Riding the Mac Wave

Top of our list is Infowave Software (IW - TSE) with a 34.06% gain. The stock gained 34.58% the week before and is on a tear. As noted previously, the company has two divisions. Their wireless division is still in its infancy and just starting to garner notice. But what moved the stock this week is its printer software division.

Infowave makes software that enables Apple computers to use PC based printers. Hitching its star to Apple's wagon has paid off in spades as Apple's iMac became the world's best selling computer. Last week Infowave couldn't sell their product fast enough from their booth at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Its new PowerPrint 5.0 doesn't just support 1600 different printers, it also is the first version to support other peripherals such as scanners as well. Obviously the investing world took notice as well!

Second on our list with a 29.22% gain is the volatile Corel Corporation (COR - TSE). Investors seem to alternate between loving and hating this stock. If it were a toy it would be a yo-yo! After being decimated by a bad earnings forecast and the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer, the stock rebounded this week on an announcement that Corel will release a version of Linux integrated with GraphOn Bridges™, special connectivity software from GraphOn Corporation of California by mid-summer.

With GraphOn Bridges, Corel's Linux software will be able to access and use Windows programs across a network. The obsolescence of Windows-based software when switching to Linux is, of course, a major stumbling block to the acceptance of Linux on a mass market scale. The integration of GraphOn resolves this problem for businesses with networks. It still is a problem for the home user. If Corel can come up with a Windows emulator that allows Linux to run Windows programs resident on the user's computer, Linux will have arrived big time. (If it does, watch for Corel stock to double or triple on the news.)

Third on the list, up 28.57%, is Medbroadcast Corporation (MDB - CDNX), formerly medEra Life Science, the medical website masterminded by Dr. Michael Pezim. Other than the name change, there was no news from the company.

Fourth up with a gain of 28.57% is Jetform Corporation (JFM - TSE). The company went through some rough times in 1999. Sales of its e-form software dropped as customers appeared to be waiting until 2000 to upgrade systems. Now, with a fat U.S. government contract in hand, the company is regaining its footing. The Wizard of Bay Street, Patrick McKeough, must have ESP! He put Jetform back on his buy list with his January 2000 issue of Stock Pickers Digest (mailed Dec. 23), just before the stock took off again. He still rates it a buy after the recent run-up.

One other stock besides Infowave is in its second week of double digit gains - Timebeat.com (TBE - CDNX), profiled here recently. eDispatch.com Wireless Data (EWD - CDNX) is in its third consecutive week of major gains. And on the downside, Cybersurf (CY - CDNX) is in the second week of double digit losses.