Tom B

Murdoch’s Bing Bluster Will Hurt News Corp, Not Google

MSFT fails to understand that an antitrust trial under Obama is not likely to result in a "slap on the wrist", like it did in the Netscape case under Bush.

5 Good Dividend Plays

But, the Android is a dog. And the network, though big, is CDMA. And the CEO's an idiot. I'm not a huge T fan, but I like it over VZ. And my TEF has been doing better than either.


On Nov 27 10:15 AM skrummydummy wrote:

> I definitely agree about T, VZ, and BP, especially VZ. I really like
> Verizon the best of all because it's no longer a widows-and-orphans
> stock. Instead, VZ has become a major growth story with the introduction
> of the new Android smart phone. The release is perfect for the holidays.
> And just think about all of those lucrative new service contracts!
> Vodaphone should be added to the list since it shares much of the
> same revenue stream. It too pays a great dividend.
>
> Skrummy

What if Steve Jobs Hadn’t Returned to Apple in 1997?

Superb post.


On Nov 27 10:55 AM Old Hand wrote:

> Spot on, dude.
>
> Your comments about getting the NeXT deal are very interesting.<br/>
>
> When the history of the computer industry is written, Steve Jobs
> will occupy a position of importance well above Gates. Not that
> Gates has not been important. Gates has been important, in a very
> negative way.
>
> The pivotal decision in the PC industry was IBM's product strategy
> of putting an open hardware architecture on the market. The killer
> app was Lotus 1-2-3.
>
> Gates has been an outstanding monopolist. He managed to get away
> with inflicting a piece of junk on the market, getting hundreds of
> millions of users hooked on this junk. His junk has been bug-ridden
> and glacially slow to evolve. Gates' junk is based on an incoherent
> theory of OS design that has been wide open to hackers. Very importantly,
> the defects in the junk Gates has pushed on the world have caused
> untold costs for end users and OEMs.
>
> I believe that Gates and Microsh*t should rightfully have been the
> targets of the largest class action products liability and antitrust
> case in the history of the world -- past and future.

HP vs. Dell: Showdown at the Windows 7 Corral

If you had a "forced choice" of one of these loser companies, for sure, HP is MUCH preferable.

Whatever Happened to Those Ethanol Companies?

Betting against the Laws of Thermodynamics is like betting against the casino-- you may win for a short time, and if you do, leave the table while you are still ahead!


On Nov 24 09:06 AM John Bowman wrote:

> Serves them right. What a waste of natural resources and no added
> benefit to auto drivers or to the American public in general.
>
> It's a lose-lose situation no matter how you look at it.

Whatever Happened to Those Ethanol Companies?

Ethanol was heavily promoted by BUSH. I'll grant you Obama did not "kill" it, being from a corn state, but put the blame where it belongs.


On Nov 24 03:11 AM sako shooter wrote:

> Government loves green energy, the market does not. So, at the
> central planner’s behest, we shocked grain markets, drove the price
> of food higher, funneled scarce resources into ethanol production
> capability, and the ethanol refiners are declaring bankruptcy.
> Central planning at its finest. The Obama administration tells us
> we need more central energy planning. Wonder how long it will take
> windmills to go the way of ethanol?

Bing Tries to Buy the News

"Rupert Murdoch is pointing a gun to Google’s head, and Microsoft (MSFT) is helping him pull back the trigger."

Murdoch and Ballmer are pointing a gun at their own feet.

If they pull a transparent stunt like this, the DoJ will shut them down faster than you can spell A-N-T-I-T-R-U-S-T. We don't have a mama's-boy, like Bush, sitting in the White House now, like we did for the first MSFT DoJ trial.

Dell's Lack of Innovation Disappoints

I don't see hard drives going away, but I expect weaker players, like Seagate, will get shaken out.


On Nov 23 01:47 PM ryanclarke wrote:

> Dell is only a few steps behind Gateway ... to the grave. I go as
> far to say this, and to save the reader twenty pages of analysis,
> for a very simple reason.
>
> Dell, just like Gateway, just like Compaq, just like all the other
> "computer" companies ... relied on other manufacturers to actually
> do the "hard work" ... such as Intel, Microsoft, and Seagate .. and
> actually build the factories that make the components of a Dell box.
>
>
> Assembly work isn't very profitable ... just ask the "mom and pop"
> computer stores that boomed in the earlier 90's which called it quits
> with the tech bust in 2000.
>
> I mentioned Seagate in my list ... because it bought Maxtor, another
> hard drive maker ... a few years back. Seagate is simply a mess.
> Soon only Western Digital will be around ... and I don't see them
> surviving the move to "flash hard drives" which is where the Koreans
> are going to make all their money.

