I'm probably going to regret this, but...

So here we go again, with forum members turning on each other and on POET like a pack of wolves just because management didn't give them instant gratification. They said they intended to schedule a call early in the fourth quarter, we're only seven days into a three month period, and once again the haters are hatin'. Yes yes, I know, some of us have been around for years so the frustration has been building for a long time, but that's beside the point. Frankly, I won't consider POET "late" until the end of October or early November, because the first third of a three month period is still "early" in the quarter.

But that's not what this post is about - it's about how tired I am of all the "management needs to do this" and "management needs to do that" to "satisfy the market" nonsense. You know what? Management doesn't need to do SQUAT to satisfy "the market", or you, or me, because that is not the business management is in. Management does not care about the stock price, because that is not the business management is in. Management does not need to put out news releases because that is not the business management is in. Management does not need to announce customers or revenue because, believe it or not, that is not the business management is in!

So what business is management in? They are focused on creating a viable product so they can get into the business of being a profitable concern. Until they have one POET is not making money. Until they have one there is no growth in the stock price. Until they have one they couldn't care less which exchange they're traded on. Until they have one they are not putting out news releases, because they have nothing to say. If they cared about the stock price then regular and substantial updates would be necessary, but like I said, THEY DON'T CARE because raising the stock price is simply not their job right now.

Why the lack of insider buys? It's not because management isn't confident, they simply don't feel a need to demonstrate that confidence because they don't care about the stock price or the market. It's because management knows that when they have completed their sole task of creating a viable product the value of the cheap options they hold will rise, but until then they are content to sit underwater and focus on executing their strategy. That strategy is to make at least one viable product to sell, but we investors should never forget that AOCs are only the tip of the iceberg. Never forget that management does not intend for these first few products to be what makes their (and our) fortunes, it intends for these products to demonstrate the potential of the POET platform to the world so that PTI can use GaAs to revolutionize integrated circuits the way silicon did in the 1960s!

I love to hear from Rainer and FJ and Sula and others who can provide technical analysis of what POET tells us from time to time, and for their cool-headed rational approach to this stock, but even FJ just said "management needs to blah blah", as if management actually cared about "the market" or will take directions from anyone on this board. It doesn't, and it won't. The wolf pack needs to back off, chill out, and let management do its job, remembering that right now that job is NOT raising the stock price to satisfy the frustrated investors on this forum! For the record I own between 20-30k shares, the first of which I bought several years ago at about $1.40 US. I too am way under water and holding my breath, and while I too would very much like some news, I'm not for one second going to pretend that I know how to run PTI better than the people currently at its helm. They have skills and experience that none of us have, they have insider knowledge that none of us have, and they have millions of options that can make them filthy rich on successful execution. So sit back, shut up, and enjoy the ride!

So Rainer, FJ and Abel, what are you waiting for, an invitation? :-) If so then I'm officially inviting you to speak up, because I can't be the only one here who's dying to know what you have to say about this patent!

I won't pretend I'm capable of any more than barely scratching the surface of understanding this thing, but if I'm interpreting it correctly then isn't this THE patent that describes the POET manufacturing process for optoelectronic integrated circuits on GaAs (and other III-V substrates)? Isn't this what they've been working for so long to transfer from lab to fab, and to third party foundries? Doesn't this patent describe how POET chips are made?

If I'm right then wouldn't the granting of this patent allow POET to relax some of its NDAs, because a) the intellectual property is now protected by patent law so protection by secrecy is no longer necessary, and b) the POET manufacturing process has just been published, so secrecy is pointless anyway? :-)

So what do you think? Do you feel like I'm on the right track, or was this thing so far over my head that I completely misinterpreted it?

And apropos of nothing, what's up with POET doing nothing about the trademark that expired in April? If someone hasn't already done so I would suggest adding that to any questions being sent to the new IR team, or perhaps someone could ask during the quarterly call that should be coming up in the immediate future...?

