Back from Beyond

Hi there, did you miss me? Did you even notice I was missing.....lol

It's been a wee while since I posted anything for a few reasons, some of which I can't go into and the other is that we have entered that strange twilight zone that happens in May when not a lot happens sometimes. That's probably because we have the end of the tax year in April and a lot of reassessing of portfolios takes place April/May.

But hey - at least one of you noticed I was missing and sent out an APB, thanks for the email John Smith (not his real name); I'm fine, no need to worry :o)

Well I'm going to have a look at the shares I usually blog about as this week there has been some action on a few fronts, but rather than do a spread of them all in one blog, I'll take an individual look at them.

There has been news this week on Tadpole, Stanelco and Chaco, so I'll get onto it now.

Later Gaters!

Tadpole AGM - What's to come?

Two announcements came from Tadpole on Friday; the AGM date set for 14th June 2007 and the Interims (for the 6 months up to 31st March 2007) on 15th May.

Following previous years where the shareholders have had to practically beg for either of these to come out before that last possible day, it made a pleasant change to get pre-notice of both. For me personally it gives me a better chance of getting cheap flights to go down to London to attend the AGM and for pre-announcing the interims; it sends a better message to the market of their re-newed either confidence or position. Let's hope it's both.

I thought I'd take a look back at the interview I did recently with Peter Bondar and see if we can expect anything interesting from the run up to and/or the AGM. The blue italics are his comments, which I have heavily edited just so that I can comment on them, but you should read the interview to get the full context. My opinion or comments are in black beneath each comment and should in no way be read as anything other than my own opinion.

[subject - MMS2007] ......we did get some leads and it gave us the chance to network with some of the industry’s key players.

Too early to expect any results from this as yet, but it will be interesting to see how their attendance at this event is covered in the forward looking statement from the directors.

[subject - is gaming still on the radar] We are talking to some games orientated companies about using our technologies as part of their solutions. ....our Systems Integration model...... the Enterprise sector...... we see that there are sectors we can offer a strong and compelling offering, we are actively working those sectors.

Gaming may still be on the radar, but all traces of the partners, current deals and affiliates for this sector have been removed from the Endeavors website. Is this because they intend having a 'micro site' to deal with the StreamFlow section of the product offerings?

Meanwhile having dug around on google at the games sector I see that several companies are looking at retailing online game downloads or ads in games and even psychological profiling for advertising which I'm sure StreamFlow could handle on all fronts.

http://news.spong.com/article/12545?cb=129

http://www.gamersmark.com/news/2007/05/1/9348

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/71566-Its-OK-to-Advertise-If-We-Like-You

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2078061,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11

[subject - activities in Japan] Softbank (who acquired Vodafone Japan) are probably our most energetic and demanding client......... just because things look quiet doesn’t necessarily mean that nothing is happening.

I think it is interesting that part of his reply pointed out that Softbank had acquired Vodafone Japan, was that on purpose, who knows, but having looked as the Softbank Mobile Corp website they offer software upgrades by download which currently takes 20 minutes - could that time be cut down with AppExpress? I'd hope we are looking at their mobile download market - it's huge. Maybe in time we'll work our way over from their games site to there.

[subject - MS and Citrix settlements] The terms of the agreements at the request of our licensees is strictly confidential. I welcome our more conservative assessment of our situational analysis and our forward looking statements. Better to impress than disappoint..... I know that both these agreements create an environment that can only benefit Endeavors.

He welcomes the conservative assessment (presumably from the Trading Statement) and better to impress than disappoint. Well here's hoping that the interims don't disappoint, but hell they can't be brilliant let's face it. Any improvement will be worth seeing though.

[subject - house broker & brokers note] There are a lot of activities in the corporate development arena which David is leading...... I’m sure we will see some ‘outputs’ of this in due course.

This is something I'm getting quite agitated about - we really need to see the backing of our House Broker and the issue of a brokers note just to remind other brokers and institutes that Tadpole has a pulse, however weak it is. This is definitely something I want to bring up at the AGM. It's imperative that something with the right company details on it goes out.

[subject - taking a permanent role] Yes potentially, as always, the devil is in the detail. I’ve always said that I would be willing to ‘follow through’ if required.

It's interesting that he would consider a permanent role and also I personally feel that it is the kind of continuity that we desperately need in Tad. It would be a shame to have the progression Peter seems to have made in the short time he's been with Tad thrown into a turmoil again by more changes. Companies buying a product like to see a little consistency and so would I.

[subject - application free PC sales] Some vendors will offer products that stream operating systems and applications! I think we could see such devices in the next few months.

