Slashdot Mirror

According to Rmoney, 500000 a month would be successful.

Of course, Obama is a recipreversexclusion - had the economy created half a million jobs last month, they'd be saying it should create 2 million. No matter what he did or was (allegedly) responsible for, it's wrong.

Much like Libya, when before Obama and NATO intervened the Republicans were screaming that something had to be done. And while the intervention was occurring, they suddenly cared deeply about undeclared wars and demanded he stop. And afterwards, when we were done (in a month, for under a billion dollars, and with none of the men sent to do it suffering so much as a purple nurple) they continued whinging that we never should've intervened in the first place.

And their base believed each of these things in turn, and never saw how ridiculous that is. This exact kind of pattern repeats again, and again, and again. It's been going on for decades. The lack of retrospection and introspection in the Republican party and right-wingers in general never ceases to amaze and/or horrify me. I just don't understand how anyone can listen to someone like Hannity or Glenn Beck and not eventually realize "This person's claims have no relation to what actually happens. This person is never right about anything. I should stop listening to them." Seriously! How the hell does that not happen?

Several provisions of the 1933 Banking Act sought to restrict 'speculative' uses of bank credit. Section 3(a) required each Federal Reserve Bank to monitor local member bank lending and investment to ensure there was not âoeundue useâ of bank credit for âoespeculative trading or carryingâ of securities, commodities or real estate.

Most would agree that when the fox is put in charge of the hen house, foul play will ensue. Just a couple examples:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/665c90e8-ecf4-11e0-be97-00144feab49a.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/29/us-lme-warehousing-idUSTRE76R3YZ20110729
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10290085/1/goldman-citigroup-to-make-markets-on-cbot.html
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0413/096-sachs-semgroup-goldman-goose-oil.html
http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/cvi/description

Forget about the economies their bookcooking destroyed, more important are the stooges being PLACED(not elected) into Euro leadership positions:
http://www.infowars.com/banker-coup-goldman-sachs-takes-over-europe/

Bank Fee Debacle is the First Occupy Wall Street Victory

Here are three random articles from the front page of Slashdot, Reuters, and TheStreet.com:

Once upon a time, the important part of the URL - the identifier of 2225202 at Slashdot, idUSTRE7B019B20111205 at Reuters, and 11332765 at TheStreet - was all that a potential URL-logger got to see. URLs were not only shorter, they had meaning relevant only to that one particular site's CMS, and it required Yahoo/Google/Bing/government-sized resources to follow every such link and map URLs to content on scales as big as "everyone who uses the WWW".

Except that nowadays, most URLs are rewritten with-redundant-text-for-SEO-purposes. Slashdot's URLs say researchers-say-carrier-iq-isnt-logging-data-texts Reuters' URLs say us-russia-election and TheStreet's URL says its-official-facebook-buys-gowalla-team.html.

All of a sudden, if I have access to the URL stream, I can now figure out that you're interested in Carrier IQ's spyware, the Russian elections, and whatever Facebook is up to this week -- with nothing more complicated than "grep".

I'm not advocating tinfoil haberdashery: there's no grand conspiracy of webmasters to make clickstreams greppable. It's merely a regrettable (for end user privacy) side effect of the relentless push towards SEO that organizations like Carrier IQ can get a lot more "interesting" information out of a user's clickstream than they would have been able to do as recently as two years ago.

Here are three random articles from the front page of Slashdot, Reuters, and TheStreet.com:

Once upon a time, the important part of the URL - the identifier of 2225202 at Slashdot, idUSTRE7B019B20111205 at Reuters, and 11332765 at TheStreet - was all that a potential URL-logger got to see. URLs were not only shorter, they had meaning relevant only to that one particular site's CMS, and it required Yahoo/Google/Bing/government-sized resources to follow every such link and map URLs to content on scales as big as "everyone who uses the WWW".

Except that nowadays, most URLs are rewritten with-redundant-text-for-SEO-purposes. Slashdot's URLs say researchers-say-carrier-iq-isnt-logging-data-texts Reuters' URLs say us-russia-election and TheStreet's URL says its-official-facebook-buys-gowalla-team.html.

All of a sudden, if I have access to the URL stream, I can now figure out that you're interested in Carrier IQ's spyware, the Russian elections, and whatever Facebook is up to this week -- with nothing more complicated than "grep".