Google's Android: Emerging as a Legitimate Mobile OS

Idiotic comment, in that Droid is a low-end OS that will take share from WEAKER players, like WinMO and Symbian, if anybody.


On Nov 20 04:17 PM Nextel Accessories wrote:

> It is a sweet OS, I expect is to gain market share at Apple's expense

10 Reasons to Believe That We're in a Depression

AND Obama has to show SOME positive improvement in the economy by next November or he could lose seats in the House and Senate-- nevermind the whole deprsesion is "W's" fault; people have short memories. So far, we have lots of stim, money spent with NO really obvious results--employment still sucks and that's the biggest number in people's consciousness.


On Nov 19 11:52 AM Mad Hedge Fund Trader wrote:

> bdc I know what keeps Obama awake at night. Let’s say we spend our
> $2 trillion in stimulus and get a couple of quarters of weak growth.
> Then once the effects of the stimulus wear off, we slip back into
> a deep recession, setting up a classic “W.” Unemployment never does
> stop climbing. This happened to Roosevelt in the thirties. So congress
> passes another $2 trillion reflationary budget. Everybody gets wonderful
> new mass transit upgrades, alternative energy infrastructure, and
> bridges to nowhere. But with $4 trillion in spending packed into
> two years, inflation really takes off. The bond market collapses,
> the dollar tanks big time, gold goes ballistic to $5,000, and silver
> explodes to $50. Ben Bernanke has no choice but to engineer an interest
> rate spike, taking the Fed funds rate up to a Volkeresque 18%. Housing,
> having never recovered, drops by half again. This all happens in
> the 2012 election year. Obama is burned in effigy, a Mormon is elected
> president, and the Republicans, reinvigorated by new leadership,
> retake both houses of congress. We invade Iran. Crude hits $500.
> This is not exactly a low probability scenario. Remember Jimmy Carter?
> This is why junk bond yields are still stubbornly high at 12.5%,
> and credit default swaps live at lofty levels. Are the equity markets
> pricing in this possibility? No chance. The risk of Armageddon is
> still out there. Personally, I give it a one in three chance. Pass
> the Xanax.

Should Microsoft Be Scared of ChromeOS?

"A desktop/netbook that does less than the average smartphone will by the time it hits the streets."

This is why the iPhone is the "REAL" "net book".


On Nov 19 04:30 PM jack dee wrote:

> yep, its just what everyone has been waiting for.
>
> A desktop/netbook that does less than the average smartphone will
> by the time it hits the streets.
>
> good luck with that. Goog is taking its eye off the ball.
>
>
> (long goog msft)

Are Netbooks Just a Fad?

Yes, they are a fad. If you REALLY want ultra portable and cheap, get an iPhone. You can put those right in your pocket. And they are no-compromise, solid hardware; not junk.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

This is treasonous!

And even if they stuck to civilian aircraft-- would YOU personally fly on some Chinese-built tinn can?


On Nov 16 12:00 PM Socialism cannot compete! wrote:

> So...no national security concerns there with GE "joint venturing"
> with AVIC. :( How in h#ll have we allowed this to continue???<br/>

Apple to Open 50 More Stores - Let's Be Careful, Steve

The reality is that: 1) everybody uses computers. That is likely to remain true. 2) about 90% of people in the US (more overseas) are still mired in Windows-world. This represents a HUGE potential upside for Apple 3) Apple stores are great for seeing Macs, pre-purchase, and for service and support. Sharper Image sold gadgets (electric back rubbers and such); computers are largely utilitarian.


On Nov 16 02:12 PM Techtrader10 wrote:

> I'm not an Apple hater. I'm just trying to keep people like you in
> reality mode! People get into these "euphoric stupors" and have no
> fear of the market and find themselves in trouble because of it.
>

China: Consequences of the Sleeping Lion Awakened

You are exactly right. Japan had a lot more going for it, and in the 1980's than China does now, and yet, it proved to be a bubble.

Having said that, I wouldn't short China over the next 24 months.....


On Nov 16 09:14 AM China Interest wrote:

> The similarities between China now and Japan in the late 1980s have
> substantial overlap. Be cautious folks! I live in China and not all
> things are what they seem.