If this is the case then it will be a huge market for streaming and although there are competitors out there for us - we hold the patents and a nice steady licence fee would do nicely from the sales we don't pick up.

[subject - off the shelf solution] Can we discuss this later this year? Maybe you would like to come to the AGM? Seriously this is a logical extension and has been an evolving part of our product strategy for some time.......Stay tuned

This answer interested me..... discuss later this year...come to the AGM? Is there going to be some sort of announcement at the AGM - an unveiling of an off the shelf product? Or am I reading too much into that. hmm

[subject - Tad's survival and the future] I knew that Endeavors could, should and would be rescued...... I personally think AppExpress is a great product, its pretty mature so relative to other products its reliable, scalable and robust.......we are repeatedly told that ‘out of the box’ AppExpress is ‘better’ than the other guys. There are significant opportunities emerging.....There are also dilemmas; shorter term profitability and possible shareholder satisfaction versus larger, longer term investment with potentially bigger payoffs.

What I like about the above statement is that it's in the present tense - he knew it 'could, should and would' be saved. That sounds confident to me of having taken the first hurdle but having more to get over to be considered a success.

I always read between the lines on anything and sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong but I'm looking forward to the second half of the financial year having more than one announcement - both in product and deal terms. We have had a drought for 2 years, but the sales guys MUST have been talking to companies in that time, so something could come to fruition at any time.

If nothing else - Peter has got a buzz going again with the shareholders, there is the excitement of progress being made in the air.

Chaco Resources SAG Meeting

A group of four shareholders were extended the courtesy of a meeting with the company's new advisors, Blue Oar Securities PLC. The meeting took place at their premises in London EC2 on Tuesday 7 May 2007.

The purpose of the meeting was to collectively put forward, on behalf of private investors/shareholders, a number of key concerns all, it seems, contributing to negative sentiment.

We wanted to make it clear to them that as a single unit we represented, without any effort, almost 15% of the shareholding and make them aware that we existed and could stand up and be counted should it be necessary in the future. More specifically, we wanted to discuss some concerns about the level of communication of late, discuss the recent arrival (and departure) of various Board Members (including Corporate Governance issues) and obtain a better understanding of the short and longer term strategy.

The representatives from Blue Oar afforded us every courtesy and responded as best they could to our concerns. They confirmed that the points we raised would be conveyed to the Chairman, Giles Clarke.

I am slightly limited as to what I can disseminate here as we were given sight of their recently completed Company Report that was intended for their Institutional Clients. It was used purely as a discussion tool during the meeting and it was agreed that this would not be forwarded to any third party or discussed on bulletin boards.

The Shareholders group have to honour this if we stand a chance of retaining credibility or meeting with Chaco's representatives, or the Company, again in the future.

It was felt by our group that the meeting went very well and all came away with a sense of optimism.

Needless to say, should some of our concerns not be addressed, they will be put forward in much stronger terms at the next AGM, where the Chairman will not be able to hide behind others.

The Alea prospect is now becoming interesting. It is clearly the Company's priority in the short term and there is much hope that the proven reserves can realise the anticipated quantities to make it a profitable play. It is my understanding also that the civil works needed to access the drilling site is well on the way to completion so we may be see some useful communication from the Company in due course.

Finally, should any existing shareholder, certified or beneficial, wish to join the group and make our position even stronger, please do not hesitate to email the coordinator Stewart at simstew@btinternet.com with your name and shareholding.

Beau - Gareth

Shareholder Action Groups

From what used to be a pretty closed shop in the financial industry ie companies had carte blanche to trample the small investor as 'he' didn't have any force within the shareholding, the Internet and 'bulletin boards' seem to have changed that scenario forever.

You used to buy shares by contacting a broker getting advice or telling him what you wanted to buy or sell and he then did the transaction for you. Perhaps the system has bitten itself in the foot now by opening up on the Internet and giving the small (I used that advisedly as many are quite large) investors direct access to buying and selling shares.

By having online systems and as said before 'bulletin boards' on a lot of online broker sites, small investors can now communicate with each other and join forces and become a force to be reckoned with by agreement to use their joint holdings as a way to change a company's attitude to them.

Shareholder Action Groups seem to be springing up all over the place now. Tadpole formed one to try to defend the company against the obvious attempt to take it over by Steig Westerberg and John Dilts. Other groups of shareholders have formed them to try to get companies to take the shareholders views into account for many reasons and whether at the end of the day they achieve their goal or not, they tell the management that they are being watched and watched closely at that.

