Tales of 2 Tech Firms -- With Very Different Endings
It's time to say goodbye to a pair of Washington area companies that were pioneers in emerging technologies that have matured into major industries.</br></br>Capitol Multimedia Inc. of Bethesda, which made compact disc software for the very first CD-ROM home entertainment system, is closing its headquarters here and moving to Boston. Once a hot Washington stock, the company's shares sank to a record low last week after Capitol Multimedia reported another big write-off that left investors whimpering.</br></br>In contrast, Penril DataComm Networks Inc. of Gaithersburg, a maker of modems since the days when people asked, "What's a modem?," will go out with a bang today) after reinventing itself as a new venture called Access Beyond.</br></br>Penril shares -- which were up 25 cents to $16.75 a share Friday, the highest price in years -- are scheduled to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market for the last time this morning. By afternoon, former Penril stockholders will own shares in Access Beyond, trading as ACCB on the Nasdaq, and Bay Networks Inc. (BAY on the New York Stock Exchange), a California company that is buying Penril's modem business.</br></br>When Penril began making modems nearly 20 years ago, executives had to explain that the word was shorthand for "modulator-demodulator" and a modem was a black box that allowed computers to communicate over telephone lines.