the big guy
10 years ago
Information on Tapcode. They appear to be a Going Concern. I am not sure what the share structure is, or if they are privately held.
Looks like Nolan's sons are running some not-for-profit tech company:
http://twobitcircus.com/
and here is the link for Tapcode:
http://www.tapcode.net/
It appears as if this company is marketing Nolan's software.
I see 2 problems with the basic concept that were always there; they are two distinct products (games vs food service), and this is a bad mix with the restaurant business.
The second point is kind of obvious. Greasy burgers and a computer screen just do not mix. It is unsanitary.
The second point is... I think that in a fast-food context, this product has a chance. I can think of 2 restaurants in my area that rely on a similar concept. In one of them, the customer goes up to the front counter and orders, then takes a sign with a number to his seat. The food is brought to him. In the second case, the customer goes to the front desk orders, and then takes a vibrator back to his seat. When it vibrates, he goes up and gets his food.
In either case, the table service is avoided, the food arrives quicker, and all for giving up a bit of service.
So the target market is fast food. Why then... would that same customer want to sit there playing games???
Just a thought.
the big guy
15 years ago
Tapcode is the shell compay that was created by and for the senior management as an escape plan from uWink after they successfully milked all of the investor's money out of it in the form of high salaries and the establishment of 3 (now 2 I think) restaurants that are of questionable value and food service quality that may someday serve as a testing ground for an as-of-yet unfinanced and unestablished software company based loosely on the software products of uWink, which are now in use at the restaurants, in a few Carlos and Chilis in some airport, and have no real customer base. In fact, last I read they were just getting round to creating promotional literature and hiring some company to sell the software. But, the management got away with their money, that is what counts...
oh.. and they threw the remaining shareholders some shares in TapCode and called them "spinoff" shares in order to give the illusion that they give a shit and likely to prevent lawsuits against them.
Your shares make good wallpaper in the bathroom and may have some other uses in that area of the house..
Any other questions?
the big guy
15 years ago
for any stock to have a stock price it must have some plan to make money in the foreseeable future. This stock was always built on hopes; first of a chain of restaurants that had a few winning strategies based on technology and innovation, then of software sales. the software sales thing was never clear to me, they never had the right personnel or structure. I never saw it as being real. The spinoff to Tapco was a formality, a recognition of what was already apparent. The only shares that may be worth anything someday would be the Tapco shares. These uWink restaurants are not intended to make money anymore. They may be intended to act as demo suites for the new company (Tapco), but I would think at best they would break-even. They don't have to report.. so no one knows how they are doing. At this point there is no story or profitable future potential to invest in.
Penny stocks, like ones worth real pennies are very alluring. They are so cheap and the profit potential is so great that it is easy to build a massive position. But the fees will be expensive, and usually they do exactly what Rawnoc just posted.. they die...
ones I find interesting right now? Don't bother with uWink..
- DDY - Canadian Venture, there is a software company on the move..
- OCE - Canadian Venture... leftover from the dot-com boom.. holding company could be worth something, I just don't know what their plan is now.
- BLP - Canadian Venture.. breaking even, no growth, real boring.. but the chart is jumping.
UWKI by comparison is totally dead.