I have been approached by 2 SAG's to give them a platform to get information out to other shareholders about issues they are dealing with and I am more than happy for that platform to be here.

SAG's - Chaco Resources and World Television Group will both be posting information on here in the next few days. Let the force of the Internet be a friend to the small investor. Make sure that they get an audience. If you know anyone else who either holds any of these shares or is just another investor who might know someone, please send them an email link to the site or use bulletin boards to let them know where to find out what is happening, but do not just spam BB's with this though.

I'm not saying that all SAG's are set up for the right purpose, but most probably are - Help each other here please, you might need something like this yourself one day. If you are a TAD holder then you probably were involved in one.

To join the WTV Action Group visit http://wtvaction.org/default.aspx

Interview - Greg Bolcer, Co-founder of Encryptanet

Greg Bolcer was a co-founder of Endeavors Technology and latterly held the position of Chief Technology Officer. He has a strong background in Information Technology and was a pioneer in peer-to-peer infrastructure software.

He is currently working as the Chief Software Architect and Founder of Encryptanet, Inc., a high-tech software company building secure access solutions for premium content using digital certificates. Encryptanet is his second startup company, the first being Endeavors Technology, Inc. which was sold to UK-listed company Tadpole Technology in early 2000.

His doctorate and bachelor's degrees are from the school of Information & Computer Science at UC Irvine. In 2004 he was awarded the Lauds & Laurel's Distinguished Alumnus Award for the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Science. He also has an M.S. degree in Software Engineering from U.S.C.


Q. It's now just over 2 years since you left your role at Endeavors Technologies, what have you been up to since then?

Greg: Clay Cover, my co-founder at Endeavors, and I started a new venture around Web and security protocols. We had an idea how to build secure, timed-access to any digital content without the unnecessary step of logging in. It's very similar to how Apple iTunes authorizes individual machines to play song files or Sony recognizes approved games for execution on their ps3.

During the course of raising money, the venture capital funds quickly focused on tagging Web content and permitting access based on a proof of action--such as a payment confirmation. It was on this concept that we raised a small round of financing from Sevin Rosen and Palomar Ventures in July '06. We used the money to architect the core technology platform using some of the key Stamps.com technical team here and in India.

Right now we are working on building the consumer-friendly front ends for specific application of the technology.


Q. Apart from your obvious skills in technology, you seem to have a skill of getting in front of people in high places in large companies, does that have a lot to do with re-connecting with your peer group from University days?

Greg: Partially. At the university and afterwards, I was involved in a variety of different communities: academic, government, commercial, military/military-contractors, and startup/venture. The interesting thing about these communities is that each has their own network, people, and priorities. Despite sharing an interest in high tech, they hardly communicate with each other. I was very fortunate to make some key contacts in each and have since become a cross-community gateway for all sorts of introductions.


Q. You have set up a new company Encryptanet with former colleague Clay Cover, tell us what inspired you to do that after your previous experience of setting a company up. What is your product and how does it fit into today's marketplace?

Greg: Both Clay and I are very interested in how early stage technology can be crafted into a new business model. Inside of Endeavors, we had some opportunities to experiment with new product launches, but never had the opportunity to really nurture or capitalize on them. We chose Encryptanet from a list of ideas we had for a new venture based on a variety of criteria.

The idea was basically this: there's only two types of content online, free and subscription. Free isn't really free as advertisers are paying for it. Subscription is hard to set up and users are resistant to making these purchases due to trust, privacy, and security concerns. We invented 'Paycloud' a new way to capture 2-3 times more revenue for digital content than using advertising alone.

The benefit to the digital content vendor is that there's no upfront implementation costs because there's no upfront implementation. Your first sale is your first profit. The benefit to the user is that there's no recurring charges, no disclosure of private information to the site, and no annoying account registration, and no forgotten passwords.

Most of our effort to date has been focused on what happens after a user makes a payment. That's the part where most vendors have to integrate a payment system and then implement user account management, content provisioning systems, and user interfaces.

In terms of market acceptance, Forbes.com is our reference customer for downloadable books. Documen.tv is our reference customer for online movies, and we have a few other customers doing online photography, comic books, licensable artwork, virtual maps, news, and social networking. Even before we've been able to fully launch our offerings, we've had fairly good market acceptance.

Q. There are other methods of collecting small payments online, what makes your different?

Greg: The biggest difference is we don't do small payments. We use PayPal, Amazon, and Google. We're a security and access control company. We were one of the very first partners with PayPal for their micropayments program. There are multiple other companies that are trying to reinvent the wheel, we're not one of them.

