I think the technology Ascend has acquired gives them the lead over existing data networking companies in offering full-featured SS7 technology. Stratus offers SS7 technology on a high-end computer platform, whereas Cisco offers more low-end signaling.

There's an expectation built into Nortel's valuation for the company to outperform relative to expectation and with all of the indications prior to the call that the demand for optical remained quite strong, especially with service providers.

It will take many, many years to unwind, but we wouldn't count Lucent out, even with some of these problems.

People had expected everyone to miss the quarter so it's not surprising that they missed. Market conditions are especially challenging for some of these companies, and they are now getting down to a point where they can drive a profitable business model.

Cisco has an excellent track record of meeting analysts' expectations and the probability of them missing the estimate is low.

When conditions are dry like this, we are urging people to use extreme caution. Cigarettes are the prime culprits, but any spark can ignite a fire.