I'm not advocating tinfoil haberdashery: there's no grand conspiracy of webmasters to make clickstreams greppable. It's merely a regrettable (for end user privacy) side effect of the relentless push towards SEO that organizations like Carrier IQ can get a lot more "interesting" information out of a user's clickstream than they would have been able to do as recently as two years ago.

Nokia was considering Android and dumped it, because it was too painful.

I think you're missing something about Microsoft and their bank balance - this article says it best:

Wall Street had favored the popular Android system as the quick and more crowd-pleasing option. Instead, Nokia's alignment with Microsoft ties it to a partner that has deep pockets but very limited success with its Windows phones.

yes, that was their view; wall street analysts can't have deep insight in every company they write about, and here they are also missing some obvious points. As replied to the other post:

Nokia owns Navteq (they sell map data). With focus on Android this asset would be wasted. They provide an offline navigation software. Incidentally I'm working on the location where this software is implemented. This would have been wasted as well. Nokia has a business unit around location based services. This is direct competition to Google and would have been wasted. OTOH, Bing maps is already using Navteq data for some time, MS and Nokia are both cooperating with Yahoo for quite some time, etc. All this is public available information, and I think it is enough reason to turn down Android.

And also over here:

[Nokia CEO Stephen] Elop said one of the key topics in the talks on doing a deal with Microsoft was convincing Nokia that it could reach "a very low price point."

Surely this is an important factor. Only it's not about the 1 billion, but about the hardware requirements / the costs to produce a device. The average prices for smartphones are declining, and when MS sticks to strong hardware requirements it is not possible to compete in these price segment. With WP "Tango" it will be possible to serve this market as well, and I guess that Nokia got a got deal for the license per device.

Nokia was considering Android and dumped it, because it was too painful.

I think you're missing something about Microsoft and their bank balance - this article says it best:

Wall Street had favored the popular Android system as the quick and more crowd-pleasing option. Instead, Nokia's alignment with Microsoft ties it to a partner that has deep pockets but very limited success with its Windows phones.

And also over here:

[Nokia CEO Stephen] Elop said one of the key topics in the talks on doing a deal with Microsoft was convincing Nokia that it could reach "a very low price point."

These guys think it's a viable product for Netflix.

Apparently 'cult' now means 'profitable in the long-tail'.

Do you gargle with Glen Beck's bath water, too?

> For this administration to build it,
Hey! Funding an agency belongs to the legislative branch. It was even on Schoolhouse Rock.

> it will need to be called something like "Global Warming Explorer",
> "Rich People Killer", or "Bush's Fault"

Do you even investigate your opinions? You sound "tased and confused". Obama has funnelled more public funds into RICH, private pockets than Bush could have ever achieved.

Just one REGULATORY - not statutory - example:

The largest transfer of wealth from the public to private sector is about to begin. The federal government will be bulk-selling the massive portfolio of foreclosed homes now owned by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private investors -- vulture funds.

These homes, which are now the property of the U.S. government, the U.S. taxpayer, U.S. citizens collectively, are going to be sold to private investor conglomerates at extraordinarily large discounts to real value.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11224917/1/a-huge-housing-bargain--but-not-for-you.html

So, while Bushie turned these INTO US Government assets, via TARP and other 2008 bailouts, Bamie will now sacrifice those already dubious "investments," to make more geld for Goldmann.

I have to say. If you liked Bush, then it follows that Obama ought to be making you fill your trousers with white, gooey geysers.

Richard Nixonâ(TM)s White House Counsel John Dean, while Bush was president, predicted that Bushâ(TM)s successor would be one of two things, either the best or the worst president in history. He, or she, would either undo the damage and prosecute the crimes, or protect the criminals and continue the abuses. Obama has protected the criminals, continued many of the abuses, more firmly established the power to commit those abuses, and expanded abusive powers beyond what Bush ever attempted. Iâ(TM)m not trying to quantify and determine whether Obama has grabbed âoemoreâ new abusive powers than Bush did. Iâ(TM)m simply pointing out that, as with previous presidents, Obama has retained the powers bequeathed him and added some.

http://my.firedoglake.com/davidswanson/2011/03/15/is-obama-even-worse-than-bush/

Although policies being implemented under Obama's leadership exhibit the continuation of Bush's tyrannical agenda, his stunning betrayal of populist and Constitutional principles in support of these actions makes him the ultimate hypocrite. Additionally, because Obama is a much more influential orator than Bush, his service to the puppet masters is far more dangerous to the American people he's supposed to serve.

