OldFart Peter

Is Nokia Removing VoIP Capability from N-Series Phones?

So I will have to continue to use the messy "add a number" operation on my Moto RAZR to call my Czech-living son via my VOIP provider? Well, for 2.5 c/minute, that's OK.

Old Media and Glossy Fluff Both Lose Ground - Pew

So trash pseudo-news is losing just as real news is. It's an ill wind that blows no-one any good, but we appear to be throwing out the baby with the bath water. I am glad we still have NcNeil and Bill Moyers and the like on PBS.

Apple: Unlocking iPhone Profits

The IC industry went through a similar accounting crunch a few decades ago. Sales to distributors were recorded on shipment date, rather than when the distributor sold them to an end customer. Some companies (notoriously National Semi) would ship products to a distributor on the last day of a quarter, the distributor would ship them back a few days later, but the company reported great sales for that quarter. This practice was stopped, and such sales could only be reported when the distributor sold the product. The IC company results were less "game-able", but I am sure it was harder for the accountants, since the distributor had to add a new reporting channel to their suppliers, etc. However, the industry has survived this change to the financial reporting rules. NS survived, unlike Enron.

National Semi: Now Touting Solar Stuff

I don't think Tiny Tim has ever watched a shadow! It is perfectly clear why shading could affect only some panels. I have arranged for the ones to be installed on my roof to dodge the shadow of the TV antenna, at least in summer, but the optimum panel position on my daughter's house has a small area shaded by a neighbor's tree, which moved during the day. And the last time birds pooped on my car, it was over a small portion of it, not all over.

10 Reasons Why Apple Should Acquire AMD

At NeXT Computer, Steve Jobs got the company into a non-core MO-Disk project (that I was involved in), before dropping it as too expensive and non-core, given the other problems the company had. I did get two airline tickets to Europe from those frequent-flier miles, and some fun memories...