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Computer Demand Boosts MS Profits
elzurawka wrote to mention a BBC article discussing Microsoft's boost in profits as a result of an upswing in PC demand. From the article: "The company announced record revenue of $39.79bn for the fiscal year ending on 30 June, an 8% increase over the $36.84 billion reported last year. The main drivers of sales for Microsoft's Windows, Office and Server software products - PC makers and Asian component manufacturers - have reported healthy demand for PCs."
They let the drivers of sales run in ring 0 which may perform better but exposes to kernel to crashes if the drivers are not thoroughly debugged.
In other news, the oil industry attributed increases in gas sales to an increase in automobile sales.
!hoD
Microsoft stock falls 2.5% due to its "lackluster revenue outlooks" http://today.reuters.com/investing/MarketReportArt icle.aspx?type=usMktRpt
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
their stock price is way down though: http://www.google.com/search?oi=stock&q=stocks:MSF T&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmsft%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DbnK%26l r%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-U S:official
8 percent is nice and all, but when Apple's just announced a 75% increase in revenue does it even rate a mention?
Drag n' Drop DVD Recommendations
$39b for MS, as comprared to only $19b in gross collections for the NC Dept of Revenue for 2003-2004. I hope my state does not end up on the MS radar, it could get outsourced.
Yeah, in other news . . The summer is increasing the demand for water! Winter increases lightbulb usage! and Increased car usage ramps up need for better roads!
Pretty Pictures!
See my Home Theater
You buy your PCs retail?
If you're smart enough to run Linux, you ought to be smart enough to build your own machine, or at least get your local computer shop to build one for you. Most Mom and Pop computer retailers sell systems they build themselves without an OS installed, and their prices are usually cheaper than the big box retailers. Support your local computer shop!
Who needs hospitals and edumacation anyway.
Something else that might boost MS profits. Free advertisement as three MS-related stories were posted to slashdot within 4 hours.
I am then crushed by an article about MS doing really well.
I sincerely hope that MS is in fact loosing it's dominance. Not because I hate Microsoft, but because the continued dominance of MS means yet more time we'll spend without significant innovation through competition.
M$ is one of the big companies that hasn't done major layoffs in the States. In fact, they were hiring when very few others were. You can't really accuse them of outsourcing. Sure, there's tons of reasons to hate 'em, but this one ain't it.
The Raven
Uhh.. Apple Revenue rose 75% to $3.52 billion from $2.01 billion, while MS rose 8% to $39.79 billion. That 8% increase alone is more that Apple's total Revenue, its all relative.
One thing I'm sure we can agree on though: if they keep increasing at this rate it won't be long until they both have infinite income!
Starsucks
blakespot
-- Heisenberg may have slept here.
iPod Hacks.com
Support your local computer shop!
:-)
I was pretty happy with parts I got at a computer small computer shop in California. All the components were of high quality, and I could reach over the desk and strangle someone if it didn't work. Unfortunately, such shops don't seem to exist here in Chicago. There's big places like MicroCenter, but I don't really trust them. I received suggestions for NewEgg.com, but they didn't carry the parts I wanted. In the end, I ended up getting parts from MWave.com. They had everything I needed, good prices, and the service was fast. I can't speak to complaints (since I didn't have any), but they may be worth checking out.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I couldn't agree more!
/. crew is really taking the humor out of this board. Why be funny when, at best, it'll have no effect on your karma? At worst, humorless mods will kick your arse down to karma hell!
The
(\me prepares to sink into the abyss yet again)
When people are throwing away computers to 'fix spyware' and then buying a new computer - and a new version of Windows XP - almost by force - then yes, profits will be up.
This shouldn't be the way.
The old version of xp should be more than enough for the new Hardware but Microsoft OEM policies almost prevent this.
This should be remedied by law. This is abuse of their almost monopoly.
This may make me the master of the obvious, but... As there is more bus. on the web, there will be more servers. As a computer becomes more of a requirement for daily life, there will be more of them, and thus more software. As the "greatest generation" dies off, and is replaced by new babies, the percent of people using computers will go up, and this, there will be more computers. As the so called "un-developed" world becomes developed, more computers will be sold... and so on and so on...
And another point....
GM in the 70s?
