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U.S. Approves IBM/Lenovo Sale
MartinB writes with the "Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review result: unanimous approval for the sale to go ahead, with no further external approvals needed. No compromises were required over the location of Lenovo facilities in sensitive research areas, nor were limits put on Lenovo's ability to sell PCs to U.S. agencies."
Sell another peice of yourself.
yep, hector got it again!
All this deal does is put money in the fatcat's pockets. It has nothing to do with sound business decisions. Karl Rove probably penned the deal.
WoW, Now we'll have computers with closed eyes and poor hardware. "La garantia soy yo!"
http://www.michel.eti.br
Happy times are here again.
2 years and no mod points. Join reddit. Because openness is good.
.............just kidding ;)
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved the sale of Slashdot to Elbonian investors. New color schemes will be in earth tones. "Yes, different colors of mud!", stated one of the eventual new managers of the enterprise.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
this is golbalization at its best! Soon we will all be running chinese made laptops! god bless america and her polices towards communist countries.
GW Bush your da man!
The x86 is done.
Orgnisations with bucket loads of money get a decision they want. Film at 11.
Beep beep.
to buy a raptop from them.
THis was only on the "security" issues...
In truth, most all of the materials are now made in China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, etc.
So in such light PC and component manufacturering really doesn't pose a "security" risk. Which is what this was ALL about.
The jobs aren't there to begin with...so no worry over loss of jobs moving to China.
Perhaps there will be jobs in China for me to work in? At least the food is better, if not as diverse.
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
I'm surprised that they even thought of stopping the deal. I've always viewed USA as a country that tries very hard to support businesses.
What will become of the beloved Thinkpads? Will Lenovo continue to maintain the same level of quality that IBM has?
More interestingly, I'd be interested to see if IBM started producing affordable powerpc laptops and desktops running Linux. It seems Microsoft can no longer wield the Windows tax against IBM.
The article is ~ 5 minutes old, and there's 10+ anti-china/america sold out posts already.
China and Taiwan ~already~ mass-produce the vast majority of systems components, their final assembly was pretty much the only remaining domestic manufacturing process. Also, IBM is being VERY wise in this regard, cashing in a unit that has very little future projected revenue growth and miniscule profit margins, and will gain the capital for some future expansion. PCs are a commodity business, and with the exception of Dell are probably a loss-leader for most companies now (e.g. IBM, HP/Compaq).
This is a wise business move by IBM, and it was wise for the US gov't to involve themselves in the sale. The technology is 20+ years old, the industry is commoditised, and its all open-standards based... there is no strategic threat here.
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
Does this deal leave IBM free to persue building a new PC based on Cell Processor and/or PowerPC technology, instead of the increasingly less efficient x86? If so, selling off the trailing edge x86 business would just be a smart business move, wouldn't it?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
IBM is faced with the same dillema HP faces.
The only way to make money in the PC biz is by selling directly to consumers, bypassing the supply chain of stores, merchants, etc. But this conflicts with, among other things, IBM's consulting business which relies upon dealing with people, building relationships, rubbing backs, etc., etc.
HP faces a similar problem. The only way for them to make money in the PC biz is to sell directly to consumers. But this conflicts with their need for pushing printers and printer supplies which requires using the supply chain.
Instead HP is shedding money with their PC selling business and not doing so well in the printer biz. Good job Carly! But I digress.
Let the Chinese have the fun task of competing head on with Dell, IBM will do what they do best.
2 years and no mod points. Join reddit. Because openness is good.
American Manufacturing died to day after a long illness. Repeated attempts to save American jobs and secure a domestic manufacturing base in case of war were repeatedly rejected by the new American ruling class who no are no longer responsible to a once powerful American middle class. Spokesmen for the powerful said that the death of manufacturing promotes growth, despite the fact America had higher growth rates when it did manufacture things. In related news, illegal immigration and guest worker visas rose dramaticly and new tax breaks for the super wealthy were enacted. Stay tuned to official news sources like the New York Times and Fox News and don't bitch.