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/04/10-reasons-obama-is-just-as-bad-or.html

Next yearâ(TM)s presidential campaign is predicted to cost a billion dollars, which Obama has already started raising from the financial industry and other interest groups. He faces no progressive or moderate opposition at all, with the only question to be resolved that of exactly how extreme his Republican opponent will be.

http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=3538

You'd be very popular in these places, all of which could produce more food on their own if government was not taxing and subsidizing and regulating food in the world:

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especially painful for the poor

I bet it would get pretty personal for you if you came to these places and started spouting your socialist views on how cheap food is that your government is subsidizing farmers and then paying farmers to destroy it

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especiall

The timing is excellent, however. Shortly before Google+ was announced, I saw someone estimating a $1trillion estimate for the future valuation of Facebook. Now we are seeing that 75% of capital markets executives at investment banks believe that the multi-billion dollar valuations for many private companies are too high.. Some people are calling the Facebook IPO the greatest short opportunity ever.

If Facebook doesn't IPO soon, the multi-year death-spiral will hit their investors first.

This was tried, and rejected by the government in the past.

http://www.thestreet.com/s/dish-directv-deal-wont-fool-feds/newsanalysis/technology-update/10432145.html?puc=googlefi&cm_ven=GOOGLEFI&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

In what world is MS Windows easier to use? Not this one, or the one where Macs are growing faster. Of course Yale is too uppity.

You claim below that it is based on personal preference. Most of the world considers Windows to be easier to use than any alternative.

Macs selling faster...hmmm I have a problem with that. See, mac came out before windows...and windows has like 90% of the desktop market...which by definition means windows sells a LOT more over shorter time...which means windows sells faster. Maybe the iphone/ipad craziness has turned that around a little nowadays, but lets just wait and see if it leads anywhere.

The original post complained that some things were not logical or not intuitive.

And I stated those were matters of personal preference. Do you have scientific studies showing one GUI is better than others? Or are you letting your emotions dictate your reactions?

Your post didn't confirm anything about it being personal preference, and neither did the parent post deny that. You may have felt it was implicit, but I disagree.

I agree it is about preference...but that wasn't the point of either of the previous posts.

I'm sorry, in what world does "I am so used to OSX I dont notice myself doing this thing and so it is easy" become an answer to "new users will find this difficult and unintuitive"??

In what world is MS Windows easier to use? Not this one, or the one where Macs are growing faster. Of course Yale is too uppity.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/tco-new-research-finds-macs-in-the-enterprise-easier-cheaper-to-manage-than-windows-pcs/6294

The original post complained that some things were not logical or not intuitive.

And I stated those were matters of personal preference. Do you have scientific studies showing one GUI is better than others? Or are you letting your emotions dictate your reactions?

Falcon

Notice how I got modded down for daring not to jump on the FOSSie "Boo MSFT!" groupthink wagon? And eyeballs don't make money? Better tell that to Google, who seem to have made out like bandits by controlling eyeballs.

As for what ties would make sense? Where have YOU been? Never hear of a little thing known as Tegra? imagine an RPG where you have a group of fun "mini games" you can take on the road with you on your phone which will level up and affect your character when you got home. Hell from watching some of the demos Tegra can do Doom 3 style graphics with ease, so you could even reuse much of the code and just have a cut down lower res version of a game as an app on the disc.

Now add to that these chips can do hardware acceleration and Dx9 and you have all kinds of ways you can tie the X360, Nokia WinPhone (which it seems like TFA was correct that Nokia is gonna be the hardware division of MSFT Mobile, as you don't spend billions just to get some designs) and Windows 7. As I said imagine not only being able to watch shows you recorded on your Win 7 Media Center on the X360 but have it streamed and automatically resized for your WinPhone.

And finally don't forget when talking about the X360 that every single device and game made for the X360 equals a check cut to MSFT for licensing. Look at ANY top ten game list, see how many slots are held by the X360. And don't forget that Janus DRM hasn't been truly cracked despite being out for years, which will make content providers more comfortable going with MSFT.

So I'd say this is the first real sign we've seen that MSFT is gonna take mobile seriously and step up to the plate. I have a feeling it'll end up with a three way race between Apple, MSFT, and Google, with Apple on top. While everyone here still sings about Android seeing the glut of CCC (Cheapo Chinese Crap) being shoved down the channel all being pushed with the droid I believe there will be a backlash within a year if Google doesn't crack down and demand minimum specs for the droid, which we haven't seen any indication of.