Sometimes I think we are too much geek and not enough business in our thinking. Mod this however you wish, but I see a parallel with GM. I have a 1978 Caddy Coupe Deville that I never drive, except the occasional weekend. Why does that matter? 1978 was the best year ever for GM. They had the biggest market share in their history, and the biggest profits. And they made crappy cars. In the 80s, people wanted better quality, sure, and that is something that would take a company like GM a long time to change- but the little things customers wanted- cupholders are a prime example- GM just wouldn't do. GMs thinking was that they will buy our cars, and they will like them, and we will make them how we please. Well, the Japanese put cupholders in their cars, which people wanted. (I know quality was also a huge issue, but that is beside this point), and lo and behold- people were happy. Microsoft pushes things on consumers and the consumers accept them, just like GM of old. The point- after 1978- GM declined quickly as alternatives blossomed, heck, now their bonds are rated in the junk range. When will microsofts 1978 happen, if ever? Who knows- but don't think that companies with huge market share are invincible.
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
Except millions of computers users DON'T want Linux! They don't want to fumble with a difficult OS that's reserved [mainly] for the computer literate. Microsoft gives these people what they want. Why should they go out of their way to get a TuxBox? Your analogy would hold true if MS was actually putting out that PEOPLE IN GENERAL (read: not the average Slashdot reader) abhorred. As MS keeps adding new features to Windows (mostly stuff centered around the computer as a multimedia tool), Linux tries to catch-up with the basics, such as gaming, the lack of support for many applications and hardware, and so on and so forth. If anything, Linux is the OS that thinks people will adopt it and choose over a more superior (from the POV of a consumer) OS. This is the reason why it is relegated to servers, which are customized/operated/etc. by geeks.
A blog like any other.
In the tech market, P/E is not an entirely appropriate measure. What you're really hoping for is future earnings, and tech requires a high start-up cost but returns recurring profits. (Which is why companies so jealously guard their IP, to bring up another Slashdot flamewar.)
The trick to getting rich on the Street is to see technologies that have a high P/E (or, more often, negative or infinite P/E because they have no earnings or losses) but will "win" eventually. A nose for good technology and a strong stomach for loss are required.
That said, it doesn't apply to Microsoft, whose earnings can be roughly tracked; you know that they're never to expand by a factor of 1,000 again. That's why their P/E is a comparatively reasonable 25, and their numbers go more like a blue-chip than real high-tech.
It also doesn't apply to stocks that have already been bid up by speculators who don't really know the value of what they're buying, which was pretty much all of them during the dot-com boom.
There's a hell of a lot more going on than this (like when you buy a share of MSFT you're also buying $3.48 in cash). I'll cease to bore you with any more details; usually this is as far as I go and beyond that I just play my instincts. Additional numbers can make more fine-grained analysis but they tend to get into the "damned lies and statistics" category.
So for myself I count those rough numbers, my instinct for a products that don't suck, and the rising tide that lifts all ships. I've done pretty well, but never confuse genius for a bull market.
One last thing: there is a difference between earnings and dividends. Dividends end up in your pocket; earnings are invested in the company. But it's your money either way, so you don't lose much by not getting dividends. When a dividend is issued, the share price usually goes down to compensate. If you want your money in cash, you just sell your stock and get your cash from the next guy. But it's not a problem that tech companies don't issue dividends; you can think of it as automatically reinvesting your dividends in R&D for new products.
You are 100% correct- I was thinking more along the lines of Apple being the Japanese, or a company that hasn't even been started being the Japanese. (Who in the 60's would have thought a motorcycle maker named Honda would ever have the domination they have in the auto world.) To extend the analogy maybe further than it should be- maybe companies like ferarri or MG would be the Linux- companies that in the 70s made vehicles that were alternatives for enthusiasts those who knew how to repair them, but not for grocery getters.
And to take it one step further- if cars ran perfectly forever, there would be no mechanics. If computers ran perfectly, well, a lot of us would be looking in the help wanteds.
I guess my point is that it is never easy to see how a company with a near Monopoly or huge market share can ever lose it w/out gov't intervention- but it can happen quickly.... (Pennsy RR, A&P in the late 1800s etc.) Hindsight is always 20/20... which reminds me- I once dated an optometrist- during sex, she would move around a lot and say "is it better like this, or better like this...."
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
Wrong yet again...these people don't want Windows or Linux or even Mac. They simply want a computer that they can use to do their daily activities and work on. Depending on what you do with the computer, Linux can be just as easy if not more so than Windows, and vica-versa. If we can just get more software companies supporting Linux, more people will want it. People don't buy Windows for Windows' sake, they buy it for the software that runs on Windows.
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."