Windows isn't really done, but this was my thought when IBM put their pc business up for sale. Back in the day, it was this group because of pressure from Microsoft that would put up internal ibm roadblocks to their own OS/2. I imagine they initially weren't that friendly to Linux, either. Dumping this low-margin business though has the added benefit of letting IBM focus on their hardware and services. If IBM wants to sell Linux, OS/400, Windows, etc, there's not much msft can do about it legally or otherwise now.
So IBM developed the PC and brought the current rendition to market. Fortunately for us and for all PC users they allowed their designs to be copied (clones anyone) thus putting apple forever in the dark. Since they did this, market forces have determined that IBM should no longer be in the PC business. Frankly, who cares? There are thousdands of other businesses that makes PCs now. The only reason I would care is if Lenovo gets the IP that encompasses the PC they may try to charge royalties for anyone using their IP to make a producat (go frivalous patents!).
I am d3matt
the x86 architecture is done!
Oh. Oops.
I'm thinking about it, therefore I might be.
Happy times are here again.
Words can be found here
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
So, does this mean that IBM is finally out from under the Microsoft joint-development agreement, that dates back to the days of the original PC and PC-XT?
Chip H.
Let's all hope that a plump Elbonian is taking a walk when CmdrTaco lands there after being tossed out of the plane.
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
PowerPCs don't make those 3 notes that account for 50% of Dell's advertising budget.
Is that the best you can do? Mod it down? How 'bout some legit. criticism?
I don't understand the negative reaction. Production is no longer in the US, but that is not where the money is. IBM realised that they could make a lot of money (and, incidentally, create a lot of relatively high paid, relatively pleasant jobs) by abstracting further up the value chain, to supply services and consultants. It matters not a fig to most companies who provides their computers, but many large companies cannot operate without IBM services. So we have a company that no provides high skilled, high payed jobs to the US workforce instead of low payed, low skilled manufacturing jobs.
Yeah, they probably don't actually use MSG in all the restaurants over there.
Fat chance! Where do you think the idea came from? They use piles of it, literally. There's often a mound of it next to the stove, where a Western chef would have his salt/pepper/herbs/spices.
owie. the IBM logo hurts my eyes.
Yes, but for generations the USA business support was dressed up in attacks on Communism. IBM is a symbol of American business (the "B" stands for "Business") - selling their PC biz to a Chinese company is a little strange, in that light. But it really just shows how "Communism" and "Capitalism" are just the ways to describe how governments do business, which would be an unacceptable mix in a pure version of either system.
--
make install -not war
Look at them now. Sure they got cheap labor and upturned local markets everywhere, but globalisation is distributing the riches from the first world countries right down to the poorer nations. They never really figured that out quite rightly.
Yes, yes, the people in control are of course getting richer but the avg guy is actually earning less. Also this phenomenon is so apparent local America. It's pathetic how anywhere you go in the US you get the same Denny's, Mac, BK, TacoB, OG, etc... In most of the places, the local cuisines and restaurants are all dead. Most American downtowns are going that way too. A drive through them on the weekends portrays them as ghost towns literally.
My point? ThinkPads are definately going in the drain. 20 years ago most garments sold in the US were made here. Most stores guaranteed them. Today you see no-one guarantees anything because everyones is unsure of who's pulling what outta whose arse. That's what's gonna happen with Lenovo too.
Where's my free iPod!? Until then, I'll settle for a kiss...
The IBM/Lenovo sale is IBM's strategy to sell past China's protectionist trade barriers. It's gotten wide support because it's probably unique in requiring the Chinese company to move some operations to the US, to allow IBM to use them to reach the Chinese market with the rest of their products and services. It's kind of odd how your pro-globalism post bashes people suspicious of IBM sending essential industry to China, but doesn't complain about those Chinese protectionist barriers. Is your "globalism" really just a cover for a culture war you prefer to actual free global trade?
--
make install -not war
GAY NIGg8ERS from
Chinkpads
go ahead, all you PC-people... mod me into oblivion, even though you smiled when you read it.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
"We Delivery"
The word is IBM is using the Lenovo connection to get into the China market. And from the whole WAPI thing, the Chinese government might just be anti-western-dominated-standards enough to support a POWER-powered desktop on the mainland.
