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Had they held onto the stock and sold it now it would have been worth $8,407,456 more if they sold it now at 9.72, or even $11,171,888 more if they sold it at 12.5 a week ago.

Oops.

Maybe so. RealNetworks announced their (listen.com-hybrid) service last week, at 79 cents a track. Also -- oops -- $10 a month subscription. It's amazing how the competition doesn't seem to recognize that subscription fees are the obstacle. Apple's buck-a-song is just so easy to get your head around. We want to pay for songs, not to belong to some Columbia records club with monthly dues. The iTunes interface is fine, but it's the per-song-only thing that sells it over the alternatives.

The other big bar to get over for other services is the licensing agreements. It sure looks like Steve Jobs used his name to get through obstacles that held everyone else up. It's kind of a race, too -- if someone else can get those same deals before the Windows version of iTunes comes out, maybe they can stake out the market share to avoid Apple's winning the new, bigger market of 'doze users. We'll see.

OK this deserves more visibility! At the risk of repeating myself.

Today I read this from advocado:
"SCO hints it may sue Linus Torvalds for patent infringement"

and then a few articles below:
"Microsoft to purchase UNIX rights from SCO"
refering to this article.

Coincidence? Has anyone else noticed?

starm_

Today I read this from advocado:
"SCO hints it may sue Linus Torvalds for patent infringement"

and then a few articles below:
"Microsoft to purchase UNIX rights from SCO"
refering to this article.

Coincidence?

starm_

It needs to be said here is that BI is a new field and it is evolving. Are 100 million people going to use data visualization tools on a daily basis? Probably not however one can say that the adoption rate of such tools will increase in 5 years. I used to think that BI was just marketing spin until I started doing it a few years. Basically 10 years ago BI was not possible - companies could afford to create their own terabyte databases then mine that information. Today that is possible and tools such as Oracle Discoverer allow non-technical employees to execute complicated queries. That itself is crazy and it gets better. BI will make the decision making process faster and more accurate. Getting there will take time but it will happen. Dashboards are already a common name. For a glimpse into the future check out the following sites:

http://www.thebrain.com
http://www.visualthesaurus.com
http://www.smartmoney.com/marketmap
http://www.earthviewer.com

My favorite is the sector map offered by SmartMoney. It's an awesome tool however it is pricey and put this in front of your average sales person and they will freeze due to information overload.

I searched Google, and I found a news story about the merger. Please read it.

More info on the Sonera scandal...

Sonera monitored the records to find out who had leaked information about internal management disputes in 2000 and 2001.

---

Sonera, Finland's largest telecommunications operator, is in the midst of finalizing a merger with Telia AB, Sweden's largest operator. Telia said Thursday that shareholders owning 95% of Sonera's shares had accepted its takeover offer.

Takeover is the more correct word of the two. :)

Vivendi Universal and Sony Corp. are preparing to sue individual song swappers... I'm curious how this will be done.

In other news, the US trade deficit is now at $35 billion. Next question?

Check out the details here.

In this article there's some extra technical information, like the fact that it has 2 64-bit RISC processors and runs the Apertos Operating System (now called Aperios).

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

Some random financial facts about Microsoft, compared against the biggest company in the world (by revenue) Exxon Mobil. Scary Stuff:

• Microsoft Market Value: $313,182,000,000
• Exxon Mobil Market Value: $271,064,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Revenues: $25,622,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Revenues: $229,769,000,000
• Microsoft Yearly Earnings: $6,423,000,000
• Exxon Yearly Earnings: $17,330,000,000
• Microsoft Long Term Debt: $0
• Exxon Long Term Debt: $7,289,000,000
• Microsoft Net Margin: 25.1%
• Exxon Mobil Net Margin: 7.5%

Basically, even though Microsoft has approx 1/10th the revenues of each of the top 3 corporations in the world (the others are Wal-Mart and GM) it has approx half the profits they do.

In June 2000 Microsoft's pre tax profit margin was 60.2%. After taxes it was 41.0%. Seeing as Bill Gates owns 13.3% of Microsoft, every dollar spent on a Microsoft Product -- actually let's make it every $100 because $1 won't buy anything MS sells. For every $100 you spend on a MS product, Bill Gates gets on average $5.33.

There are sites that try to try to put is wealth in perspective. This is the google cached version (don't wanna melt the poor guy's server) but it's pretty much up to date.