Q. It would be safe to say that your parting from Endeavors/Tad would have left a sour taste in your mouth, why then have you agreed to become part of Endeavors Technology Advisory Group TAG and what benefits do you see for both yourself and Endeavors through it's creation?

Greg: I believe Peter Bondar has taken a very objective approach to cleaning up the company. I like his straightforward manner. The benefit to Endeavors is that Peter gets an earful of free advice from an independent outsider. The benefit to me in participating in the advisory group is that I get to keep in touch with some of the senior industry contacts that I made over the years and introduced to new ones.


Q. TAG was launched just some 6 months back. Its still early days, but is it drawing interest from significant visionaries in the supplier marketplace, and if so could you tell us the sort of ideas TAG is playing with?

Greg: TAG thus far has been informal. Neil Gardener will be hosting the first formal TAG meeting sometime in June. To date it's been more of an independent sounding board for product strategy. I'm sure that'll change as more key advisors are added.

I can't speak for Endeavors, but we used the same approach for Encryptanet. We currently and previously had high profile advisors from Stamps.com, Overture/Yahoo, Veoh, Friendster, Myspace, and several others. They've been extremely valuable in helping us forge our strategy.


Q. How many players have joined the club? Are there some luminary Companies and organisations shareholders might recognise?

Greg: I'm sure Endeavors will announce more when they're ready.


Q. Do you think streaming has now come of age and do you see a correlation between Encryptanet's offering and Endeavours' AppExpress?

Greg: The streaming market has forever changed. In particular, there's new ROI models for the technology, greater market acceptance of streaming for applications, validation of streaming for applications by Microsoft, WYSE, and Citrix, and greater consumer demand for universal access.

We're experimenting with some of the Endeavors tools. The issue is that the application express tool is an application provisioning system based on user identities. Encryptanet implements a general digital content provisioning system based on anonymous access.

There are some areas we can add value. For instance, you could lock an account to a single machine to prevent password sharing. That may be something the software publishers may demand to help with license compliance--one of the biggest fears by the software owners about streaming--but to this point it's not clear if that's something application streaming customers want.


Q. Other than Encryptanet, are you working on any new or current projects that you can talk about just now?

Greg: I'm focused solely on getting Encrytanet launched, successful, and generating a good return for my investors.

Dr. Gregory Alan BolcerFounder & Chief Software Architect, Encryptanet, Inc.mailto:Inc.gbolcer@encryptanet.com

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I'd just like to thank Greg for his participation and agreement to being interviewed and I hope we can get a bit more out of him as Encryptanet progresses and as TAG formalizes and grows.

Petrel Resources PET.L

A new one to add to the 'have a look' list and possible recovery stock.

Petrel are operating in a very difficult arena - namely Iraq but also in Jordan. They have been working this area for a number of years now, building relations with the Iraqi people and the new government and importantly employing local people too.

If you look at a 5 year chart for the share it starts the chart at approximately 10p and then peaked at around £1.35 in early 2005 and then dropped back to 30p but has been trading in a 50-80p range for the last 2 years. It has suddenly started to move again in the last few days and with rumours that the Iraqi government might cancel their summer break to get things moving over there, then speculators could be forgiven for thinking that some contract announcements are imminent.

You have a lot of reading ahead of you if you are interested in giving this share a try, the website gives a good history and background to where they've been and where they are going, but like the man (David Horgan) says below - it's a risky play.

Today's price as at 11.00am 72p : 74p

In the last few days they have announced a PSA (production service agreement) with the Jordanian Government

RNS Number:8331V Petrel Resources PLC 01 May 2007
PETREL RESOURCES PLC
Petrel awarded Production Sharing Agreement in Jordan
PETREL AWARDED PSA BY JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT COVERING EAST SAFAWI BLOCK
HIGHLY PROSPECTIVE EXPLORATION TERRITORY, CLOSE TO PRODUCING FIELDS IN BOTH
Syria and Jordan
3 YEAR EXPLORATION PROGRAMME AGREED, COMMENCING WITH SEISMIC INTERPRETATION
and acquisition to define drilling targets
Petrel Resources, the AIM-listed oil explorer and developer operating in Iraq, has finalised a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) on the East Safawi Block in Jordan. The PSA Effective Date will be May 1st when it will be published in the Official Gazette of Jordan.
The East Safawi Block forms part of the oil and gas prospective Arabian Desert. The East Safawi block adjoins the producing gas field at Risha and neighbouring oil producing blocks in Syria. The oil targets are in shallow formations and there are well-established gas plays at deeper levels.
The Jordanian Production Sharing terms are world class. The contractor receives 60% of oil production - or gas equivalent - up to 10,000 barrels daily, with a sliding scale to a 35% share of production over 100,000 barrels daily oil equivalent.
The agreement allows for a 3 year first phase exploration. Initial work includes seismic reprocessing and reinterpretation and new seismic. Targets identified will be followed up by drilling. Work already completed by Petrel on the block suggests a number of drillable targets. Drilling is expected to take place in late 2008 - early 2009, depending on operational developments.
Jordan is a stable constitutional monarchy. The Jordanian authorities are pro-business. Jordan is part of the Arab gas pipeline project and will be both a contributor and reliable access route for Middle Eastern gas exports to Europe.
Petrel Managing Director, David Horgan, commented:
'This is a good block, in a highly prospective area: the Arabian Desert has both oil and gas potential. With great terms already in place, we are starting work straight away, reprocessing and acquiring seismic to identify drilling targets.
Winning the East Safawi Production Sharing Agreement is the culmination of three years work with the Jordanian authorities. Terms are world-class, especially for oil. Jordan is an excellent business location: secure, friendly and pro-business, which geographically and geologically fits well into Petrel's Iraq-centred strategy".

