Rambus Inc. reports, yawn

Rambus Inc. released its second quarter results. The numbers weren't pretty and I don't care. In fact, I applaud Harold Hughes and his team for a job well done.

What the heck, you ask?

Life is good at Rambus. Ignoring the litigation successes as they speak for themselves:

1) Rambus has plenty of cash and equivalents to carry on its war with the cartel - nearly $400 million. Credit for the war chest is due to Harold Hughes and his team.

2) Rambus recovered the "get out of jail free" card from Infineon / Qimonda.

3) Rambus has not signed a license agreement with a major thief. No cheap, shortsighted settlement.

4) Rambus continues to retain top tier lawyers.

5) Rambus discontinues fruitless negotiations with Nvidia and hauls their b-hind to court.

If I were Harold Hughes:

1) I would retain a top tier lobbying firm. Spend some money making the FTC go away. Don't be shy about it. Issue a press release. If the en blanc petition is denied, the window is wide open. Just do it.

2) I would make sure the employees are happy.
a) Offer more, yes more, restricted stock. However, extend the vesting requirements. Golden handcuffs.
b) Have a pizza and beer party, sans the gunny sacks and mobile shredder unit.
c) Have the employees identify a half-dozen top flight engineers that RMBS would love to employ. Hire them. Make it happen.

3) Provide shareholders with more information about the litigation. The current financials aren't pretty. Shareholders are on board based on the IP that is at the moment, largely litigation driven. Post the AT documents. Maintain a calendar or find a way to make sure that somebody has the information to maintain an accurate calendar at public site.

4) Take a holiday. No mobile phone for one week - 7 days. If you don't have somebody at Rambus that can run the company for a week, the shareholders are in deep poo-poo. Develop a succession plan.

5) Take a page from the Maloof family's public relations efforts. The Maloofs frequently remind the world that the Kings have the best fans in the world. Mr. Hughes, Rambus has the best shareholders in the world. Respectfully, you should never forget that.