Both Apple and MSFT will control the whole smash so when you buy a WinPhone or iPhone it "just works" and that to me will make a difference, how much so is yet to be seen. And the fanboys here can bleat or bury their heads in the sand all they want, but those that ignore history are doomed to be blindsided by it yet again. And let us not forget that the SOP of MSFT is to watch a competitor, learn from them, and then eventually dominate a market using money and marketing. MSFT has the R&D and the cash to make inroads into any arena they choose to, it all comes down to drive and the willingness to try new things, which Ballmer seems to be ready and willing to do and this is coming from someone who said he should have been fired years ago.

you've been duped. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Federal Reserve has been pumping tens of billions of dollars into the economy through it's open market operations (POMO). and the markets mysteriously go higher as Primary Dealers use the cash to buoy markets (and your fake GDP)

analyzed in many financial blogs

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10838483/1/fed-pomo-stock-market-pump-daves-daily.html?puc=businessinsider&cm_ven=businessinsider

in early November there is buzz of QE2, the second Quantitative Easing, by which we propel ourselves into Zimbabwe-realm economics

There's lots of gaming going on with high frequency trading, or really high frequency price pinging, bids and asks which are tossed out and canceled to simply mess with the quote queues. High frequency algorithms can flood the queues to get artificial imbalances and quote delays. There might even be some arbitrage possibilities based on differences between different quote systems time stamp transactions. Some timestamps are the time of the quote when queued, and others are the time the quote leaves a queue. This can lead to price inversions or other information queuing distortions.

According to Eric Scott Hunsader, the founder of Nanex the Chicago data firm that first identified strange patterns, "This surge in orders may not have been intended to cause the general market rout. Instead, it may have been intended simply to slow down some markets so that traders could profit by arbitrage with other exchanges."

There's way too much potential for gaming the queues if there is no cost to fake a bid or ask. When the cost is zero you get the same thing we have with spam email. If email cost a fraction of a penny to send, spam would drop drastically. If bids cost a tiny amount and were forced to remain open for the time a bid could electronically circle the globe, then that small bit of friction would eliminate many of the system's instabilities. And, all price queues should use the same time-stamping method.

Here are a few good links to more information:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/troubling-trades-found-ahead-of-flash-crash/

http://www.nanex.net/FlashCrashFinal/FlashCrashSummary.html

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10876642/4/the-5-dumbest-things-on-wall-street-oct-1.html

"Intelligent Integration Systems developed the technology behind Spatial, which initially ran on an earlier Netezza's data-warehousing platform, the Netezza Performance Server. "

Then Netezza sold the product on their new server TwinFin. "Intelligent Integration Systems officials say they didn't know about plans for TwinFin when they signed the contract with Netezza, and that the company never agreed to develop software for future platforms. "

Netezza signed a contract without bothering to check with IISi about porting the code.

The case file includes emails among Netezza officials, in which they discuss how to handle the situation, in light of the fact that Intelligent Integration Systems wouldn't give up its source code while the customer is in a hurry. The emails imply that Netezza promised a product to the CIA before anyone had developed it. They also reference "floating point" difficulty, a mathematical computing issue that can lead to accuracy problems. (A Nov. 12 email from a Netezza account manager refers to "errors in the spatial toolkit hack." "Hacking" usually means gaining unauthorized access to a computer, a key point in Intelligent Integration Systems' countersuit.)

"Someone should have told me this product was not ready," Netezza Federal Account Manager Joe Wiltshire wrote in an email to Shepherd, which is included among the court documents. "We are negatively exposed to one of our most important customers now. In his eyes, we concealed info to close the deal, or we are not 'in the know.' Either one is not good. Please get this product ready immediately so we can get out of this predicament."

So Netezza sold the hacked version to the CIA, which accepted it.

An email exchange from Oct. 23, also in the court record, indicates that the customer signed off on the deal, after all. "They are satisfied," Wiltshire wrote in an email to Netezza executives, adding that the customer "believes that the minor discrepancy in metrics between the 10100 and the TwinFin 12 is due to the TF doing a better job."

Nettezza sued IISi for breach of contract for not porting the code, which they just lost. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/24/cia_netezza/ "That case was dismissed last month, with the judge finding that contrary to Netezza's repeated claims, IISi was under no obligation to carry out the work."

Now ISSi is suing Nettezza.

Discovery also revealed that Shepherd had called on staff to develop "our own version of the spatial toolkit", which was introduced in January this year as "Netezza Spatial", which is available on the open market.

