laguna_b

Ryan Davies Finds Hot Technology Produces Solar Power for Half the Price

He certainly seems to mix descriptions of technologies. He seems to have an STP solution using water. Needles is a great place to boil water, but not to find it. If he does not have a recovery scheme he will run dry very quickly. Maybe he should join up with the Bozos doing Space PV. At least they have a PPA (LOL).

AT&T: The iPhone's Achilles' Heel

I live in Silicon Valley. There are areas of the valley that are vast and have virtually ZERO cell service from ATT but this is NOT unique. Amercan cellular service is pathetic at best. If you go to Europe your service is full bars in any area of any metro district. Even in the countryside they have full service. The same can be said of Australia where even 10 years ago I could be on a 2 lane highway in the middle of no where and get full coverage.

Americans can be really stupid. They want MORE minutes for less and can't use them properly due to lack of service!

If Apple switches from ATT they need to maintain GSM capability even if they add CDMA because GSM is a world standard for when we travel.

Americans need to demand that REGULATORS & PUCs set a standard of access and back it with rate tariffs that match delivery.

Corporate PC Purchases Rising: Will This Help Windows 7?

I have had or built more Windows based computers than I care to remember. I have waited for the holy grail of stability and security which I first thought I saw in Windows NT. I have put up with the gradual death of a Windows based machine as garbage slowed it down needing to reinstall everything fresh annually to have that new computer speed.
A couple years ago I bought an iMac to make my home theater server. I have been consistently impressed. When my IBM/Lenovo t43 notebook seemed unable or unwilling to hold a Wifi connection and I was instructed to delete and reload about 5 drivers, each step requiring the 10minute reboot, I decided to get a MacBook Air. With out a doubt, Apple is a genius at industrial design and style. But more than that, their computers wake up instantly with no hassle and don't need constant 10 minute reboots. I am DONE with Windows except as a virtual machine for older aps. I am not going to place my trust in Microsoft to plug the innumerable security holes and crash tendencies yet again. I will NEVER go back. No longer will I face the skeptical glare of my more intelligent friends, all of which have used Macs for years.

Cap-and-Trade and the Cheap Energy Illusion

History has shown that progressives have led the way in this country dragging the right wing along like a dead anchor. They reisted integration, seat belts, environmental legislation, the list goes on....always hand wringing about the costs, the loss of jobs, the discord etc. I know...I was one of them in teh 60s and 70s...started to shift when Reagan ran up the deficit on BS defense spending....it is good to have an opposition putting some brakes on things. Surely, left to their own, the left could do really stupid things as well....but the reality is that we are going to leave our grandchildren a planet likley devoid of reasonable oil, with agriculture challenged by pollution, water issues, population explosion etc. But as usual, the Republicans only care about taxes....today.

First Solar: Why I'd Never Go Long

Tellurium limited by copper production would be a threat to growth....BUT there are now Tellurium mines with rich veins eliminating this barrier.
Polysilicon pricing is based on low demand and when solar and the economy take off and the slack is taken up, the price will be back up. I am NOT long on FSLR because while I can clerly see excellent margins, you still need 2X of everything other than the panel to service a given solar system based on 10.6% vs. 22% (SPWR) to get the same results. 2X the metal, land, labor etc. In the long run eitehr FSLR has to increase efficiency significantly or the reduction in Si costs will doom them. But that is YEARS away. The author will have long lost his money if he goes short......

On the Applevine: iPhone 3.0 Coming Soon?

I remember a big and successful lawsuit where one guy claimed to have invented the microprocessor. From what I recall he simple had suggested that one could integrate meory and processor on one chip or to that effect....a simple and obvious next step for anyone in the industry, and he prevailed! I was astonished. Patent law has yielded many a fortune and many unjust.


On Apr 12 10:50 AM Bandwagon2009 wrote:

> Patent lawsuits are a fact of life these days - but some of the claims
> represented in thes patents continue to provide additional fuel for
> reform.
>
> No one is arguing that genuine original inventions should be provided
> some protection. But some of the patent applications don't pass
> the common sense test.
>
> From personal experience I know that back in the early 1980s - we
> were working on s/w and h/w systems - based on touchscreens -- which
> provided this type of functionality -- while the technology was a
> bit different, and the ease of use/cost not quite what you see today...but
> to argue that these were original ideas are insane.
>
> I am no fan of Apple -- but neither am I a fan of the patent infringement
> lawsuit run amuck syndrome that we have these days.
>

$35 Oil: Steve Forbes Was Off by Two Years

Lest we see Steve Forbes as an all seer of the future, no prediction is repeatable if the reasons for it are not given and validated. The reality is that oil consumption dropped, the economy crashed and with it further drops in consumption, the dollar gained value as it had lost it on the upside, further feeding back into the system a reduction in oil pricing. In reality we have found no more huge reserves, none since the late 60s when discoveries peaked. Once the consumption inevitably takes up the slack again, we will go right back up past $140 driven consumption, peak oil passing, dollar devaluation as it leaves our shores again, and the same old questions of why didn't we electrify transportation sooner.

$35 Oil: Steve Forbes Was Off by Two Years

Lest we see Steve Forbes as an all seer of the future, no prediction is repeatable if the reasons for it are not given and validated. The reality is that oil consumption dropped, the economy crashed and with it further drops in consumption, the dollar gained value as it had lost it on the upside, further feeding back into the system a reduction in oil pricing. In reality we have found no more huge reserves, none since the late 60s when discoveries peaked. Once the consumption inevitably takes up the slack again, we will go right back up past $140 driven consumption, peak oil passing, dollar devaluation as it leaves our shores again, and the same old questions of why didn't we electrify transportation sooner.

Xilinx vs. Altera: Which Is the Real Growth Stock?

Employee morale? Both companies have the excitement internally of a grave yard. Neither company is able to take necessary risks to grow their parkets. They just continue to slice up the existing markets. Look at the results. Altera is trading in the same band today as it was 5 years ago and more. Both companies spend fortunes trying to keep up in process technology and nickel and dime real innovations internally.

First Solar Vulnerable to a Tellurium Shortage?

First let me state that I am long on FSLR.

Due diligence of any investor leads one to check claims against ones assumptions even by those who are alleged to be quacks. ANYONE can do what I have done.

If you assume the Marks numbers of Te used per panel is correct (I am currently checking that out) and you accept the USGS as a valid source, then FSLR will peak production at well under 1GW/yr.
The math does not lie.
The number quoted by the CFO seem wildly out sync with the USGS number of simple existence of the critical material to make the panels.
Factors that can mitigate:
1- Te is not essential and other materials can be substituted (If so why choose Te? and why make the analyst statements?)
2 - They have stockpile from earlier years to boost annual usage
3 - They figured out how to use much less than 8gms/watt
4 - The USGS number are wildly inacurate or refer only to super purified Te.