the third month of a quarter and may adversely impact the Company's ability to predict its financial results accurately. Developments late in a quarter, such as lower-than-anticipated demand for the Company's products, an internal systems failure, or failure of one of the Company's key logistics or components suppliers, can have significant adverse impacts on the Company and its results of operations and financial condition.

The Company's success depends largely on its ability to attract and retain key personnel.  Much of the future success of the Company depends on the continued service and availability of skilled personnel, including those in technical, marketing and staff positions. Experienced personnel in the information technology industry are in high demand and competition for their talents is intense, especially in the Silicon Valley, where the majority of the Company's employees are located. There can be no assurance that the company will be able to successfully attract and retain the key personnel it needs. Additionally, volatility or a lack of positive performance in the Company's stock price may adversely affect its ability to retain key employees.

The market value of the Company's non-current debt and equity investments is subject to significant volatility.  The Company holds minority investments in several public companies including Akamai Technologies, Inc., EarthLink, and ARM Holdings plc. The combined fair market value of these investments was approximately $128 million as of September 29, 2001. The Company has categorized its investments in these companies as available-for-sale requiring the investments be carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income. These investments are in publicly traded companies whose share prices are subject to significant volatility. While the overall financial impact of these investments has been positive through the end of 2001, adverse changes in general market conditions or poor operating results of the underlying companies could result in the Company's inability to ultimately realize the gains associated with the carrying value of these investments.

The Company is subject to risks associated with transitioning to use of the Euro in 2002.  On January 1, 1999, eleven of the fifteen member countries of the European Union adopted the Euro as their common legal currency and established fixed conversion rates between their existing sovereign currencies and the Euro. The Euro is now traded on currency exchanges and is available for non-cash transactions. The transition period for introduction of the Euro ends on January 1, 2002.

The Company has taken steps to evaluate internal system capabilities, review the ability of financial institution vendors to support Euro transactions, and examine current marketing and pricing policies and strategies in light of the Euro conversion. The Company believes it has identified and addressed all significant issues related to its internal systems and processes to accommodate full transition to the Euro for the transaction and reporting currency for its affected European