The triumvirate currently running Compaq, which owns the letter Q, is now attempting to reduce costs by 20 per cent. As the organisation is a bare bones outfit already, it's hard to see where the slashes may be made. However, as reported here and in the excellent newsletter which we, and hopefully the rest of you, read all the time, Shannon knows Compaq, one way that the Big Q will claw back profit is by spinning off its OEM business. A letter to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in the post, we are given to understand. The OEM group will be sold to Smart Modular Technologies in early June. Meanwhile, insiders at Compaq tell The Register that Shannon, a leading DEC analyst, is coming under even greater pressure from New York lawyers. The insiders say that Compaq now wants a disclaimer in CAPITAL LETTERS on Shannon's newsletter, and on every page. Shannon continues to refuse to comment on the legal issue. But as we reported several days ago, it is odd that Compaq should go to these lengths. Has the triumvirate never heard of IBM Today, DEC User and The Register? Journalism in the United States of America is evidently a fraught business... ®