The poster never said that the events at the World Trade Center weren't important, or that 6000 deaths weren't important. They are, but he's right that people need some perspective. Every year in the US approx 2.4 million people die. That's approx 6500 a day. Since 9/11, about 80,000 people have died across the US. Every year, 20,000 people die of AIDS in the US. In New York, approx 2500 people have died since the attack in completely unrelated ways. Since you mention murder, almost 20,000 people have been murdered in the US since 9/11.

A lot of people died, and it is sad. A lot of property was destroyed, and that's sad too. A well known landmark of NYC was levelled and that's sad. But more than sad, most of these things are scary to people who didn't see it coming. But the world is fundamentally the same as it was 2 weeks ago before everything happened. Air travel is far less convenient, Manhattan is drastically changed, but the US has barely changed at all.

I think the map CNN made to show the damage to NYC is neat. It does a good job of showing the scale of the damage. The fact I think the map is neat doesn't mean I don't think the damage is horrible, but I am able to differentiate between the map and the damage itself. I also think SmartMoney's map of the market is neat (http://www.smartmoney.com/marketmap/index.cfm?sho wWeekStats=true). It shows graphically what the market has been doing in the last week. This doesn't mean I think it's neat that the market lost 15% in 1 week, or that the weapons contractors are up; Lockheed Martin is up 10%, General Dynamics is up 10% and Northrop Grumman is up 20%.

Don't confuse the messenger with the message.

Sources: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/, http://www.citypopulation.de/ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/keytabs.htm

Gordon Moore has several billion dollars and is Chairman Emeritus of one of the fifth or sixth biggest corporation in the world*.

Meanwhile, your name insults you, you have no karma, and your posts are moderated down by default.

You do the math.

--Blair
"Who loves ya baby."

* - They used to be first, but people stopped buying cell-phones, and the whole transistorized-crap market went south from there. Now the money's in gasoline and baby clothes.

Incidentally, from the report I read, TLC only lost $206 million last year (vs. the $1.1 billion total mentioned in a previous posting)

However, will Mattel stop screwing up? It depends on what they decide to do even when the new CEO, Robert Eckert, says, "It's clear consumers have become more adept at new technology...We need to capitalize on the opportunities that creates." I wonder how they'll capitalize on these opportunities?

-mark

The best 'red dot in a sea of green' type application I've seen is this stockmarket app which shows the entire market's performance in a glance.

I think that is a quite naive statement. The history of Andover so far is: They made a bunch of deals, went IPO, and hugely profitted from selling the company. It is not quite clear, if people who actually bought the shares profitted so far, since the stock price went downhill from the start, with a slight bump upwards from the sale to VA Linux.

The question, if something benefits the shareholder is quite murky. The article states the opinion that the Andover deal hurt VA Linux shareholders. VA Linux has a different view on this for sure. Assumed I am a VA Linux shareholder, I guess I have barely a chance to successfully sue VA Linux. IANAL, though.

More and more I'm reminded of the cyberspace scenes as described by Gibson. On the virtual world of the internet we have these larger and larger blocks representing big companies...

Have a look at SmartMoney's Map of the Market, which, I suspect, may have been inspired by the same Gibson reference. It's a very nice way of representing the relative market caps of these big companies (and the movements of the individual companies, market sectors, etc.). Very cool tool...

...j

Fradulent in terms of "company was actually self insured, and just trying to be sneaky and pretend they weren't?"

There was a direct writer which was licensed to write the insurance. That company (National Union Fire Insurance, a co-defendant in the suit) was the insurer. They chose to reinsure the business back to an insurer owned and controlled by UPS. They are perfectly within their rights to do so.

I understand that the general public dosn't understand the difference between insurance companies and reinsurers. If you have insurance, that changes are very great that some company that you never heard of holds part of the risk. Reinsurance is commonly used in insurance to spread the risk of too many claims around a larger group of companies.

That company (the reinsurer) does not need to be licensed in the state where you bought the insurance -- this is one of the bogus claims of the suit. You have no relationship with or claim against the reinsurer in the event of a loss. If the reinsurer becomes insolvent and can't pay its claims, you aren't out a penny. The direct writer, with whom you have a contract, is out. They still owe you for the claim.

Yes; the courts have already decided that. This suit is a result of that decision, not a speculation hoping to achieve that decision.

No. Please reread the article. The company was convicted of tax fraud because of the way that they structured the overseas reinsurer. They apparently attempted to avoid paying Federal Income Tax on the underwriting profits. The court decision does not prove fraudulent dealings with insureds.

Frankly, this is a nuisance suit which has no basis in law. I would be very surprised to see the plaintiffs prevail.