They also announced in September a strategic and co-operation agreement with Japanese oil company Itochu Corp, which will cover future oil exploration and development activities in Iraq.

The following presentation has just arrived on their website under Investor Relations and although is a large document is shows maps of the areas they are involved in with Iraq.

http://www.petrelresources.com/_investorRelations/Petrel_Presentation_April_2007.pdf

In the MD's statement from their own website http://www.petrelresources.com/_aboutPetrel/mdsStatement.shtml he states: (extract only)
"Doubtless there will be new challenges in the years to come. If shareholders are risk averse they should exit forthwith. If they share our vision and are ready to ride the inevitable waves we promise them an exciting journey. The opportunity is clear and competition from majors muted.

The past year has been challenging for participants in the Iraqi oil industry. The transition to an elected administration has also disrupted decision-making. Production and exports have stagnated. Security is a challenge even for those with deep roots in Iraq. We maintain an office and staff in Baghdad.

Delays and hazards are frustrating, but they also offer opportunity. So far major companies have limited their involvement to provision of generalised training courses and studies conducted from western countries.

Petrel has taken a pragmatic approach, conducting what work is possible within the constraints"
http://www.petrelresources.com/
Company Background
Petrel Resources is an Irish and London listed oil exploration company established in the early 1980s. The Company moved from London’s Ofex Market to the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in August 2000. The focus of the Company's operations is in Iraq, where it had been seeking an agreement to develop three existing oil fields in Southern Iraq while applying for exploration acreage in the Western Desert.
Before the fall of Saddam Hussein, Petrel had signed a working agreement to explore Block 6 in the Western Desert. Iraq has known reserves of 123 billion barrels, the second largest repository in the world after Saudi Arabia which is believed to hold 265 billion barrels. But most of Iraq’s oil is in the east of the country. The Western Desert has hardly been explored. The Saddam Hussein authorities were keen for new exploration rather than the reworking of existing but run-down fields.

With the fall of Saddam, Petrel, whilst still mapping in Block 6, has dusted off its plans to revive two wells in Southern Iraq. It had completed, at a cost of $350,000, a feasibility study on these two fields, known as Subba and Lohais, located close to the border with Kuwait. These fields used to once produce 140,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). Before the War they were down to 25,000 bopd. According to Petrel chairman John Teeling, by mid 2003 they were producing a trickle. They could quickly be bought back to a level where their output would be 100,000 bopd, Petrel believes.

Moreover, managing director David Horgan, in six visits to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, has looked at fresh fields in the north of the country. Petrel’s engineers have prepared a proposal to develop the Khurmala Dome of the Kirkuk oil field. Petrel has raised £959,500 by an institutional placing. This will cover the work involved here.

Petrel is confident it will receive the green light to proceed with the redevelopment proposals.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=pet
Petrel Resources PLC (Petrel) is an oil and gas exploration company focused on Iraq and the Arabian Western Desert. In October 2005, Petrel signed an agreement with the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company to study the Merjan field located near to the city of Hillah. This is a discovered field with an estimated 760 million barrels of light crude in place. Petrel has continued to make progress on both its exploration proposal, Block 6 in the Western Desert, and on its tenders to develop oil fields. During the year ended December 31, 2005, the Company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Jordanian authorities on the 8,750 square kilometers East Safawi Block, which adjoins the producing Risha gas field, close to the Iraqi border. In May 2006, Petrel made formal application to convert the MOU to a production sharing agreement.
162 Clontarf Road Dublin 3, IRL +353-1-8332833 (Phone)
Company website:http://www.petrelresources.com/ News Releases, Investor Relations, Corporate History/Profile, Executives

Don't stop at what I've posted links to on here; delve through the links and find the story for yourselves.