US caves to new Superpower China. No Film, as our new overlords won't allow it.
Feh. Silly Humans.
At least that's what we're planning for the huge flag on the side of the building to greet our new Overlords.
The funniest irony of all was that the PC Division, that rathole they poured billions down which rarely if ever made a profit finally made a huge chunk of change selling itself off and as a result those employees are getting the largest bonuses in the company, on a division by division basis. Lesson learned? Fuck your business up until someone buys it at firesale prices then claim a huge a victory, rake in your pile of cash. All the other IBM divisions should learn from this.
Can believe China's technology was so...
There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
It's like a pretty school nurse with a tiny little deformed fetal twin attached to her face!
Back in 2001/2002 IBM desktop manufacturing was sold off to Sanmina-SCI.
Shortly after that the manufacturing moved out of country.
The Lenovo deal transfers those serfs known as engineers, product testers, and world wide tech support from IBM to the new company.
It remains to be seen if the engineering and product support are shipped off to China.
In my experience working for a Taiwanese OEM/ODM, the Chinese OEM's are not interested in quality-oriented design features unless their biggest customer demands or somehow provides it.
They aren't very interested in providing anywhere near the level of customer service of an American company either.
They see huge profit margins if they remove those quaint American features called "quality" and "service."
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Have been US for some time, haven't got any real food except in New Orleans.
What? That region is called "French Quarter"? Never mind then.
Well I guess I will need to find a replacement for the ThinkPad line... very sad.
Can a communist written pc bios be trusted (e.g., by the US military) to not contain logging or remote access holes?
I hate this, now the Chinese are digesting our good companies, and we're letting them.
Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Bugs are good for building character in the user.
Did you see the MSG sign with the line through at the bottom of the page you linked?
I agree with those who view this as a smart move by IBM. Here's why:
... but I digress.
... anyway, that's hopeless speculation. Although, economically we are similar to Rome militarily. ... but now this is just the rambling of an IT guy who majored in History.
1. They sell a branch of the company that was often losing money for cold hard cash.
2. They get 19% of a Chinese company, giving them a way past China's trade barriars. They get a headstart on everyone else providing high end technology services to a booming Chinese economy that lacks said expertese and has the means to pay for it. Meanwhile HP languishes under two divisions of PC manufacturing (HP & Compaq.) Way to go Carly
3. Did I mention that this gives IBM a way to sell products and services to the Chinese? Potentially billions to be made before the Chinese technology providers mature to IBM's level. (Note: I'm not saying that China lacks intelligent people, it's just that the US/Western world has spents decades longer training thousands more techs. It won't take them long to catchup though.)
4. If the US screws up their economy too bad IBM has a lifeline! I really hope that letting the dollar fall in value helps with the trade gap and makes it possible for US manufacturing to pick back up. I do not think that the US economy will crash in 10 or 20 years. I do worry that it will crash in 50 to 100 years. I also fear that the US will decide the best thing to do is plunder a few countries via conquest with their surplus military equipment
The Romans were so confident in their legions that they stopped inovating. After all, they conquered everyone worth conquering, right? Wrong, they got beat by wandering nomads who actually fought differently than the Romans were used to: how dare they?! Western based companies, often spear headed by American companies, have dominated the economy for fifty years now, but people are starting to play by their own rules. Will they be able to compete or will the 'barbarians' decimate their legions with unorthodox tactics. I honestly hope something in the middle happens
Isn`t that the beauty of capitalism?
Blar.
and they spit globs of spit everywhere...yucksksks
At least in the female aspect of you post- when I lived in china a few months ago, I had no fewer than 10 girlfriends. Really, finding a girlfriend in china is like the proverbial shooting fish in a barrell... I guess, unless you are a complete dorky loser.
As for the dialects and food- true. But you can do well learning the main dialect (Mandarin), and English will get you by in Shanghai, Beijing and perhaps Shenzhen/Guangzhou.
A witty saying proves you are wittier than the next guy.
It certainly wasn't the Chinese !
I'm certainly not saying the Chinese are perfect, however, you post reads like you consider that the US is.
