Telepresence is a market that couldreach 1

The letters sent to the financial institutions warned "it'spayback time," according to a text released by the FBI inOctober. "We have had many of these in the last year and theytypically are talcum powder or cornstarch," New York PoliceDepartment spokesman Paul Browne said. Q4 adj EPS 42 cents beats estimates of 40 cents Stocks Media Q4 revenue misses estimates Sees Q1 sales lower than Q4 on delayed budget decisions Sees Q1 gross margin falling sequentially Q4 Video services segment sales up (Recasts, adds outlook, comments from conference call) Jan 21 (Reuters) - Video conferencing products makerPolycom Inc (PLCM.O) posted a quarterly profit that beat marketestimates on strong growth at its video services segment, butwarned of a sequential drop in revenue as firms delayed budgetdecisions. Polycom and Norway's Tandberg (TAA.OL) dominate the videoconferencing market which is expected to grow as companieslooking to cut travel costs in a bleak economy choose videoconferencing as a cheaper alternative to face-to-face meetings. Polycom's fourth-quarter revenue from its video servicessegment rose 6.7 percent to $175.9 million, while that from itsvoice communications business fell 11.5 percent. Fourth-quarter net income increased to $25.7 million, or 30cents a share, from $22.8 million, or 25 cents a share, a yearearlier Revenue was flat at $263 million. Polycom's telepresence services grew sequentially andyear-over-year, it said.

Telepresence is a market that couldreach $1.5 billion in annual revenue by 2010, market researcherGartner has forecast. OUTLOOK BLEAK Polycom expects first-quarter revenue to fall 9 percent to13 percent sequentially to a range of $228.8 million to $239.3million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $247.2 million,according to Reuters Estimates The company expects gross margin to fall 1 point fromfourth-quarter margin of 60 percent, excluding items Shares of the company closed at $14.24 Wednesday on Nasdaq. Polycom's customers include Deloitte Touche TohmatsuDLTE.UL, Time Warner Inc (TWX.N), Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) andTargus Inc. For the alerts, double-click ID:nWNAB1950 nWNAB2010 (Reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore; Editing by DeepakKannan and Savio D'Souza) Stocks Media. While on paper this seems like a great matchup, featuring the teams that have been the best in their respective leagues all season, I'm completely uninterested.At the risk of sounding like a whiny blogger, this is not a World Series that captivates my interest Perhaps it's the story, or lack there of.

While A-Rod's rise from a playoff failure to juggernaut has been interesting, I honestly can't get into it.This is a series between the Yankees and Phillies, two teams with storied traditions and fan bases known for being jackasses, albeit in two completely separate ways. There's no one to root for here besides God, who I hope sends multiple plagues down upon the stadium until both teams are eliminated.Usually, in a situation like this, I cheer for the team that I think has a more deserving fan base. Another part of my disinterest in this series is the timing Game 5 of last year's World Series was on Oct 27 and, due to rain, finished on the Oct 29 It wrapped up just as the NBA was starting. Literally, I flipped the channel from the World Series to the Pacers' season opener.