Global Coal Management

In the last few days this share has been drifting backwards too. I wonder if the old adage - Sell in May and go away - has anything to do with a few of the shares I have or watch drifting down. These things go in cycles anyway. Nothing goes up in a straight line and also people get fed up waiting for events to unravel themselves like the will they won't they get the go ahead to extract coal in Bangladesh.

GVM which GCM have a stake in are to start a feasibility study on their latest acquisition.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=31405

JOHANNESBURG (Business Day) -- Coal and base metals company GVM Metals [JSE:NVM; AIM:GVM], which is quoted on London’s AIM and listed in Australia and Johannesburg, planned to start a feasibility study on its latest acquisition, the Mooiplaats coal project, during the current quarter, it said on Monday.

The company is finalising the purchase of Kelso Mining, whose main asset is the right to take 70% of the Mooiplaats coal project. Mooiplaats is within 2 km of the Camden power station and also close to the Richards Bay coal export line.

Camden is one of the mothballed power stations that Eskom has recommissioned to help meet the country’s rising electricity demand over the next few years. It should supply about 1000 megawatts to help meet demand this winter.

In an investor presentation last month, GVM said it planned to bring into production the 1.2 million tonne a year Holfontein project and the 4.5-million tonne a year Mooiplaats project within the next two years.

Eskom was consuming more coal than it had originally planned and needed substantial new coal sources, GVM said.

In the March quarter, GVM made pretax profits of A$1.8 million (US$1.48 million), mainly from its nickel magnesium alloy business, NiMag. Current exchange rates and high nickel prices suggested NiMag’s outlook for the rest of the financial year was positive, it said.

GVM held A$10.1 million (US$8.33 million) in cash at the end of March after issuing 12.2 million shares to Global Coal Management to raise funds for its South African coal interests.

The company plans to place another 8.3 million shares to finance the purchase of 50% of the Baobab joint venture and 37.35 million new shares to raise funds to acquire the Mooiplaats project, both of which require shareholder approval.

At Holfontein, drilling was continuing to increase the definition of the coal resources and a feasibility study should be completed by the end of the September quarter, management said.

At Baobab, drilling will begin once shareholders have approved the acquisition, while at the Limpopo coal project, GVM has begun talking to infrastructure providers to determine how much coal it can export from a mine on the property.

Commentary
GVM shares have gathered speed since the company took a dual listing on the JSE late last year, partly as the company has issued shares to local vendors of businesses but also as its profile has risen in South Africa. GVM has been actively expanding in the local coal sector where it sees an opportunity to meet Eskom’s growing need for thermal coal.

Initially listed at 240 cents, GVM is currently trading at 620 cents, and has been as high as 790 cents in early March. Its JSE price on Monday afternoon was about 8% higher than the 41 pence prevailing on AIM, based on the exchange rate, which meant it was offering an arbitrage opportunity for lively but small-scale traders. Volumes, which were less than 20,000 a day for the first two months, with sometimes no trade at all for several days, have picked up to a more respectable 30,000 to 100,000 a day, with very few days when it shows no deals.

One of GVM’s stated intentions when it took a listing on the JSE was to use its shares to make local acquisitions and by doing so it has gradually increased volumes. It initially listed its full 76.7-million shares on the JSE, including 20 million shares it was committed to issue for its acquisition of the Limpopo coal project, but it warned that liquidity would be constrained at first because the shares were held on the UK and Australian registers and would take time to migrate to SA.

At the end of March, though, the list of GVM’s top 20 shareholders includes a few that are clearly South African. The second-biggest shareholder, with 13% of the company, is South African Coal Limited. There is a wide range of nominee companies listed as shareholders and a couple of these are quite likely to represent local shareholders.

Croma Group

This was one of the first shares I blogged about and said it should be put on a watch list as it had won some government contracts. It's only been a couple of months since I started this, but there has been nothing coming through on google alerts for this one since.

Today for some reason it has drifted back by 0.38p as I type. Probably for no other reason than the lack on anything tangible to keep it up. For those who didn't buy at the time and were watching, it might be time to start looking for the buy in price in the next couple of months. the chart isn't really giving an indication either.

If I get any news on it, I'll update you, but for now it's all quiet.

Beau - Gareth

I see my guest blogger has arrived on site and knocked my picture off the front page!!!!! Not a bad thing really I hasten to add.

