optionsgirl

What Should Top Executives of Corporations Have to Disclose About Their Personal Lives?

I think aapl shares wouldn't have suffered as much if Jobs had outlined a succession plan earlier. Job's problems are on-going, conditions change fast, and it could take awhile to get an accurate diagnosis, even with the best medical advise in the world available to him. I would like to think aapl didn't deliberately lie.

Revising Apple's Outlook in Line with Reality

Why is Apple always smacked down whenever it reports? It's stellar.

Apple Is Still Apple Even without Steve Jobs

Safari could use some improvement. You still have to buy microsoft windows to run some financial programs on a MAC.


On Mar 24 10:26 AM tommylee wrote:

> What everyone seems to forget is that when Jobs was ousted, he created
> Next, which was his vision for Apple if he hadn't been ousted by
> bloodsuckers and bean counters. If Jobs had been given the chance
> then (1986) to introduce Next but on an Apple platform... think of
> the size and innovation platform Apple would have been today.
>
> When Jobs was "begged" back into Apple he brought Next on board and
> with it the team that had been developing Next since 1986. Now fast
> forward to 2001/2002. Next could not yet be implemented since the
> technical step was too great so the aesthetics was first on the list
> the intro of the first "i-Mac". Jobs knew he had to get back the
> enthusiasm of the youth, back into the schools and he could only
> do that by creating a form and color scheme that would make the Mac
> again a Mac and not look like a PC. Basically a new version of the
> 1984 Mac (the all-in-one-machine) that made the Mac popular in the
> first place.
>
> This was the turn-around point to prove that his vision in 1984 was
> correct. But Steve is much more than a brilliant "designer" and culture
> creator. He understood that in 1994-5 when the World Wide Web became
> common place it would forever change the landscape of doing business.
> He realized the impact and he also realized that brick-and-mortar
> business was in serious trouble. No other company put as much effort
> into taking the marketplace as serious as Jobs did. He forsaw the
> demise of the music industry due to the Internet possibilities as
> well as the demise of the "blockbusters" of the world, but he could
> not execute his vision due to infrastructural limitation but he also
> forsaw that they would not last. Hence the introduction of a media
> player (i-Pod) with a delivery system (iTunes) that he could "sell"
> to a dying music industry.
>
> All the while working on incorporating the Next architecture into
> the most prestigious leap in technology innovation the PC world has
> ever seen with the release of OSX. He also realized that the PowerPC
> was not the (power)horse to bet on to deliver the speed required
> to satisfy the Multimedia requirements of the future to deliver music
> and video content but in preparation had to create a media standard
> so superior that it would find adoption not only in the Mac world
> but also the Windows World (H.263 and followed by H.264) Quicktime.
>
>
> Thereafter it was the coupe d'etat that Apple pulled-off to convert
> a whole operating system running on the PowerPC structure to the
> Intel structure while using the "Internet Language Protocol" (Unix)
> as the base foundation to built upon. Simply brilliant, but very
> logical.
>
> Further the explosive growth of the Mobile Market was foreseen and
> as such he knew that the "content delivery" of entertainment, news
> and data had to be mobile. Hence building on technology that is light
> years ahead of a "sleeping and talking about but not doing anything"
> competition, he ventured very well thought out into the mobile market
> with the iPhone while unlocking "mobile computing" for the masses.
>
>
> I'm not saying that Steve Jobs knew this global financial collapse
> was coming, but all actions indicate he most certainly expected it,
> thus hording profits to build up a cashflow position, while putting
> in place that what people want that the internet cannot convey: The
> touch and feel by opening hundreds of Mac stores and launching the
> only three completely synchronized working on one and the same platform
> "gadgets" people would need to be completely independent in their
> communication needs, entertainment needs and professional needs:
> A superior Mac line with the crowning jewel the MacBook Pro for the
> serious computing needs, A music headset that soon will fit in your
> ears without any external devise attached and a mobile computing
> platform (iPhone) that is running on steroids.
>
> Jobs also knew that Apple had to create its own browser, Safari,
> and that it had to be a cross browser (Mac and Windows) if any real
> traction was to come from it and to be completely independent from
> any 3rd party. Next up... the next brilliant move was to in first
> instance deny immediate Application development for the iPhone until
> they had all kinks worked out, while in the darkness of day, preparing
> for application developers a platform to sell their "wares". The
> App store was born and no other "online selling mechanism comes close
> to its brilliancy with the exception of iTunes.
>
> Absolutely brilliant. The circle is closed with enough cash in the
> bank to silently brood on new implementations to stay ahead of any
> competition that is so scatter brained that they can only react with
> "half-ass" products that have no congruence what so ever and hold
> true to Ceasar's "divide and conquer" strategy, running blindly after
> bits and pieces to compete with on the Apple Inc. platform.
>
> Make the man President of the United States and the country will
> be back on track in no time since there is no-one with such a vision
> in the landscape of corporate America that could even hold his ever
> present bottle of water.
>
> And by the way, this vision does die the moment the CEO takes a medical
> or otherwise leave.

Smartphone Update: 2008 Q4 Market Share

Here is the yes "but"... in areas like Japan, where they demand a lot of features, the Apple hasn't made in-roads. I think the point is not to have dumbed down i-Phones, but even greater enhanced products.