NASA has just disclaimed 56 patents into the public domain, and while I haven't browsed them all, this one immediately caught my attention. I can't help thinking that this sounds like a direct competitor in silicon to POET's GaAs-based tech. Would the cognoscenti (FJ, Rainer, et al) care to weigh in?

"FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to photonics and optoelectronic devices and, more particularly, to packaging microphotonics and optoelectronic devices so that all of these devices will be integrated and interconnected onto a single chip or substrate."

An apparatus is disclosed that includes a carrier structure and an optical coupling arrangement. The carrier structure is made of a silicon material and allows for the packaging and integrating of microphotonic devices onto a single chip. The optical coupling mechanism enables laser light to be coupled into and out of a microphotonic resonant disk integrated on the carrier. The carrier provides first, second and third cavities that are dimensioned so as to accommodate the insertion and snug fitting of the microphotonic resonant disk and first and second prisms that are implemented by the optical coupling arrangement to accommodate the laser coupling.

http://technology.nasa.gov/public_domain/LEW-17694-1

My question isn't about the BOD's competence, it's about Anadigics's potential contractual obligation under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger to accept superior offers from third parties if GaAs Labs fails to counter those offers.

The only reason we're having this discussion is that GaAs Labs offered to buy Anadigics, and the Agreement and Plan of Merger included a Go Shop period that gave Anadigics the opportunity to find a better offer. If Anadigics finds a better offer then the Agreement and Plan of Merger says it must present that offer to GaAs Labs for a counter offer, but the Agreement and Plan of Merger is between GaAs Labs and Anadigics, not the other parties making offers - they are not signatories to it and are not bound by it. The Agreement and Plan of Merger between GaAs Labs and Anadigics obligates Anadigics to accept an offer from GaAS Labs if no better offers arise by the deadline (which keeps moving), but what I'm wondering is if it obligates Anadigics to accept a better offer from another party if GaAs Labs doesn't step up to the plate, or does Anadigics have the option to walk away from all offers once GaAs Labs has given up?

On the separate matter of competence, turning down a better offer than GaAs Labs's is only an incompetent act if the BOD actually wants to be bought. If they don't really want to be bought, or at least not for the prices being offered, then walking away is not an act of incompetence. However. the old punchline "we've already established what kind of person you are, now we're just haggling over the price" applies to Anadigics: the company has already said that it's willing to be bought for $.35, so I think we can assume it will accept $.62 if GaAs Labs fails to counter!

I'm not going to speculate on who the excluded parties making offers might be - if one of them wins the bidding war then we'll find out who they were soon enough! :-)

As to the timing, the press release said GaAs Labs had 2 business days from the 5th to make a counteroffer, so a little simple math says their window expired last night. However, to the best of my knowledge the press release didn't say when Anadigics must announce whether GaAs Labs had made a counteroffer or not, so they could take their time about it while negotiations with the two excluded parties continue.

That being said, does anyone know if the agreements allow for negotiations with the excluded parties to continue without GaAs Labs if GasAs Labs has failed to make a superior offer, or would Anadigics now have to accept the $.62 offer that they've already declared to be superior to GaAs Labs' last offer?

A rumor that Liquidmetal is "under consideration" for some future version of the iPhone is nice, but that rumor isn't putting money in LQMT's bank any more than the other rumors did. LQMT needs to get royalties from unit sales, and that just can't happen in the massive consumer electronics market unless Apple says so. The LQMT shareholders meeting is coming up, and most people posting on other boards say they're doing what I did: sending a no-confidence vote to management that we're not happy with decisions like the exclusive Apple deal.

Just for the record I am holding my LQMT stock because I think they have real potential to blow up if they can actually land some high-volume contracts like manufacturing (or licensing their process to a manufacturer of) automotive engine parts, but the fastest-growing and most lucrative market on the planet is closed to them because of the Apple deal that they've renewed several times. I don't want to see that happen to POET!