If he's a good boy he might be allowed to stay, and if he's bad we might have to delete him at a later date..........lol

Welcome Beau :o)

Off Topic - P.S. Alex Salmond does not speak for all the Scottish people - NOT ME anyway, I'm for the Union.

Chaco Resources - What's up!

Rather than just post a lot of links to information that most Chaco holders already know about, having talked to a couple of Chaco shareholders I am now of the opinion that someone better than me can fill you in on the current story.

I will post some information obvioulsy so that non holders can get the background information, but I have sent an 'author invitation' out so that he can blog here directly for you.

Apparently just like Tadpole, the shareholders of Chaco have felt the need to create an Action Group to elicit information from the company as they feel they are being kept in the dark about important issues. I think we are going to see a lot more of this type of thing in the future with so many small holders wanting to take an active role in their investments. This group are meeting on Thursday, so I have asked my guest blogger to do a pre meeting blog and if the others agree to it a post meeting blog to update you on whats at hand.

In the past companies had a barrier between them and the investor due to the fact that people dealt via the telephone with a broker and took their advice on what they should and shouldn't buy. With the internet dealing services available these days, the small investor is now much more hands on in their choice of investment, being able to research it and they want to hold the management of the companies accountable in a way never before seen.

Power to the people I say!

SaaS - AppExpress

I hope this is the first of many Software as a Service offerings via AppExpress.

I recall an episode 3-4 years ago when I bought Norton Professional as a download and it took 8 hours to download and 6 to install after it had downloaded. Fair enough I was on dial-up at the time and AppExpress needs broadband, but I contacted Endeavors and asked if and when AppExpress would be made available on a broader market for the general market 'Joe public' to use on a daily basis. I was told that was not what it's market was - they were an Enterprise company. My opinion at the time was - If you ever want big business to adopt something - Give it to the public and they will create the demand. Big business follows the little man on technology not the other way around.

Well due to a Tadpole Shareholder, 'Joe Public' are now going to get the chance to try it's wares and they will be the judges. Once it starts getting talked about by real people in the real world a product has made it, in my opinion.

Philip Voice a former landscape gardener and an investor in Tadpole Technology the parent company for Endeavors Technologies product AppExpress writes a blog about gardening and it was due to this that he had the idea of trying to get a lead to the company at a time when it desperately needed some help and the result is a sale that will see one of the largest communities in the world trying out AppExpress - GARDENERS!

You can read Philips story here -http://www.landscapejuice.com/2007/05/complete_garden.html#more

Software as a Service - Endeavors Technologies

ENDEAVORS TECHNOLOGIES ENABLE ON-DEMAND HORTICULTURAL EXPLORATION FOR THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

IRVINE, CA and OXFORD, UK ; May 2nd 2007: Endeavors Technologies Inc, a leader in Enterprise Application Streaming, and the horticultural software supplier, Complete Gardens CD-ROM Ltd, today announced a first for the UK consumer market, with the release of Complete Gardens, an interactive plant selector, planting & pruning guide encyclopedia, as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

The service is built upon Endeavors’ patented technology, AppExpress, which allows any Windows application to be ‘packaged’ to enable streaming to a client system, whenever and wherever the user may require access to the software. Similar to streaming video, AppExpress enables true, on-demand access to any Windows application. The applications are dynamically streamed over the Internet from a central server, executed as if installed on the client PC, but avoiding time consuming and complicated installation procedures. Of interest to any ISV wishing to enable their software for on-demand access, Endeavors’ e-commerce software development kit, with inbuilt monetization capabilities (usage based charging), allows any software application to be securely distributed via the Internet and payment collected. The SDK is available on request.

Neil Bromhall, Managing Director of Complete Gardens comments “We have been selling our interactive planting advice software on a CD-ROM to the UK market via the traditional retail distribution channels for 6 years. We have an extensive UK client base supplying home users, students and professionals alike but were faced with increasing costs for updating existing customers by physically sending out a CD-ROM. Added to this we were faced with the huge logistical problem of attacking the lucrative North American Market using this cumbersome system involving setting up a distribution network, freight and agent’s costs etc.

Now, utilizing this streaming solution from Endeavors Technologies, we can easily distribute worldwide by allowing our potential customers to have our garden software stream directly to their PC using an internet connection. This method not only dramatically reduces our administration and production costs it also provides a greater level of security from illegal copying.”

