I think in essence Amazon is a VC funded charity. Amazon has been great for consumers, driving down the cost of all sorts of products. For their VC backers, the returns have been less than stellar Amazon's model is to be the low margin competitor in each segment, ostensibly to drive out competition in the hopes of raising margins later. This doesn't seem to be happening as other competitors are matching or bettering their prices.
The washup being that Amazon will continue to exist, continuing to make minimal profits (especially in comparison to their VC backer's investments). Hence my view that their VC backers are essentially making low interest loans/donations to a charity whose purpose is to deliver lower prices to consumers.
I don't think these problems are inevitable at all. Why is it that pretty much every other western, first world country can run elections without these "inevitable problems"?
I personally know of complex multi billion dollar deals done via spreadsheet (usually via well qualified finance people). Are you really going to trust a computer programmer to develop a financial model of a billion dollar business that is up for sale?
Nothing can match the flexibility (and speed) of excel. Most of the time you might be bidding against competitors and you won't have time to wait for perfect information to populate some database or VBA edifice.
The key problem here was a simple schoolboy error - mixing real and nominal numbers (ie being inconsistent in the treatment of inflation). This was a pebkac error and not really Excel's fault.
I was going to give this another +1, but instead I'll comment.
Firstly I'm a windows user and will never be a mac or linux user. I know my way around computers but when it comes to wikipedia's markup - I'm sure I could learn those obscure symbols if I really wanted to, but really I just can't be fucked. I bet I'm not the only one.
+5 agree on everything else - bots are cause more damage than good, deletionism is a problem, and YES - some form of community (not appointed experts) peer review is needed.
Last I checked, pirating music was way easier than buying it legitimately and no one cares which country you are in. Could the music industry, just perhaps, stop being a joke?
I'm in Australia, but access the internet at work via US servers. Just tried to buy music through Google Music - but it requires a US credit card. My Australian and UK credit cards didn't work.....
Agree - if they had physical stores take up would have been a lot higher (also if they had provided a plan for it - Joe Sixpack is not used to paying $XXX upfront). The main reason for physical stores is that these days phones are quite a personal item. (does it fit in my pocket/hand/handbag/purse/?. Does it look "cool"). I think both factors combined meant that Nexus 1 was an underperformer, despite it being the leading phone of its time.
I hate the Facebook, try as I might I've had zero success in migrating my family and friends to superior services like twitter & google+. (I'm gen x btw). Reason being is my non computer literate family and friends can't cope with the cognitive dissonance of learning yet another www site on the internet. If they do manage to do so, then there's no-one there, except boring self-promoters (hello twitter!). So Facebook will be around for a long time to come and people like me who know there's better alternatives will still be forced to use it.
Getting back on topic, postponing the IPO makes a tonne of sense. The markets are in turmoil with Greece and Italy about to default. For an IPO of the size of Facebook, any sensible banker would wait and see.
Plus the USA has its election next year, so inevitably the pork barrel will come out. No doubt that will add a couple of digits to the user/revenue/ebitda mulitple that Facebook will be valued at.
If the question was "what's the best gaming PC for $1,000?", the answer would be:
1) if you're not running Crysis on your overclocked Amgia, (on some weird-ass linux distro of course) then you have no right to be asking, and obviously don't know what you're talking about.
2) No way in hell your mom is gonna give you the $1,000.
Slashdot Mirror
I think in essence Amazon is a VC funded charity. Amazon has been great for consumers, driving down the cost of all sorts of products. For their VC backers, the returns have been less than stellar Amazon's model is to be the low margin competitor in each segment, ostensibly to drive out competition in the hopes of raising margins later. This doesn't seem to be happening as other competitors are matching or bettering their prices.
The washup being that Amazon will continue to exist, continuing to make minimal profits (especially in comparison to their VC backer's investments). Hence my view that their VC backers are essentially making low interest loans/donations to a charity whose purpose is to deliver lower prices to consumers.
At first your argument sounded persuasive and I might have wanted to subscribe to your newsletter, but now I can't. Looser.
Except Paypal of course.
Does anyone actually even USE gifs anymore??
