf course which would be designed by Jay Morrish. The second course would' be private, Maes said. Besides the hotel development, there have been about 700 homes built in Rancho Vistoso during the past few years. Projections call for the 12 home builders working in the development to sell abut 30 homes per month among them in 1998.

The area is zoned for about 13,000 houses, although Maes said the final build-out will be more like 8,000. In the middle of the project is Del Webb's Sun City Rancho Vistoso development, a community on about 1,000 acres. The Del Webb Development is sold out, and there are no plans for subsequent phases. Railroad executives said last month that fourth-quarter profits would range from $74 million to $149 million. On Monday, they said the quarter results could range from break even to substantial losses.

Schulman said the type of "stock-drop" case he has filed is hard to win. "It's not because it's not a' strong case, but because the companies fight hard," he said. Although Union Pacific stock rose above $72 in mid-July after starting the year at $62, it has dropped to $58.50. Tucson market can't support Ritz The price of the system will depend on how many printers, monitors and network computers the customer would want, Smith said. Initially it could cost around $3,000 for a basic setup, with prices falling quickly after that.

I 1 more anu more, ami in saia, new information appliances such as personal digital assistants will be based on PC standards. Because Intel Corp. has set a standard in microprocessor with its x86 design and Microsoft Corp. dominates with its Windows operating system, it's that much easier to design products with new uses, Smith said. "We can grab onto and exploit all the standards," Smith said, referring principally to the Wintel world of Intel chips and Microsoft software.

"The type of device won't matter." will be higher and I don't know if people will drive across town if the prices aren't that different," she said. A passer-by who said he had worked at Fiesta Mall for five years piped up: "It will have a big impact," referring to Arizona Mills. "Everyone here is worried and a little paranoid," he said. "They just don't want to say it." It was hard to find a Fiesta Mall shopper who wasn't aware of the retail hoopla that was taking place just down the freeway. Some, such as Ahwatukee resident Eleanore State, said they intentionally avoided Arizona Mills today, even though it might be closer for them than Fiesta Mall.

"It's something I eventually want to see, but there was no way I was going to go today and fight those crowds," she said. "I have noticed its emptier than usual here, but actually, that's kind of nice." Other shoppers, like Bonny Brog-don and her daughter Angel, weren't necessarily avoiding Arizona Mills. The two drove from Tolleson specifically to be at megamall's opening day and do some Christmas shopping, but they took one look at the sea of cars and decided to head for less-crowded shopping at Fiesta Mall. "It was a little disappointing, but we'll get there eventually," Brogdon said. i Lisa Gonderinger can be reached at 444-7967 or at lisa.gonderingerpni.com via e-mail.

Freeway. "A regional mall has been a dream of Tempe for decades," Mayor Neil Giuliano said. The mall was developed by Arlington, Vai-based Mills, the Taub-man Realty Group of Bloomfield Hills, the Simon DeBartolo Group of Indianapolis and Phoenix-based Grossman Co. Properties. Mills is building similar projects all over the country and plans to take the concept international.

At 1.2 million square feet, Arizona Mills is one of the state's largest malls. The mall, though, is a work in progress and will add at least one more anchor store. Siegel said the mall could be extended south if Mills decides it wants to enlarge the mall after that next anchor is added. He said the building could push south toward Baseline Road and a parking deck could be added. ludicrous world of Dilbert with a pragmatic, organized atmosphere.

In one spot, Dilbert says, "Just as I thought, my cubicle is 2 inches smaller today than yesterday." Dilbert's boss informs him, "We installed real-time status adjusters in the cubicle walls. Sensors monitor your work and adjust the cubicle size according to your value." The commercials conclude with the tag line "Business is crazy. But Office Depot makes sense." i RECEIVE ROUND-TRIR I AIRFARE FOR 2 ON I 4 I Now fly to any destination that Shuttle By United 'flies) I from Hxenix with laue or purchase of a new 1993 Infiniti luxuty whiiie! 1 Some restrictions mjy apoiy. This is a LSimiied-time offer, tew to deui'sj fee $189.45. Plus saletax OAC.

Sale ends Sunday. New mall draws 100,000 shoppers a site for a major resort property. While well represented in Phoenix with its Camelback Inn and Mountain Shadows resorts, Marriott has no presence in Tucson, where Loews Ventana Canyon, the Westin La Paloma and Sheraton El Conquistador dominate the market. "We like the market area," Acosta said, "the question is deciding where we'd like to be." Maes said Marriott is looking at the 90-acre "town center" site as a location for a major destination hotel with convention facilities and other amenities. The site was initially laid out as commercial village center and there is no adjoining golf course.

Maes said, however, that the master-planned community's owner, Vistoso Partners of Mesa, is working on plans for a golf course on the site. The site in the Tortolita foothills smaller, only about 40 acres. Maes said Ritz-Carlton was considering something smaller and more intimate, with a golf focus. NEW MALL, fivm Page. El Siegel said the problem is too many stores with no' imagination.

"It's more overcopied than it is overstored," he said. 'It is different' Aimee Linhoff, 29, and Jennifer Dangremond, 35, of Scottsdale are mall pros not easily impressed. They work for a big-name department store and spend a lot of time at malls. Both had compliments for Arizona Mills. "It is different," Linhoff said.

"I'm glad it's here." They rated Arizona Mills among the top three Valley malls, with Scottsdale Fashion Square and Bilt-more Fashion Park the other front-runners. Dangremond liked the fact that she could wheel her 19-month son, Jackson, easily around the sued by shareholders TUCSON, fivm Page El Oro Valley's planning and zoning director. Chatfield said he has met with Marriott representatives about the "town center site," at Rancho Vistoso, but has only heard rumors about Ritz-Carlton and the Tortol-ita property. "There's been a buzz that something is about to happen, but that's all," he said. While the Ritz and Marriott are separate companies, Marriott owns 49 percent of Ritz, and many of the development plans for Ritz-Carlton are being handled by Marriott.

Ray Acosta, who heads Marriott's Western development office in Orange County, Calif, is handling negotiations in for both Marriott and Ritz-Carlton resort sites. "We looked at every piece of real estate in the Tucson area and concluded the market couldn't support a Ritz product." he said. But, he added that Marriott remains interested in the Tucson area Union Pacific By Katie Fairbank Associated Press DALLAS Shareholders are suing Union Pacific over its stock's recent slide, claiming the nation's largest railroad knew long ago that its merger with Southern Pacific was off track. A class-action lawsuit representing Union Pacific shareholders who bought stock between March 4 and Oct. 1 accuses the Omaha, railroad of misrepresenting its safety record and failing to disclose problems involving last year's merger.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in ilHE'98 045 i jJilKJc! 36-montti closed-wd leasaywtti purchase option at as is the Dilbert to star in (Mice Depot ads By Dana Canedy New York Times Dilbert, the character from the popular cartoon strip who has become the overworked, underappreciated poster boy of today's cubicle dweller, has a new employer. Dilbert will make his television debut on Thanksgiving Day, as the star of a $30 million advertising campaign for Office Depot Inc. And for the first time, Dilbert has been animated and given a voice. Dallas, contends that even as the railroad touted the benefits of the $5.4 billion merger, top railroad officials knew that combining the two lines would be costly. It also claims that the optimistic announcements inflated stock prices.

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