Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Google search is awesome. It's been awesome for nearly 15 years and it's still easily the best search engine around. Are they disrupting the search industry every year? I'm not disputing that Search, Docs, and Maps aren't great products. but they are all older properties.
Google has spent the last 5 years copying and buying their way into markets rather than creating them.
Google Drive, Google Play, Google+ – Are pretty typical of Google's recent 'innovation'. Basically clones of existing technology with a bit of Google spin added. Nor have any of these products been particularly effective in dramatically impacting their respective markets the way Maps, Gmail, or Search did.
Google Car – There have been DARPA projects for self driving cars for years. Don't you have to actually... sell something before you claim it's an innovation? Maybe just a hundred or so? Google TV – I'd love to hear how this is either innovative or disruptive. Apple and Roku have shipped 10s of millions of units in increasing volumes. Logitech lost millions betting on Google TV and Google's Que was three times the cost of the Apple TV and failed before making it into regular production.
Basically Google's big success story in the past 5 years has been Android. Have you seen what Android looked like before Apple provided the world with a road map to what a modern smartphone is supposed to work like?
Google has become the ultimate fast follower in tech, surpassing even Microsoft's era of copy and acquisition madness in the late 90s and well into the 2000s.
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Google's search is an amazing tool. I tried ditching it for Bing and for DuckDuckGo and I wind up coming back to Google. Yes, the base search functions are pretty similar across the board, but the way Google presents search, the tools for modifying searches, the ability to pop over to image search, etc.. it's all a very tough package to one up.
Being as good at the basics isn't enough. What is there about Izik that would make someone switch?
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Youtube (an acquisition) is disruptive in the streaming space. It's only starting to realize it's potential now and has slowly morphed into what MTV was 20 years ago. ––––––––––––––––––––– Youtube was disruptive... then Google bought it. I'm not sure what changes are 'more disruptive' now.
––––––––––––––––––––– Google Play is disruptive. It provides an automated backup of someone's music, ebook, and movie library and playlists into the cloud free of charge alleviating the need to back up everything yourself/pay for your own cloud storage and removed the tether of iTunes from people's music collections. ––––––––––––––––––––––... .... What you just list is everything iTunes has been doing for years, and Amazon has done for some time as well. The only service Apple charges for that Google doesn't is the ability to upload your own music. Reducing the price to zero is disruptive in a way, but it's hardly innovative.
None of the music locker services have done much disrupting that I've seen regardless. Maybe in a few years? We'll see.
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Google is disruptive ––––––––––––––––– Lots of the 5+ year old stuff was disruptive, gmail, search (obviously), maps... but now?
Their biggest recent success was 4 years ago and it was a copy of iOS. While "cheaper and more available" is a great feature for moving a lot of units, I'm not sure it's truly innovation.
I see lots of features which are solid, but... disruptive?
To go a step further, how about limiting it to stuff Google actually created in-house rather than acquired.
Will Tizen Threaten Apple's iOS Or Android In The Coming Years? [View article]
Every time something new is introduced, it's the next Apple killer. Windows 7, Windows 8, Blackberry 10, Jolla, Ubuntu, Tizen, etc etc... Seems like a new iPhone killer is proclaimed every month.
How about we wait until something gets beyond the concept phase and into actual production and sells a million units or so before we proclaim the next Apple killer?
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
I agree with almost everything you say, but for two minor things. Apple is not a true one trick pony, but an absurd amount of their revenue comes from 2 relatively narrow product lines. Take a look at what happened to Dell and HP when PC sales softened for an example of what happens when your revenue is tied tightly to a small set of product lines (having 400 different models of the same few products is not diversification). If iPhone sales suffer, Apple earnings are going to take a big hit. That said, betting against the iPhone is quite a gamble when there is a lot of evidence suggesting it's doing well.
The other comment I disagree with it "Apple has nothing to worry about." Apple needs to keep their eye on the ball and keep cranking out great products. Users are willing to forgive a mediocre release like iOS 6 (and lets be honest, it wasn't a home run), but if they bring back their A-game, Samdroid is going to be there to pick up the slack. iPhone hardware is top notch, but iOS is flagging.
The iOS Jonny Ives edition is coming, hopefully it does more than purge the stitching on the notebooks; they need to clean up a bit of cruft and step things up (easy access to bluetooth settings and wifi settings would be a nice start).
