Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 29

Austin American-Statesman Business Tuesday, June 16, 1998 D3 Northern Telecom to buy Bay Networks Restaurant builder gets fired up again 1 i Ted S. WarrenM-S Johnny Carino's restaurant in Round Rock was designed to look as if the restaurant was added to an existing building. voice to data. A new class of company must emerge to meet the demand for (Internet) technology and networking expertise." Nortel, controlled by Bell Canada parent BCE is Canada's largest telecommunications company with 73,000 employees around the world and revenues of about $15 billion last year. Bay Networks, based in Santa Clara, is a leader in the worldwide networking market, serving corporations, service providers and telecommunications carriers.

Roth told Nortel's annual meeting in April that huge growth is straining the resources of the global computer network and Nortel wants to cash in on the booming demand for secure systems. Nortel has been on an acquisition binge and is shifting money and workers into Internet projects, including its so-called Webtone system, which is promoted as providing reliable, high-speed, secure multimedia access to the Internet. Already this year Nortel has paid $716 million to acquire two companies Broadband Networks Inc. of Winnipeg, Canada, and Aptis Communications Inc. of Boston that will help it develop Webtone.

About 3,000 of Nortel's 18,000 research workers are working on improving Internet networks. Continued from Dl president of franchise operations and development worldwide. Fired Up has caught the eye of investment firm LB Holding Co. developer of the Brown Building which is investing more than a million dollars in the company. It is the first restaurant investment for LBJ Holding, which owns radio stations, real estate, stocks, bonds and private companies.

"We've talked to a lot of restaurateurs and these guys are markedly different," said Jim McBride, chief financial officer of LBJ Holding, who has joined Fired Up's board of directors. The restaurant scene is a little different today than when Ford joined Chili's. The labor market is tight, pushing wages above minimum wage in many markets. Real estate is more expensive. And hundreds of new restaurant chains have entered the scene, each fighting for its share of the customer's dollar.

"Competition is certainly keener," said Ron Ruggless, Southwest editor for Nation's Restaurant News. "But if you have a good idea and a good concept, there's a market for it, no matter how competitive it is." Fired Up got its start with two Brinker concepts that Ford bought when he left the company: Spageddies and Kona Steak House. Ford, 45, recruited Abdallah, 35, to work with him, believing that their combined 50-plus years of restaurant experience and skills could turn these concepts into an innovative restaurant company. Fired Up was incorporated in 1997. They purchased five Spageddies from Brinker, changing the direction of the unsuccessful 8-year-old chain and turning them into Carino's Italian Kitchens.

Spageddies, with its boccie courts and orientation toward kids, had developed into a Chuck Cheese's, Ford said. With Johnny Carino's, the emphasis was changed to country Italian, with open kitchens, Italian music, hardwood tables and wood-burning ovens. Unpopular menu items were eliminated and new "easy to pronounce" dishes were added, Ford said. The new focus seems to be working. Spageddies lost $700,000 the year before they bought it Today, Johnny Carino's is profitable.

The Kona Ranch Steak House, a concept created by Ford eight years ago, had one restaurant in Oklahoma City when he bought it. Steakhouses are one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. "But everyone is doing Texas steakhouses," Ford said. "I thought, 'Why not 1 lMV I former Brinker senior vice president. Together, Lavine and Bates plan to open 29 Johnny Carino's in North Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas under an agreement with Ford.

Fired Up also has an agreement with Chili's franchisee Ab-dulghani Alghunaim, who plans -to open Johnny Carino's and Kona restaurants in'Kuwait. One of his restaurants is the highest grossing Chili's in the world. Despite their ambitious plans, Ford said he and Abdallah plan to keep Fired Up fun no matter how big it gets. "We played the big corporate-guy positions before," Ford said. "This is a relief from building restaurants for Wall Street." Dell talks to Microsoft about custom computers beef up Canadian company's Internet systems offerings Associated Press TORONTO Canadian telecommunications giant Northern Telecom Ltd.

is acquiring California-based Bay Networks in a deal worth $9.1 billion. The deal one of the biggest in North America's telecommunications industry, will create a company designed to deliver revamped Internet network systems around the world. John Roth, president and chief executive of Northern Telcom, will remain chief executive of the new company, according to Monday's announcement by the companies. Dave House, chairman, chief executive and president of Bay Networks, will become president of Nortel. Once the merger is complete, Bay Networks will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nortel.

Bay Networks shareholders will get 0.6 Nortel common shares for every share of the acquired company they hold. "The Web has changed everything," House said. "The public network is moving rapidly from people you need, Direct Connect is only a fraction Nextel, and get the Continued from Dl break the Windows mold and differentiate their wares from rivals at a crucial time. Most PCs look and operate pretty much the same, giving PC makers little to compete on other than price. "We see opportunities to enhance the user experience," Dell said.