The Internet's nature is peer to peer - 20050301_cs_profs.pdf
Are they scared to say what they say and put their actual pseudonym or even their name to it ?
The Internet's nature is peer to peer - 20050301_cs_profs.pdf
They have more money than god and employ more people than live in North Dakota.
You can bet that IBM has Bush's ear - along with some of his other parts.
I think you lose the argument this time because you started calling people names.
Just because someone thinks differently doesn't mean that you should call them names.
Tolerance and diversity means listening to opposing points of view and not crying about it.
Please think of using logic or rhetoric next time instead of whining.
IBM for one welcome our new Chinese laptop overlords.
Your CPU is not doing anything else, at least do something.
almost not worth responding to
... and be
i feel the same way.
economic disaster
ohhh. doom and gloom. like inflation went
through the rough when the US did restrict cheap
foregn labor? ha ha. you're making shit up, dude.
look up the inflation rate between
1935 and 1975. Check out the
gini-coeffient stat for the same
time period.
xenophobia
What's with this "xenophobia" stuff?
Do you label everyone who disagrees with you
a "xenophobe". Please grow up
tolerant and respectful of opposing viewpoints
with out calling people names.
Yes. It's cherry picking. The period of 1935-1975 was characterized by ..
1) Strong Labor Unions.
2) Import/Export Controls
3) Low immigration.
4) High growth.
Many, many other social indicators point to it as a golden era.
Open borders and laissez faire has not brought the fantabulous growth promised.
I don't oppose immigration. I oppose illegal immigration and guest workers. I think the real xenophobes are the people who think that foreigners are only good for menial labor (illegal immigrants) or non-immigrant guest work (check out the official name of the H1-B visa program, it
explicity calls it a "non-immigrant" bill.)
Wanting a sane but lower quota immigration
system is not xenohobia. In fact, I think
we should put pressure on the goverments of Mexico, India, China and Eastern European countries to make them
treat their people better. I'd describe my
position as a form of xenophilia: some tough
love will benefit them. I think those people
would appreciate it.
Is it? Tell me that when you get my winmodem working.
the hard drives from Maxtor or Seagate or WDC
The software is mostly from Microsoft.
I could go on and on here.
the only real technology challange is the thermal design. How do you get the heat out.
IBM is not selling technology to China.
If someone is worried about security and back doors, their PC is going to be a major security risk regardless of the nationality of the Brand on the box. If someone wants security they should not be buying a PC with Windows.
Religion is the main cause of atheism.
We outsourced to IBM and they are already dealing with China directly. They were not waiting for approval, they were already in full swing. When the Chinese New Year struck we had to wait for hundreds of IBM hardware orders to ship while the Chinese factories simply shutdown. Thanks to 'Just In Time', IBM didn't have any in stock in the USA and had to wait for the Chinese shipment.
All of the shipments still go through customs. I ordered an Apple PowerBook online to get the cheaper model and upgrade it to the backlit keyboard. I had to wait about 3 extra days due to customs delays. Not fun, watching FexEx package tracking simply stall!
China has been throwing a hell of a lot of money into their military machine lately. We are talking about a hell of a lot of overkill! Certainly much more then is needed for mere self-defense. China has been threatening Taiwan more aggressively as well. China is still a Communist country and as such cannot be trusted. These are the same people who killed all those student protesters with tanks! They have sophisticated submarines an enormous army and nuclear warheads.
China is fighting to keep Hong Kong and Taiwan under control because they are the technological centers of China. They see the potential of capitalism in regards to the economy but they still don't trust diplomacy. Russia is similar. There are a whole lot of old communists that just don't 'Get It'.
China has also got it's sights set on the Middle East and Africa. They are going to need natural resources like oil, copper, etc. China is not a major threat at the moment, but that can quickly change in a short decade.
You're making a pretty big leap saying that Whole Foods wants to scare you into buying their food, when Whole Goods specifically caters to people with special dietary wants and needs. The price of their food reflects the fact that they make a lot of it themselves, seeing as how if it was generally available, you could buy it anywhere for a more affordable price. Most people aren't glutamate sensitive, but most people aren't allergic to gluten or lactose either.