Now IISi claims both the hack and Netezza's own software are illegally based on reverse engineering and misappropriation of its trade secrets, and is pursuing an injunction that if granted would block their use by anyone. It's unclear which, if either, is currently in use at the CIA. A hearing on the injunction application is scheduled next week.

So it looks like they stole both the original code and marketed it, and they stole the trade secrets in the code and sold them as well. It looks like a slam dunk that they will loose. So what part of illegal don't you understand?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Netflix(NFLX) announced on Friday that it will expand its licensing agreement with NBC, allowing users to stream prior televisions series from its cable and broadcast networks.

Netflix subscribers will be able to watch series like Saturday Night Live, Friday Night Lights, Monk and Battlestar Galactica, the company said.

Netflix has been working over the last several months to expand its streaming content, first through a partnership with EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom(VIA), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Lions Gate Entertainment(LFG) that could add up to 20,000 new titles to Netflix's streaming content.

Be nice to find another news source - like this one where a login was not needed.

"In losing Mark Hurd, the H-P board failed to act in the best interest of H.P.'s employees, shareholders, customers and partners," Ellison wrote in an email to The New York Times, which posted excerpts of the email late Monday. "The H-P board admits that it fully investigated the sexual harassment claims against Mark and found them to be utterly false."

Sounds like engineering knew about it, but management blew them off:

Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may hurt reception ...

As for the fix...

Apple has told its manufacturers to alter the iPhone production process to include an internal component that will insulate the defective antenna connection that has disrupted the phone's signal reception, said Kumar. This internal bumper will give Apple a non-cosmetic solution and will presumably avoid the need to change the appearance of the phone, said Kumar.

Not according to Don Reisinger.

Qualcomm says they will ship a full-color, video-capable e-ink device this year.

Got curious so I did a search and found this: http://www.thestreet.com/video/10657741/lenovo-qualcomms-tablet-pc.html#60827716001/. I think I like this.

So, first they expect to sell 700k on the first day: http://business-news.thestreet.com/technology-news/2010/04/04/a/606016821-analyst-apple-sold-600-700-thousand/

I see reading comprehension isn't your strong suit.

So, first they expect to sell 700k on the first day:
http://business-news.thestreet.com/technology-news/2010/04/04/a/606016821-analyst-apple-sold-600-700-thousand/

But actually they sell 300k. Then it appears device has WiFi connectivity problems (bad routers are causing it, not apple, "obviously"). Then, after selling about 500k total they suddenly "run out of devices" and that's the reason of the "delay" in Europe launch...

More specific link http://www.thestreet.com/story/10656904/1/exclusive-apples-tablet-has-no-intel-inside.html

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10008505/1.html

It killed office morale quite effectively. Productivity plummeted. And Uncle Bernie still went to Club Fed even if he did save the company several hundred dollars worth of coffee expenses.

Yeah desperation for consumer base plainly showing through. I would be surprised if it lasted indefinitely though, I'm sure Palm desires absolute control. Similar moves by Verizon today also, with them announcing they will have android phones now.

What could possibly go wrong?

http://www.marketwatch.com/m/story/25fdbe85-c490-42a4-9fea-50984f155661/0

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10474750/1/obamas-it-guru-returns-to-work.html

Krugman is of the opinion that the economic crisis will come back when the government spending is done. You're thinking of Jim Cramer who thinks it's over.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/10569659/1/cramers-mad-money-recap-cramer-vs-krugman-update-1.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Sorry, don't have the original article by Krugman, don't really follow him, but the relevant part is at the beginning.

"He [Cramer] refuted an article by noted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who argued the economy is slowly getting worse.
According to Krugman and others skeptical of the market's recent rally, the economy is simply being propped up by government spending and will return to March lows as that spending wanes. But Cramer asked his viewers pointedly, 'Are things slowing getting worse for you?'"

It seems "experts" in economics, uh, aren't. At least not all the time.

Funny how the street.com had an article today about how the atom is a tiny profit margin for intel compared to penryn. Article.