He said the company is seeking to customize the way computers look and interact with users "and we will take our own initiative to do Dell declined to give details on what type of changes his company is seeking, saying: "We like to engage in conversations with our vendors in more of a private manner." month Gateway, the nation's fourth-largest PC maker, said it won an agreement from Microsoft to customize the screen people see when they turn on their PCs. Gateway said it would promote its own Internet-access service on desktop screens and make it easier for users to choose an Internet browser other than Microsoft's. Last week, Packard Bell-NEC, another large maker, said it would sell computers with icons located outside the Windows desktop screen that link users to Internet Ford, who had spent many family vacations in Hawaii, wanted to create a Hawaiian cattle ranch theme. Ford also owns two Chili's restaurants and has the rights to open Chili's franchises in small towns around Texas. His wife, Lynn, owns four Rudy's Bar restaurants.

But what he's most fired-up about is Fired Up, which has grown to 1,000 employees, including 18 at the company's laid-back headquarters off RR 620. By 2002, they estimate Fired Up will have 108 restaurants. Helping Fired Up with its expansion plans is Ford's old boss, Chili's founder Larry Lavine, and Lavine's partner, Doug Bates, a Sign up now and get up to $100 off a new Nextel phone Contact one of these Nextel sales offices, or your local Nextel Authorized Representative: Nextel Sales Offices Nextel Communications Austin 512-342-3800 Nextel Communications, San Antonio 210-369-5700 Nextel Authorized Representatives Austin Advanced Cellular 512-238-9990 Boyce Communications 512-447-2740 Capital TWo-Way Communications 512-329-9292 Capital Wireless 512-848-5330 Cur-Com 512-848-3490 Network Communications 512-292-0382 One Source 512-848-5328 Telecom 2000 512-453-0900 Transnet 512-272-5453 United States Installation 512-848-4427 San Antonio Adame Communications 210-490-1646 Communication Professionals 210-496-0404 Next Wireless 210-559-7900 Phones Plus Inc. 210-340-1811 Two Way Communications 210-599-6496 Nextel phones are manufactured by Motorola. Electrosource attempts to keep Nasdaq listing sites, including online stores.

A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on its talks with PC companies. But the spokesman, Jim Cullinan, reiterated the company's position that it does not restrict the ability of computer makers to customize PCs. Still, Microsoft's allegedly restrictive contracts with PC makers are a main focus in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft. Microsoft is accused of making it difficult for the computer makers to promote features and programs from Microsoft rivals, including Netscape's browser for viewing and retrieving information on the Internet. Netscape Communications which pioneered the market for Internet browsers, has seen its market share slide due to Microsoft's aggressive practices.

Microsoft is vigorously defending its practices. It contends its strategy of continually adding new features to its operating system has cheapened the cost of computing, giving consumers access to a wide array of free programs they otherwise would have had to buy. Its critics say the free software makes it harder for smaller rivals to survive and stifles innovation. Under the terms of the Electrosource-Kamkorp agreement, some of Electrosource's products may be manufactured in Malaysia or other parts of Southeast Asia, according to the SEC filing. Electrosource did not return phone calls made to the company on Monday.

15 YR FX 1 15 Pis. APR LS2, $195,000 Mortage as of 6HV98 345-7777 NMC National Mortgage Koger Center, Austin, Texas Member Better Business Bureau Serving Austin Sine 1981 AUSTIN MICRO SOLUTIONS, INC. NEW IMPROVED SURFIN' SYSTEM OF THE WEEK 233 MHz MMX MiniTower MMX Processor and TX Motherboard 5 1 2k Pipeline Burst Cache 32 Mb SD RAM, 10ns 3.2 Gb Ultra DMA IDE Hard Drive 1.44Mb Floppy Drive CD-ROM 3D Stereo Sound SpeakersHeadphoneMicrophone 4Mb 3D Video Fast Serial Parallel Game Ports Win95 Keyboard Mouse 17" SVGA Monitor One Year arranty. Unbelievable at $445 Add 56k Voice FAXModem $49 Add Lifetime Lntimiled Internet Access only $89 Lipgrade to 266MHz CPU $95 w4Mb AGP Video 1 Mb Cache OHIT1H 5128349951 1433 FAIRFIELD DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS SAT. 10-4, 6 Continued from Dl Kamkorp is a holding company affiliated with an electric vehicle maker, but Electrosource has declined to reveal the vehicle maker's identity, citing competitive concerns.

Documents that Electrosource filed with the SEC show that Kamkorp is linked to Frazer-Nash, a British company that makes electric vehicles called Solar Baby and Harrod's Leisure Vehicles as well as electronics. Clifford Winckless, managing director at Frazer-Nash and a director at Electrosource, declined to comment specifically about Kamkorp in a telephone interview with the American-Statesman from his office in Mytchett, England. He did acknowledge that Frazer-Nash and Kamkorp are linked. Besides Winckless, two other Frazer-Nash executives were named to Electrosource's board of directors this month. The filing also disclosed that Kamkorp agreed to provide Electrosource with vehicles made by Frazer-Nash to help Electrosource develop batteries for the vehicles.

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