"I think there is a world market for maybe five...

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

Thomas J. Watson, President of IBM, 1943,

on production of IBM’s the first mainframe computer.

My friends,

Tiresias was not always old. Tiresias was young once, and he was somewhat of a nerd. He belonged to a radio club and built radios. He belonged to an astronomy group, and ground a 6 inch parabolic mirror for his Newtonian telescope, when in high school. When living and studying in America, in the 1980’s, he was in a computer club. Yes, a computer club. That does sound a little quaint now, but Tiresias was then positively avant garde then. Tiresias, like his other friends in the club, was a proud owner of an Apple II, and they would swap programs on 5¼ inch floppy discs, and write some and share programs. His hero, Steve Wozniak, had also been in a computer club, not, Tiresias’s club he hastens to add. But that was what we used to do back in those days. It was in 1985, when Tiresias was doing this that Woz announced that had sold most of his shares in Apple. Woz said that one of the reasons he sold was that everyone he knew who needed a computer already had one. He had something like 10% of Apple. Steve Woz was a genius engineer, but not such a good money manager. A couple of bad investments, a couple more divorces, and Woz had lost most of his money. Tiresias hopes that Woz kept a few of his apple shares and still has a few lazy million, but obviously a bit less than the 300 odd billion he might have now if he hadn’t sold.

There is a long history of insiders, those closest to the technology, who do not have the vision or understanding as to what they have. Thomas J Watson had grown IBM from a cash register company to a monopoly of computing and an exemplar of business practice and management. Bill Gates once said; "640 K of memory should be enough for everyone". Ronald Wayne, a little heard of co-founder of Apple, sold his 10% of Apple to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Yes, that’s right, $800. He found it too stressful, couldn't get on with Steve Jobs, and got out happy to get the money.

But why is Tiresias telling you all talking about all this history. Tiresias recalls the 1985 freezing mid-west American winter, with his computer club friends, not understand shares much, and all agreeing how clever Woz was, to have made the brilliant Apple II, and had got so many millions for his share. A true financial Wiz. We did not and could not imagine billions or hundreds of billions his share might be worth.

Confocal Laser Endo-microscopy (CLE) is a new paradigm medical imaging enabling in vivo real-time pathology in the operating theatre and the clinic. There has been some volatility recently in the share price. There are always Ronald Waynes around. And that is a good thing. The Ronald Wayne’s of this world are essential. Ronald Wayne’s creates liquidity and opportunity. Do not be fooled but. For every Ronald Wayne there is a Buffett and without Ronald Waynes there cannot be Warren Buffetts. When Woz sold out of Apple, Tiresias, being young, thought that Woz was right and was a financial as well as technological guru. Tiresias thought at the time, in that cold midwestern winter, that, if he had Apple stock, he too would follow his hero, and sell. Even then, Tiresias had read Wall Street adages; “Never be afraid to take a profit", and "Always take your profits too soon". As Tiresias’s other hero, The Bard, William Shakespeare, said, “Oh what fools these mortals be". Optiscan is a new paradigm in medical imaging. Buy and never sell.