Julian Ivan-Alexander

Why Research in Motion Is a Takeover Target

How you getting on with that tool you use to get stones out of horses' hooves these days...? :)


On Nov 12 10:47 AM RiskCapital wrote:

> Well, you may be right. However, I just ditched AT&T because
> they tried to fix my iphone for the 3rd time only to find out it
> had a virus. It had one all along. They say it had it the moment
> I bought it. They can have all the apps. iphone is a POS. We will
> have to wait for a 2nd generation Android before we get one without
> glitches galore. Right now I am happy with my old Casio until I figure
> out what I want next. But I am taking my time. Not going to make
> another iphone mistake.

Apple May Find Itself at Risk in Legacy Core Business

Wow - not so much sour grapes as bitter lemon.

New Microsoft Ad Targets High Cost of Macs

What a load of tosh.. feature for feature, Macs are cheaper than PCs as countless studies have shown. Sure, go buy a 4-wheel, 4-door Skoda if you want over a 4-wheel BWM if you want to save money... they both offer metal bodies, tyres, an engine, and seats - and they're both well built, and usually the BMW costs more than the Skoda.

But unlike the scenario above what if feature for feature, the BWM and the Skoda were the same price once you've chosen the optional extras?

That's the real argument here. This price comparison is as daft as the Mghz myth wars of the Pentium 4 versus G5 PowerPC.

The Google Phone: Blockbuster or Bust?

Google is not positioning itself against Apple. Its positioning itself against Windows Mobile and its lesser competitors. I'm not sure why people find this so hard to understand.

Seeing an End to the iPod's Hegemony

Words fail me, and that's rare.

Microsoft Gets Closer To Owning Your Living Room

Jesus Christ, who are these bozos? Add a $50 USB tuner to your Mac, and you can use it as a better PVR than anything available on a PC thanks to the fantastic Elgato software, which integrates with Front Row seamlessly and saves recorded content to iTunes - where it can be played back through the Apple TV in your living room.
A Mac+TV tuners and an Apple TV is all you need for the best PVR system on the planet.

Four Big Tech Companies That Should Age Gracefully - Barron's

AAPL isn't "aging." Its growing at 30-40% YoY, and will continue doing so for the next 3-4 years.
HPQ? Doomed to middle age, laucklustre growth, and falling margins.
MSFT? Well past its prime, circa 7 years ago. Coincidentally about the same time DELL peaked.
CSCO? Undervalued, good solid play, but no sprinter.
The only growth story here is AAPL. Yet AAPL trades at 22x forward earnings. I know where I'd put my money.

Apple Envy Seizes Microsoft

Your article is required reading. Great, insightful piece!

Barron's 2007 Analyst Roundtable, Part III

Contrary to Fred Hickey's statistics, APPL'e ttm PE is just 30 (not 38), and its forward PE just 22 (not 31). If you back out the $13/share in cash, then AAPL's forward PE is just 18.

Huh? That's expensive? That would be low even if AAPL were growing earnings by 20% YoY, let alone the 30-40% it is comfortably maintaining.

Fred Hickey said iPod growth rates are falling apart. They grew 50% YoY last Q, for a record 21m iPods. Mac sales are growing 30% YoY - that demonstrates plunging Mac sales?

Someone should call him out on this call. Hickey is on another planet. I wish there was an ETF on Fred Hickey so I could short it.

Microsoft's Profit Drops 28%; Raises Forecasts; Shares Gain 2% After Hours

I Iove the way CNBC credit Microsoft's "incredible revenue gains" to the XBox, when that division remains a huge loss-maker for the company. No mention of that, of course, and no mention that one of the reasons M$ were able to guide higher was because they lowered XBox sales expectations for the next quarter, which means they lower their losses and increase earnings

Nice one guys. Nice cover-up.

Apple's $7 Billion Christmas Quarter To Be Paced by iPod Sales

Carl, nice posts! There's a great discussion of AAPL going on at The Mac Observer. Anyone interested, please feel free to drop by and post your comments. We'd value your input.

www.macobserver.com/fo...

In particular, see the thread about the upcoming Q1 07 earnings here:

www.macobserver.com/fo...

Microsoft's Trojan Horse Will Own Your Living Room

What a stupid article. It makes so many assumptions it is laughable. There's no proof of massive demand for XBoxes. 4m have been sold in the US. 2m are connected to XBox live. The unit costs $400+.
Apple's iTV is a $250-300 device that streams all media from any Mac or PC, or indeed any source, along with connecting to the internet. In other words, it is 10x more versatile than the XBox, and is significantly cheaper.
There is no proof yet of demand for HD content, but if there is, you can guarantee 100% that the iTV will handle it.
Microsoft will not "win the living room" with a games console. It is a games console. Just as a mobile phone that plays music is still a mobile phone. Just because it streams movies does not make it the ideal living room device.
Good luck buying MSFT - I'd dump it and buy AAPL if I were you. When it comes to digital media, its been AAPL 1, rest of the world 0, for years. I'll bet on MSFT when they can prove they know how to deliver what its customers want. Until then, they're an also-ran.

Apple's Cheap Shot Against Microsoft

Good lord get a grip and remover your sense-of-humour bypass. Lighten up a bit. Or maybe you're so frustrated at dealing with your virus-prone Windows installation that you just saw red and couldn't help yourself. Never mind; get a Mac next time, and then you can really afford to laugh at stories like this, rather than getting upset at them.