Good luck Cisco, you're entering a cut throat market with well established hardware vendors in a global recession... You've either got a large pair of brass balls or you're just really really stupid.

is cisco not a well established hardware vendor? http://www.thestreet.com/story/10508379/1/tech-rumor-of-the-day-juniper-cisco.html

IBM has several competitors, but that's really not the point. IBM CEO Sam Palmisano set forth an initiative to triple to quadruple the company earnings-per-share (EPS) in a period of 8 years, raising it from approx $3 per share to $10-$11 per share. In most industries, that's insane to try to do in such a short period of time. However, from the latest reports, they are still on target, despite economics conditions: http://www.thestreet.com/print/story/10446196.html

Let's assume 5,000 people laid off * $50,000 average per individual salary and benefits ... both conservative estimates --> $250M cost savings to start off 2009. The layoffs are one of many actions underway to keep that 2010 EPS goal. It just happens to be one of the most politically sensitive topics as well. (Note, the AC on this doesn't agree with the layoffs, but the numbers speak for themselves).

IBM has some smart financial people working for them. Try reviewing acquisitions, cash flow and other actions to boost EPS in the annual reports from 2002-2008 for more fun reading. The financial decisions they make are fairly well thought out, even if they aren't popular.

Oh like citigroup buying a spanish highway construction company with 7bn euros in bailout money from our taxes?

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10450514/1/citi-to-buy-spanish-highway-operator.html?puc=_tscrss

Here's the day they got our bailout check. Note the dates:

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2636427520081126

Yeap we paid for it. Be pissed, very pissed.

I can't believe regulators aren't all over them for this. What are we paying them for? What good is all this bailout money doing if they are just using it to buy foriegn companies instead of saving the jobs of the people that effing paid for the bailout? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. That bailout money did NOT come from Europe.

Here's the layoff announcement of the US employees:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/154130/citigroup_layoff_could_decimate_it_jobs.html

grrr

-Viz

Second Great Depression

We're no where near the Great Depression, not as far as unemployment is concerned. Economists expect unemployment will crest at 8%. However from 1932 to 1935, 4 years, unemployment was above 20%.

US manufacturing activity is now down to its lowest level since 1948.

Yea because manufacturing has been outsourced.

It's going to be a long recession.

Yea, recession not depression. Caused by as you say, the housing bubble. In the hopes house prices would continue to boom, too many people paid too much for homes. Then many got interest only or adjustable interest rate, ARM, mortgages. They hoped they could turn around in a few years and sell the house for more than they paid for it. Low down payments also hurt.

Falcon

John Maynard Keynes was an economist who used his understanding of economics to make himself wealthy. He spent a couple of hours a day on his investments, leaving himself the rest of the day to amuse himself. He lost most of his money in the 1929 crash, but quickly recouped his losses. I'd say that the fact that Keynes found making a fortune fairly easy by putting is economic ideas into practice (as opposed to making a fortune by selling the ideas) probably counts as reasonable evidence that he understood how the economy of his day worked. Naturally, nobody can predict everything; there is a degree of randomness and chaos.

I think the key is that the randomness and chaos is most powerful over the short term. Over the long term, various economic parameters like stock market indices tend to be fractal: the closer you look, the more detail there is to see. This means nobody is ever fully the master of their economic fate. However, by investing in a way that offsets the variability in various indices, you can "understand" the economy quite well. David Swenson, who manages Yale's endowment, has a very simple system: you just keep rebalancing your portfolio regularly. When stocks are up and bonds are down, you take money out of stocks and put it into bonds and vice versa. What this means is that you are continually buying low and selling high.

Does this confer on him the ability to predict something like the credit crisis that plays bloody hell with everything? No. But that certainly wasn't beyond human reason. What it was, was beyond human emotion to accept. Consider this timeline of articles:

2002, September: Housing Bubble Lurks Among the Levered:"The people who say that the housing market can't be seeing a bubble argue that it's more heterogeneous, whereas the equity market is more homogeneous, in terms of money flowing back between different securities. ... It is true that real estate is more of a regional market, but it can still turn into a bubble."

Could this be that this is the classic glass half empty/half full dichotomy? I don't think so; the glass half full people are saying that empty space cannot exist in the glass, which doesn't seem right...

2002 October Housing boom breeds new mortgage deals:"Jennifer Scutti, a mortgage industry analyst at CIBC World Markets, wonders about the impact on delinquencies when some of the back-loaded costs of the new flexible mortgage deals hit home."

Looks like Ms. Scutti was right. Just how right? She goes on to say there might be problems in "three to five years"...