Getting old? Does Rule 34 mean anything to you?
I don't think these problems are inevitable at all. Why is it that pretty much every other western, first world country can run elections without these "inevitable problems"?
I personally know of complex multi billion dollar deals done via spreadsheet (usually via well qualified finance people). Are you really going to trust a computer programmer to develop a financial model of a billion dollar business that is up for sale?
Nothing can match the flexibility (and speed) of excel. Most of the time you might be bidding against competitors and you won't have time to wait for perfect information to populate some database or VBA edifice.
The key problem here was a simple schoolboy error - mixing real and nominal numbers (ie being inconsistent in the treatment of inflation). This was a pebkac error and not really Excel's fault.
I was going to give this another +1, but instead I'll comment.
Firstly I'm a windows user and will never be a mac or linux user. I know my way around computers but when it comes to wikipedia's markup - I'm sure I could learn those obscure symbols if I really wanted to, but really I just can't be fucked. I bet I'm not the only one.
+5 agree on everything else - bots are cause more damage than good, deletionism is a problem, and YES - some form of community (not appointed experts) peer review is needed.
Hi, you must be new here, so sorry for being a meme-nazi, but
TFTFY
Yes, but I want my music IN THE CLOUD!!!
Yes, there's no way they're fooling me into buying The White Album, AGAIN!
Hear Hear. When will the music industry wake up?
I'm in Australia, but access the internet at work via US servers. Just tried to buy music through Google Music - but it requires a US credit card. My Australian and UK credit cards didn't work.....
Bingo!
Can I get a "phone that just makes calls" post?
I had a whole essay ready to go but I will distill it:
1 - Microsoft products are an order of magnitude better than is the crap that is google docs or libre office
2 - Its not the 90's anymore. Bill Gates has done an extraordinary amount of good with his money
(ps, yes I can't wait untill Ballmer is retired either)
As a guy not in IT:
Becuase us users resent your petty fiefdoms. Its 2011 now, the technology exists.
Doctors haven't cured cancer
Physicists haven't made a fusion reactor
Brain Surgeons can' t operate on Alzheimers
Rocket Scientists can't fly us to Mars and Back
News at 11
yes and what about phones that JUST MAKE CALLS!!
Can you honestly see this being used in an office environment?
Or for that matter, on a plane?
Yes, if you use gmail because search actually works.
No, if you use Outlook because their search is a dog.
Agree - if they had physical stores take up would have been a lot higher (also if they had provided a plan for it - Joe Sixpack is not used to paying $XXX upfront). The main reason for physical stores is that these days phones are quite a personal item. (does it fit in my pocket/hand/handbag/purse/?. Does it look "cool"). I think both factors combined meant that Nexus 1 was an underperformer, despite it being the leading phone of its time.
Google agrees with you, though the millions of people who didn't buy the Nexus-1 (the leading phone of its time) would probably disagree.
google: "me too - except we do it BETTER"
see http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=btaG034fJgg
oh and hoverboards would be cool too.
I hate the Facebook, try as I might I've had zero success in migrating my family and friends to superior services like twitter & google+. (I'm gen x btw). Reason being is my non computer literate family and friends can't cope with the cognitive dissonance of learning yet another www site on the internet. If they do manage to do so, then there's no-one there, except boring self-promoters (hello twitter!). So Facebook will be around for a long time to come and people like me who know there's better alternatives will still be forced to use it.
Getting back on topic, postponing the IPO makes a tonne of sense. The markets are in turmoil with Greece and Italy about to default. For an IPO of the size of Facebook, any sensible banker would wait and see.
Plus the USA has its election next year, so inevitably the pork barrel will come out. No doubt that will add a couple of digits to the user/revenue/ebitda mulitple that Facebook will be valued at.
sigh, such a typical slashdot response
If the question was "what's the best gaming PC for $1,000?", the answer would be:
1) if you're not running Crysis on your overclocked Amgia, (on some weird-ass linux distro of course) then you have no right to be asking, and obviously don't know what you're talking about.
2) No way in hell your mom is gonna give you the $1,000.