On Mar 16 06:20 AM Kontra wrote:

> So Nokia has the widest range and the volume, but it's losing market
> share.
>
> Apple has a single product, but is gaining market share.
>
> And you're claiming Apple has to ape Nokia?
>
> Well done.

DJIA Components: Are Changes Imminent?

Cisco and Goldman Sachs, the last investment bank left standing.

Five Predictions for This Market

Dear Doctor: The medical establishment got into bed with the insurers. Had that never happened, the insurers wouldn't have been able to call the shots and determine the quality and kind of care to administer to the public, and frankly, you guys got what you deserve.


On Mar 04 11:26 AM growser7 wrote:

> Russ, as a physician I can tell you that all of the ballyhoo about
> electronic medical records is just that. It is a pipe dream to believe
> that some technological trick is going to improve health care efficiencey
> and thus bring down costs. The causes of expanding costs have a
> lot to do with burgeoning back offices both on the payor and provider
> sides, and misaligned incenitves---and unreasonalbe expecations
> about life and death which are parts of current American culture.
> There is a huge medical bureaucracy which like all bureaucracies
> acts like a self-polymerizing "Borg" which won't whither and die
> without a fight. I saw the depositions on a lawsuit brought against
> Blue Cross in a state I won't mention. The average salary for a
> Blue Cross employee in the state was in excess of $110,000 (oer the
> attorney general). On the provider side, it is typical for overhead
> to be in excess of 70% of collections, with collections often less
> than 70% of billings.
>
> A lot of you are much savvier economists and investors than I, but
> this is one subject I have foxhole-level experience with, and I can
> just tell you the president and his experts don't know what they're
> talking about. Ultimately serices need to trimmed, expectations
> changed, and the consumer needs to continue to bear part of the expense.
>
>
> As for the rest of it, I agree with Prudentinvestor. Read the analyises
> of Felix Zualuf in Barrons. Fairly strong bear market rally in
> the second half of this year, then the weight of the delveraged,
> impaired economy pulls the market down and the secular bear continues
> on. A well-crafted stimulus might provide a quarter or two of some
> stability then the economy continues to sag, necessitating further
> fiscal injections.

Snapshot: Apple's Cash Growth

Apple can fall to $50+ per share based upon current economic conditions, and not because of company fundamentals. Check the five year chart for aapl against the Nasdaq chart. You will see it is now in lock step, something that hadn't happened in years. While the economy tanks, apple will fall, because there are still plenty of institutional investors willing to sell the rallies and buy the dips, driving the prices in both directions. It's fundamentally strong cash position will not save it from the gyrations of the Nasdaq. This is a market driven by technicals (i.e. emotion) and not fundamentals. As for the comments that Jobs is essentially out permanently, that's probably true, but already factored into the sentiment and price.

Apple's (the Stock) Best Days May be Behind It - Try Thoratec Instead

I think you are right, and am now doing aapl spreads on options, only. I don't want to own the stock any longer, just some short term pops for me!

Steve Jobs: Honesty Is the Best Policy

I am long aapl with protective puts because of the volatility. If people did their own research instead of relying on Bloomberg, CNBC and various bloggers, they would have read that Jobs does not have a recurrence of cancer when the company stated so in early June, right after the introduction of the new cell phone. Long term, Aapl has great potential for creating additional wealth. What the company should do is advise its stockholders that a succession plan is in place should Jobs leave the company again, or die. That would help the stock price more than reports about Job's health.

Analysts Weigh in on Apple Earnings; 10-15 Points More Downside?

If you look at a one year chart, you will see the potential to gap down to the low to mid 140's. Still, I am long with some puts for protection.

Five Key Quotes from Apple's Conference Call

Why is Job's health such a big issue? Do you think the company would collapse or become a rudderless ship without him? And wasn't the statement made after the June 2nd show, that he is OK but had a virus, sufficient? I would like to see knowledgable comments regarding this topic.

Can Apple Save Tech? (Earnings Come Monday)

ps- these comments about "who can afford a Mac" are just ridiculous. We have several, replaced our Dell/Vista horrors in our home office. No repairs and great support. Great graphics and very intuitive --easy to use. Apple has never catered to those who are looking for bargain- bin prices. We bought a Mac for our daughter in high school and she used it through her college graduation. Now, she has a new macbook and desktop computer-- and those will probably last another 6 years. I am typing this from a MacBook Pro. It's a great machine.

Can Apple Save Tech? (Earnings Come Monday)

Apple changed their accounting to comply with Sarbanes -Oxley current tax law, and so some of their profits will be deferred into 2009 and 2010. This is a huge plus for the future. Look beyond the earnings report Monday. Apple will continue to be a leader and innovator, even if the shares have been stomped for now. Anyone who owns apple should buy some puts to help navigate this volatile environment.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

We purchased new dell computers with vista for our home office right after vista came out. It was a nightmare. We had to hire a software tech to overcome the problems. He couldn't. His services ran over two grand--wasted money. At that time, Dell refused to "downgrade" to XP. The computers were unceremoniously returned within a week. Now, Dell will sell it to you with XP, but not then.
We bought 2 macs. No problems since then. I will never touch another Dell and avoid microsoft products as much as possible.

Attention Apple Investors: Analysts You Don’t Know But Should

This article is dead on. If you want to play appl, always be long the stock and buy some protective puts, at or near the money, 1-3 months out. It always works.