2002 October Where the Risk Went: With respect to credit default swaps, "[The banks] have shifted the risks to institutions that are less-equipped to handle them--from insurers to highly leveraged hedge funds. And because disclosure is limited, it's not always clear just who is exposed. ... Who's bearing the risk that has been redistributed by all of those securitizations and derivatives? Surprisingly, some of it has stayed in the banking system. ... The danger is that if the financial system's health is impaired, consumers and businesses will be starved of credit, and the economy will slump."

OK, so mortgage practices are getting dangerous... at the same time the banking system is overextending itself by insuring securities, risking a complete collapse. What does that mean with respect to mortgage backed securities?

2003, January: How TCW Galileo Gets Stellar Returns: how? "In general, mortgage-backed securities funds are much less volatile than other types of bond funds because they're less sensitive to changes in interest rates." Hmm. Just thr

any harm caused ... is far outweighed by the act's "notice-and-takedown" provision and the safe harbor that this provides to intermediary ISPs

Revenue:

Comcast
AT&T
Verizon

These billion-dollar companies are charging us exorbitant rates for service and still don't have enough balls to stand up to the other bullies on the block (ex. MPAA & RIAA)?

Holy crap, your statement pretty much describes Microsoft Update. Had me rolling there for a minute.

Of course it does, except MS Update doesn't require [yet] yearly infusions of cash -- they *do* require you to upgrade to their new OS, though, if you want to continue to buy new software. How much software around today would even begin to run on Win98? All ready games and desktop candy are being released that exclusively require features in Vista, that won't be backported. Eventually if you want any new software, you'll find you have to upgrade -- and if you want to keep up on security updates, you will have to upgrade because older software is no longer maintained -- AND that's the point. Many people are running software that works fine for their application and need. But if they want a fix in their product's DNS server, they have to upgrade to a supported product. If the source of "no longer supported products" was released, customers could support themselves until they wanted to move on their own schedule to something new. (By supporting self, I also include hiring someone to do the support).

I've had too many software products that I wanted to keep using - they worked and didn't have some of the problems of older products (like my old phone that got better reception everywhere, but I was forced to replace when the digital reception got flakey. Couldn't get an equivalent product phone -- AND my new phone had to include "Echelon" tech that allows 3rd party activation of my phone and location tracking. So that's another way closed source is used to weasel in new spy and monitor provisions into existing software.

The drugs aren't sold to us, but "diseases" such as ADD/ADHD are. Those who "discovered" ADD/ADHD managed to find a multi-trillion dollar "cure" in the form of "patch" drugs. Much like Coca Cola, perhaps the FDA/AMA is not a good analogy here either.

You can choose to believe in the diseases or not -- and you can choose to believe that the newly "manufactured" diseases apply to you or not. If you think the diseases are a sham, no one is forcing you to take the new meds. Whereas with software, you can't look inside the software and make any decision about how safe it is -- you are told all versions are broken and must be replaced. What can you do? You can't get a second opinion -- because no one can look inside the source to verify if your software has the problem or if the new patch *only* fixes the supposed problem and *only* the supposed problem. With software you are in the dark -- with your health, you can judge whether you feel just fine or you can get a 2nd opinion before you are forced to take a "cure" for your problem.

It's not usually like the borderline case with Gardasil (the HPV vaccine), that isn't for a current condition but is to prevent against something that doesn't exist in you yet -- and it's not usually forced on you (as Gardasil is being forced on all new immigrant women), in spite of CDC recommendations against the requirement).

When patches and shots are forced upon you because you cannot examine your own source code or determine your own risk, it's a very different situation from knowing the secret formula of Coke (which is not a product that's likely going to be causing security breaches in your systems or your body). Please get a clue.

The draw may have already been broken...or at least someone thinks it will be soon...

You will be taxed on all your assets if you give up your US citizenship

. This little-known provision was passed as part of the Heroes Act of 2008 on 6/17. Looks like Congress foresees a mass exodus of Americans at some point in the foreseeable future - at least the ones that matter.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10419263/1/google-android-phones-coming-this-year.html

PC World is reporting old news. Q4 08 has been the target for a while now.

Diesel production presents a different series of events compared to that of reformulated gasoline production. For much of the past year, diesel production has been consistently at or above average historical levels while inventory levels have been consistently below average. This implies that demand has increased, preventing inventories from attaining average levels.

and yet, what I find intriguing is OSS has capitalised on this "failure" exactly 0% with regards to desktop coverage; or no noticeable difference anyhow.