House Approves Fiscal Cliff Bill: How The Deal Affects Income Investors [View article]
Stephen,
Your chart says "2012-2013 Percentage Change in Tax Rates". The title should be "Change in Marginal Rate". People making $300,000 per year aren't going to pay nearly 25%+ more. (In fact you make the same poor wording choice throughout)
I guess it sounds nit-picky, but there is a lot of confusion over the difference between marginal rates and tax rate.
Intel Inside The Apple iPad? It Makes Sense! [View article]
Tim Cook said Apple plans on a "Made in USA" product. That's not speculation.
The idea that Apple would port Chinese style manual assembly to the US is laughable, as you point out. What is left other than a highly automated facility?
It is speculation, but it's informed by Cook's statement and some pretty tight constraints.
As for shipping, my understanding is Apple's desktop computer sales are still mostly in the US. Also, if they have lots of phones and iPads flowing to the US, they might be able to get a better rate on freight headed back to China. Carriers hate dead legs and often offer discounts.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
––––––––––––––––––––––––– We can ignore the android smartphone and the ios based devices. Those are mostly consumer products. ––––––––––––––––––––––––– People and companies don't buy "PCs", they buy something to solve a problem. Increasingly that solution is not a traditional PC.
Microsoft just rebuilt their entire OS to compete with the iPad. They know who their competitor is even if you choose to ignore it. I'm not going to bother pointing out the countless companies who have deployed iPads, if you care you can spend five minutes doing the research yourself.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
Anyway, your taking my statement out of context. Brewer stated "The Windows monopoly is falling apart as a result." and I just do not think that is the case. ––––––––––––––––––––––... No. I was putting your statement IN the context it belongs in.
That big flat blue section is Microsoft's ever shrinking "monopoly" market. Mac market share is mixed into it, but it's not very important other than the fact that it's eating away at Microsoft's market share directly as opposed to indirectly.
Intel Inside The Apple iPad? It Makes Sense! [View article]
One throw away is what is the marginal cost of air shipping a computer or phone from China to New York vs rail/road shipping from California or upstate? ––––––––––––––––––––––... Tons of Apple product is sold before it's done with final assembly. Ship windows are short so train is too going to be too slow in most cases. There will still be a sizable shipping advantage.
The cost of assembly by robot in the US isn't significantly more expensive than assembly by robot in China. The tricky bit is getting the rest of components sourced from the US. This is why I think the Mac Mini and Mac Pro are perfect for US production, LCD panels are produced in Korea and China almost exclusively right now which would prevent Apple from using the "Made in USA" label which they are shooting for.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
If you define a market narrowly enough, everyone has a monopoly. Consumers and businesses don't look at the world that way. They have a need and buy a product that meets that need. Microsoft had a monopoly because there were no alternates to Windows that consumers and businesses would buy. There are lots of alternates now, the iPad has been the biggie.
Companies don't have a "PC" budget, they have an "IT" budget which they use to buy technology. More and more of that budget is getting spent on non-Microsoft things.
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Google has spent the last 5 years copying and buying their way into markets rather than creating them.
Google Drive, Google Play, Google+ – Are pretty typical of Google's recent 'innovation'. Basically clones of existing technology with a bit of Google spin added. Nor have any of these products been particularly effective in dramatically impacting their respective markets the way Maps, Gmail, or Search did.
Google Car – There have been DARPA projects for self driving cars for years. Don't you have to actually... sell something before you claim it's an innovation? Maybe just a hundred or so?
Google TV – I'd love to hear how this is either innovative or disruptive. Apple and Roku have shipped 10s of millions of units in increasing volumes. Logitech lost millions betting on Google TV and Google's Que was three times the cost of the Apple TV and failed before making it into regular production.
Basically Google's big success story in the past 5 years has been Android. Have you seen what Android looked like before Apple provided the world with a road map to what a modern smartphone is supposed to work like?
Google has become the ultimate fast follower in tech, surpassing even Microsoft's era of copy and acquisition madness in the late 90s and well into the 2000s.
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
Being as good at the basics isn't enough. What is there about Izik that would make someone switch?
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
–––––––––––––––––––––
Youtube was disruptive... then Google bought it. I'm not sure what changes are 'more disruptive' now.
–––––––––––––––––––––
Google Play is disruptive. It provides an automated backup of someone's music, ebook, and movie library and playlists into the cloud free of charge alleviating the need to back up everything yourself/pay for your own cloud storage and removed the tether of iTunes from people's music collections.
