I thought this post might be of some interest to people here. Lernout & Hauspie developed speech recognition software that is used in a lot of systems and Empeg might have been looking at to include in their product. Scansoft is the company that I work for that just bought their technology.
Full text of the PR can be read at http://www.scansoft.com/news/pressreleases/2001/re011128.asp

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ScanSoft to Acquire Lernout & Hauspie Speech and Language Assets for $39.5 Million
Acquisition Enhances ScanSoft's Product and Technology Portfolio, Strengthens Distribution Channels

PEABODY, Mass., - November 28, 2001 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading provider of paper-to-digital solutions, today announced that it has agreed to acquire the Speech and Language Technologies business of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. and L & H Holdings USA, Inc., including substantially all of the operating and technology assets, in a bankruptcy auction concluded early yesterday morning.>The agreement remains subject to the approval of The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which has scheduled a hearing for December 4, 2001.

Hmmm so can you persuade your company to give Empeg a real sweet deal?

They just paid 39 MILLION for the assets... I don't know if I'd be giving anyone sweet deals if I had just parted with that amount of cash. :)

They just paid 39 MILLION for the assets

Well, that seems do-able. Let's see... there are or will be a total of about 3,000 Mark II empegs, and if 25% of the owners say they're willing to chip in on the price of Voice Recognition, that would be 75 owners at a paltry half million dollars apiece.

Does your company accept PayPal?



tanstaafl.

3,000 * 0.25 = 75

Note to self: remove Tanstaafl from the "Potential Accountants for My Company" list.



(like 50 grand is MUCH more doable for your average Empeg user!)

for 50 grand I pay someone else to change the songs for me!

Well, that seems do-able. Let's see... there are or will be a total of about 3,000 Mark II empegs, and if 25% of the owners say they're willing to chip in on the price of Voice Recognition, that would be 75 owners at a paltry half million dollars apiece.

Does your company accept PayPal?

I don't know about my company but I would happily "broker" a deal through PayPal for that amount for only 10% off the top.

Greg

We won't talk about the other "services" you would get with that 50 grand.