WesAttaway

Will Windows 7 Resurrect IT Spending?

I have been in the computer consulting business for a long time and have to agree with an earlier comment asking why everyone bashes Vista. It is rock solid and runs great with the right hardware. It got off to a bad start because most early hardware was underpowered.

Back to the point, I have a number of customers waiting for Win7 and expect to be pretty busy moving them from XP (and even a few from Win2000). Also, a few will move from Vista.

The question of XP compatibility is overblown. Most mainstream software has been modified to work with Vista. Also, it is rare to find any hardware that does not have Vista drivers. In my opinion, IT departments already have experience with Vista and Win7 and a gradual conversion will proceed without a lot of fanfare. I don't have a single customer that "hates" Vista once they get used to the different look and feel.

Other than a few timid souls and parroting naysayers there is no legitimate reason for most businesses or individuals to be afraid of Win7. Vista and Win7 are clearly better systems than XP and are the way to go for all but a few specialized situations.

What will this mean for overall IT spending? I think it will be a boost but probably not something that will cause eye-popping upside bombshells. I would look for a gradual but consistent upward push due to the new OS.

What Can Stop This Market Rally?

Over time the US economy has shifted from being production driven to being consumer driven. To make things worse, the consumer was propped up with mountains of debt via over-leveraged bankers. I don't think this can be fixed by printing money unless the process is carried on long enough to significantly devalue the dollar. As Tim's article indicates, the consumer is essentially "dead". We won't get out of this until the sun rises over a new playing field.

Celebrating the 'Recovery': I'm Disgusted

You folks apparently don't understand the good economic message from that USA Today story. The financial gurus are going to take a bag of "good stuff" and mix it with a bag of "bad stuff" and come up with two bags of "good stuff". They say things will be different this time because the buyers will understand what they are getting. Will this be what leads us to nirvana?

Microsoft: Whistling in the Dark

The article is good, but as someone pointed out most of the world runs on Windows machines. I've spent the past 20 years working on computers and networks and can say that Apple and Unix machines have always been "better" than Windows machines. The thing is, most offices and homes run Windows machines and Microsoft Office software. This situation might eventually change but it certainly won't happen overnight. There is a huge installed base, and competence in the core software apps. In the meantime I would not bet on Microsoft sitting idly by doing nothing.

Monetizing Debt: Disinformation in the Blogosphere

The Zero Hedge snippet highlighted by Jansen clearly says the Fed issued the bonds "via it's puppet, the U.S. Treasury". This is not the same as saying the Fed itself actually issued the bonds.

I generally like what both Zero Hedge and Jansen write so I will excuse Mr. Jansen for being bleary-eyed late at night when he skimmed the article.

Natural Gas ETF: Nowhere to Go but Up, Yet It Keeps Going Down

Skrangeo is correct in his analysis of the overall gas picture and the Haynesville shale play (around Shreveport). Companies will drill to try to hold that expensive acreage. There are other shale plays around the country. We have a whole lot of excess natural gas, and it will stay that way for a good while even if drilling tapers off. Many commodities markets are apparently assuming demand will soon increase. The markets, and unemployment numbers, are telling us that this probably won't happen for a long time.

Boeing Delivery and Order Numbers: Read 'Em and Weep

Well, that is just another reason to ignore Cramer.

BankUnited Expires

Wheelbarrelsofcash ...... I think your suspicions are on the mark. There will certainly be losses on that loan portfolio. But that new bank is no longer saddled with the task of playing with real money.

Oil As Money and the Decline of Energy Earnings

It is easy to dismiss this chart and the analysis, if you want to put your head in the sand. However, the correlation is just too tight to ignore. Maybe the gold bugs can come up with a better chart, but I doubt it.

Quantitative Easing and the Disappearance of Income

The last sentence of the article really hits the nail on the head. My thought for a good while has been that re-inflating the balloon will be difficult because people were spending so much more (on real estate and lots of other things) than they could afford. As income and assets have shrunk so has the affordability factor, creating a vicious downward spiral.

Credit Card Cancer

A great article. My concern has always been that since the basic problem is that Americans have been spending more money than they have then how can we expect "demand" to go back to where it was. The answer is perfectly explained in this article. Without a continuation of unsupportable credit we can't do it. Smart businesses are already readjusting to the reality of decreased demand.


On Mar 14 09:52 PM The hand wrote:

> consumer's going deeper in debt during a recession only inhibits
> recovery.
>
>