––––––––––––––––––––––...
.... What you just list is everything iTunes has been doing for years, and Amazon has done for some time as well. The only service Apple charges for that Google doesn't is the ability to upload your own music. Reducing the price to zero is disruptive in a way, but it's hardly innovative.
None of the music locker services have done much disrupting that I've seen regardless. Maybe in a few years? We'll see.
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
–––––––––––––––––
Lots of the 5+ year old stuff was disruptive, gmail, search (obviously), maps... but now?
Their biggest recent success was 4 years ago and it was a copy of iOS. While "cheaper and more available" is a great feature for moving a lot of units, I'm not sure it's truly innovation.
I see lots of features which are solid, but... disruptive?
To go a step further, how about limiting it to stuff Google actually created in-house rather than acquired.
Will Tizen Threaten Apple's iOS Or Android In The Coming Years? [View article]
Seems like everyone has a mobile OS.
Will Tizen Threaten Apple's iOS Or Android In The Coming Years? [View article]
I just disagree with your ideas on timing.
Will Tizen Threaten Apple's iOS Or Android In The Coming Years? [View article]
How about we wait until something gets beyond the concept phase and into actual production and sells a million units or so before we proclaim the next Apple killer?
Kindle Fire Demand Is Weaker Than Amazon Wants You To Think [View article]
The other comment I disagree with it "Apple has nothing to worry about." Apple needs to keep their eye on the ball and keep cranking out great products. Users are willing to forgive a mediocre release like iOS 6 (and lets be honest, it wasn't a home run), but if they bring back their A-game, Samdroid is going to be there to pick up the slack. iPhone hardware is top notch, but iOS is flagging.
The iOS Jonny Ives edition is coming, hopefully it does more than purge the stitching on the notebooks; they need to clean up a bit of cruft and step things up (easy access to bluetooth settings and wifi settings would be a nice start).
House Approves Fiscal Cliff Bill: How The Deal Affects Income Investors [View article]
House Approves Fiscal Cliff Bill: How The Deal Affects Income Investors [View article]
Your chart says "2012-2013 Percentage Change in Tax Rates". The title should be "Change in Marginal Rate". People making $300,000 per year aren't going to pay nearly 25%+ more. (In fact you make the same poor wording choice throughout)
I guess it sounds nit-picky, but there is a lot of confusion over the difference between marginal rates and tax rate.
Intel Inside The Apple iPad? It Makes Sense! [View article]
The idea that Apple would port Chinese style manual assembly to the US is laughable, as you point out. What is left other than a highly automated facility?
It is speculation, but it's informed by Cook's statement and some pretty tight constraints.
As for shipping, my understanding is Apple's desktop computer sales are still mostly in the US. Also, if they have lots of phones and iPads flowing to the US, they might be able to get a better rate on freight headed back to China. Carriers hate dead legs and often offer discounts.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
We can ignore the android smartphone and the ios based devices. Those are mostly consumer products.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––
People and companies don't buy "PCs", they buy something to solve a problem. Increasingly that solution is not a traditional PC.
Microsoft just rebuilt their entire OS to compete with the iPad. They know who their competitor is even if you choose to ignore it. I'm not going to bother pointing out the countless companies who have deployed iPads, if you care you can spend five minutes doing the research yourself.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
––––––––––––––––––––––...
No. I was putting your statement IN the context it belongs in.
Here's what the Windows "monopoly" looks like in context: http://onforb.es/Voh2nj
That big flat blue section is Microsoft's ever shrinking "monopoly" market. Mac market share is mixed into it, but it's not very important other than the fact that it's eating away at Microsoft's market share directly as opposed to indirectly.
Intel Inside The Apple iPad? It Makes Sense! [View article]
––––––––––––––––––––––...
Tons of Apple product is sold before it's done with final assembly. Ship windows are short so train is too going to be too slow in most cases. There will still be a sizable shipping advantage.
The cost of assembly by robot in the US isn't significantly more expensive than assembly by robot in China. The tricky bit is getting the rest of components sourced from the US. This is why I think the Mac Mini and Mac Pro are perfect for US production, LCD panels are produced in Korea and China almost exclusively right now which would prevent Apple from using the "Made in USA" label which they are shooting for.
Microsoft Windows 8: No Effect On Tablet Market [View article]
Companies don't have a "PC" budget, they have an "IT" budget which they use to buy technology. More and more of that budget is getting spent on non-Microsoft things.