Peter Bondar, Endeavors’ CEO added “Our Enterprise customers already experience the significant benefits streaming applications offers over traditional software deployment methods. When we were approached with the challenge of delivering a consumer based product direct to the customer via the internet, it was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate our intent to make Endeavors the number one choice for all application streaming requirements. This is the first solution of its kind for us and very much breaking new ground for the application streaming market.

This deal demonstrates the future for consumer based software enterprises wishing to deliver a cost effective solution directly to the customer. By utilizing our streaming solution Complete Gardens has removed the logistical hurdle of packaging and selling their software through traditional mailing systems, or download portals which is slow and immediately out of date when installed.

We were impressed by Neil’s vision for delivering this award winning software to its customers and it clearly demonstrates the potential of the emerging on-demand / Software-as-a-Service market and the possibilities it brings for ISVs, service providers and enterprises alike.”

Bromhall adds “Using the latest streaming technology we are able to provide our customers anywhere in the world access to the visually strong garden planner resource. Unlike other hosted plant finder software providers we will not suffer with load balancing problems as the individual elements of the software is only delivered to the user as they access that feature. This will allow up to 10,000 users to be active on any one server at a time.

Potential customers have the option to trial the software for 24 hours costing only £1 to satisfy themselves of the content and its ease of use. They can find plants to suit every aspect of their garden effortlessly by selecting any combination of color, season, aspect or height. The streamed software finds and displays the best plants to suit their needs within seconds. Speed and image quality is imperative and streaming provides the solution. The user’s data, such as their notes and plant lists, is saved directly to their own computer and available whenever the software is streamed, with the added benefit of not having the entire 7,200 plant photographs taking up disk space.

Complete Gardens will be able to provide customers the convenience of instantly streaming updates containing more plants and advice. The release of their latest 3,500 plant version with 9,000 high resolution images is being launched at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show.

Bromhall concludes “Utilizing application streaming will enable us to deliver larger high resolution photographs that would just not be feasible or practical on a CD or indeed hosted on a conventional server. We also believe that we will have the edge when new photographs are added as they will be instantly available to the user as will be any upgrade or enhancement as our unique offering continues to evolve.”

Bondar continues “AppExpress is ideally suited to the future demands of software distribution. By instantly delivering the basic code needed to execute the application, and then only delivering additional features, on-demand, as/if the user accesses that application feature. The application is executed in a virtual environment, and therefore does not impact the host operating system – thus eliminating application conflicts and the need for costly regression testing prior to deployment of new applications, upgrades and patches.”

Complete Gardens online can be seen at download.complete-gardens.co.uk

About Endeavors Technology

Endeavors Technology Inc, a Californian based subsidiary of Tadpole Technology plc (London LSE TAD) together with its sister division, Stream Theory Inc, creates, develops and markets innovative, patentable technologies (Application Streaming) that allow the pc based applications to be streamed from servers to client computers where they are subsequently executed. These “next stage” technologies replace thin client computing paradigms. Organizations can reduce the total cost of ownership whilst improving service levels; simplify the management of computers whilst improving security and reliability and offer innovative distribution methodologies that offer new revenue opportunities whilst reducing costs and waiting times for end users. Endeavors is a pioneer and though leader with 9 patents granted and 18 pending, including the first ever patents granted for streaming applications. Endeavors realizes its solutions through licensing, royalty and technology transfer models. See www.endeavors.com for more details.
Investor and Media Information

Peter Bondar
President of Endeavors Technology Inc
pbondar@endeavors.com
US Office: +1 949 553 5659
UK Office: +44 1845 501772
Worldwide mobile: +44 7775 883122

About Complete Gardens

Complete Gardens CD-ROM Ltd is an Oxford based company established in 2001. A team of authors, photographer and programmers was brought together to build an interactive plant resource aimed primarily at the garden novice. Since then, plant data has been added to satisfy the needs of many horticultural students and professional Garden Designer. Managing Director Neil Bromhall is an 'Emmy' award winning photographer and Cameraman for his camerawork on BBC David Attenborough's 'The Private Life of Plants'. Neil has spent 16 years working for the BBC specializing in macro and Time Lapse and underwater camerawork. Neil was Emmy Nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a craft Cinematographers BBC Predators series 'Nowhere to Hide" and BAFTA Nominated for camerawork on BBC 'Lion Battle field' series. Neil has filmed in many parts of the world with TV presenter Nigel Marvel - Creepy Crawlies, Giants, and the Iran series. Paul Williams Award Winning Author wrote much the plant description and plant care text.

Contact

Neil Bromhall
Complete Gardens CD-ROM Ltd
40, Davenant Road
Oxford
OX2 8BY
United Kingdom
Tel: 01865 512561
Email: neil@complete-gardens.co.uk