If you have read your messages I know you've seen these figures:

Windows sinks 24%

The world's biggest software maker said sales of Windows for PCs sank 24 percent and revenue from its online advertising unit came in at the low end of its projections. Microsoft's report contrasted with positive comments from chipmaker Intel Corp. and computer company International Business Machines Corp.

PC Shipments up 12%

Overall, PC shipments in the first quarter increased 12.3% compared with the first quarter of 2007, according to Gartner, despite fears that souring economic conditions might pinch PC sales.

This gap is about 1/3 of the market. Apple's computer sales are up 50%, but as you note their numbers are well counted and can't account for a gap this large. Those computers shipped with some OS on them. What was it?

eWeek, which I've always regarded as a loyal Microsoft fan, has declared Ubuntu ready to take on Windows. I think you'll find that's where the missing numbers are, though Redhat is doing well too as is Asus with their eee and myriad others.

Now you can't deny you've seen the figures.

Windows sinks 24%

The world's biggest software maker said sales of Windows for PCs sank 24 percent and revenue from its online advertising unit came in at the low end of its projections. Microsoft's report contrasted with positive comments from chipmaker Intel Corp. and computer company International Business Machines Corp.

PC Shipments up 12%

Overall, PC shipments in the first quarter increased 12.3% compared with the first quarter of 2007, according to Gartner, despite fears that souring economic conditions might pinch PC sales.

Interesting, eh? Maybe that's why eWeek, which I've always regarded as a loyal Microsoft fan, has declared Ubuntu ready to take on Windows.

Hilarious...

http://www.thestreet.com/video/index.html?bcpid=1078966384&bclid=1137812485&bctid=1517472316

"Those are not computers. Those are things that parents use.

They're not computers. These are these devices that parents got because maybe they got talked into it, or because they didn't understand what was cool, but they're not computers.

A computer is a Mac, um... and, you know, like an iPod is your music device, a Mac is your computer, and these other things are just things that were from another day. They might as well be typewriters to these kids, and I just can't emphasize enough that when Apple goes down, like it reports this week, and I'm sitting here thinking, please report a number that people hate, because this is, again, the new iteration, now it just really started shipping in volume in October/November, so the beginning was the holiday season, and a lot of people weren't wise to it, um... the true acceleration began in February. So I mean, there'll be a lot of people who say, "I missed it, I missed it, I missed it" as they did say with the iPod. And the stock's still down substantially from where the iPhone had taken it, but... It only takes one session of watching your kid, to know that the other companies who make these devices, are no longer relevant."

Ben Stein also believes some wacky things about the markets and has been published in the NYT. Including issues regarding the credit crisis and that shorts sellers were responsible for market declines this year.

Doug Kass decomposed him pretty well in a series of articles:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10400657/1/kass-ben-stein-blames-you.html
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10403672/1/kass-eat-my-shorts-ben-stein.html

Stein is the new Dvorak.

Ben Stein also believes some wacky things about the markets and has been published in the NYT. Including issues regarding the credit crisis and that shorts sellers were responsible for market declines this year.

Doug Kass decomposed him pretty well in a series of articles:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10400657/1/kass-ben-stein-blames-you.html
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10403672/1/kass-eat-my-shorts-ben-stein.html

Stein is the new Dvorak.

Microsoft's imploding cash reserves. No cash, no control, end of story.

Imploding cash reserves? Microsoft has, and is continuing to spin off, gobs of cash from Office and Windows.

- Cash Flow Statement
- Microsoft's cash position
- Microsoft Looks Mighty

Still around $20 billion in free cash flow per year. That is simply incredible. They buy billion dollar companies for cash, several times a year. They started paying dividends a few years ago, which began to decrease their ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS cash reserves in the early 2000s. Holding $40 bn in cash (as they used to) is an inefficient use of capital, and so the owners are better for them having done something with it.

IIRC, Vista adoption numbers are actually better at this point in its product life-cycle than XP was, contrary to the (somewhat) public perception that Vista's sales are terrible.

If you have facts and analysis to support that Microsoft's cash position is imploding, I'm certainly interested in seeing them. Actually, what I'd like to see a very high-level summary of Microsoft's financials over time, related to their product offerings, seismic industry developments, the Internet, XBox, etc. You know, "look at the revenue spike when the XBox360 was released" or "see how a certain expense line varied with new OS releases." (hypothetical)

The shares of Microsoft should help sustain its value.

I suggest sticking with insurence and drug companies.

Allegedly Verizon turned Jobs down without even listening to his pitch, a decision they may well regret now that they are hemorrhaging customers.