rrtzmd

This might be bearish even for Elliott Wave's Robert Prechter: a recommendation to go 200% short on stocks.

....the last time Prechter was this bearish, it took almost twenty five YEARS before his prediction came true...

Who Will Come Out Ahead from e-Book Success in College Classrooms?

...again with the infamous "itablet"...the same one that has been rumored to be on its way for over FIVE YEARS now...at that rate, current students will be sitting in retirement homes before it arrives...


On Nov 22 10:59 PM FreeRange wrote:

> Apple is going to be the clear winner in this market. Their tablet
> is going to blow open a whole new category just like the iPhone did
> in the cellular market, and no one will be able to effectively compete
> against their platform consisting of a brilliant, stable and easy
> to use OS, iTunes, laptops, large screen desktops, iPhones, iPods
> and iTablet. Graphics, imbedded video, interactive capabilities,
> superior operating environment. Apple is the winner. Period.

Who Will Come Out Ahead from e-Book Success in College Classrooms?

...I homeschool and use converted PDFs of textbooks for most of my teaching...color is NOT an issue...it's not any different than watching a black and white TV versus a color one...the color TV gives "prettier" images but adds little to the content...ditto for an bookreader...graphics have NOT been a problem...and remember these are simply hardacks converted to PDFs converted to Kindle compatible...now consider a textbook written specifically to utilize Kindle' s advantages -- e.g. links to dictionary or encyclopedia entries, links to internet and library references, etc, etc...and the overall advantages compared to textbooks is nearly endless -- less bulk, an entire library on a single device, ability to adjust type, ability to magnify sections, the ability of professors to write their own textbooks specific to their needs, etc, etc...I think the Kindle will produce a revolution in the educational process...


On Nov 22 09:11 AM GSlusher wrote:

> A few obstacles remain before the Kindle & its ilk can be used
> for textbooks. The most expensive texts are not history, literature,
> language, and the like, but math, science and engineering, where
> texts can easily cost $120-150. Those texts depend heavily upon graphics--diagrams,
> drawings, photographs, charts & graphs, and equations. They make
> extensive use of color. The Kindle is no better for that use than,
> say, an etch-a-sketch. Even if they solve the color & graphics
> problems (which will dramatically increase the size and cost of ebooks),
> there will remain usage problems. Typically, a student will look
> at a chart/drawing/photo/di... WHILE reading the relevant section
> of the text. Textbook editors are usually careful to make this easy
> by putting the graphics on the same or facing page as the related
> text. Flipping a Kindle back and forth from page to page will probably
> be unsatisfactory. It will probably dramatically increase the time
> required to read technical texts.
>
> There are many possibilities that could enhance learning--interactive
> charts, dynamic equations that the student can manipulate, VR-type
> diagrams, where you can rotate an object and zoom in and out, etc.
> However, the usage problems need to be solved. It might require a
> larger screen, roughly the size of a 15-17" laptop. In that case,
> one might as well use the laptop.
>
> FWIW, I've read a lot of technical texts, both as a student at MIT
> (three degrees in mechanical engineering) and as an instructor in
> undergraduate and graduate engineering courses.

Amazon: A Kindle Under Every Tree?

...$250?...hmmmmm...think about it...it's a lot smaller amount than what you might think initially...that's about what I spend on groceries for a family of four each week...and compare it with what a lot of the other "toys" cost as well...and it's a lot more useful than most of those "toys"...


On Nov 20 06:08 PM j-dub wrote:

> Under EVERY tree?
>
> Oh yes, the 17.5% American that are unemployed are buying $250+ Kindles
> to read all about the seemingly irreversable predicament they're
> in.

Amazon: A Kindle Under Every Tree?

..."Barnes & Noble (BKS) reported Friday that its new eReader product has sold out of the entire supply for delivery before the holidays."...of course, they neglected to mention they only had one unit in inventory to begin with, so selling out wasn't all that hard...

Wal-Mart Is Crushing the Competition

...."The retail king is helping more than 1,000 of its apparel suppliers secure financing based on the strength of its own AA credit rating, as part of its new “Supplier Alliance Program,” according to a published report."....uhhhhh, that seems like a good way to put that AA credit rating at risk of a downgrade...

Are Markets Headed for an 800-Point Blow-Off Day?

..."Author is long inverse ETFs, market index puts..." and hoping for a
"whopper of a blowoff day"??????????????????... presume the "author" is some sort of masochist?

Even Amazon Bears Are Bullish

...and similar remarks were made by others here on seekingalpha back in January when Amazon was around $40:

seekingalpha.com/artic...

seekingalpha.com/artic...

...their analyses don't look too awfully insightful right now...I wonder how yours will look in nine months...

Amazon, Apple Stock Going Vertical: This Never Ends Well

...valuation doesn't exist in a vaccum...it depends on comparison to alternatives...some people argue that BKS is a better "value" relative to Amazon...on the other hand, BKS' management has been a complete failure at competing with Amazon and shows no evidence of improving....so where do you place your bet?...personally, I like stocks where management has proven itself to be innovative, aggressive, and successful...hence, companies like Apple and Amazon...

Wal-Mart (WMT) CEO Raul Vasquez throws down the gauntlet on price wars: "If they react and match our prices, we're going to continue to lower our prices." Last month Wal-Mart (WMT) initiated a book/video price war with Amazon.com (AMZN) and Target (TGT).

...seems like a totally irrational act of machismo on Walmart's part...without the brick and mortar overhead of Amazon as well as Amazon's sales tax advantage in most states, there is no way for Walmart to compete on price...they'll just end up embarassing themselves...and all the while they'll be driving customers to Amazon's door, thus basically providing free advertising for Amazon!!!...geez!...how stupid is that!!...a better stategy would be to look for whatever stategic advantages exist in their brick and mortar locations and work toward exploiting those...

In Defense of Meredith Whitney

...as the old saying goes, "those that can invest, those that can't are on CNBC giving their opinions"...who cares what Meredith thinks -- I hope you don't mind me calling her "Meredith"...sheesh!..... matters is how much money she makes for herself and/or her clients...and that's the ONLY "data" that matters...and I can't seem to find those numbers ANYWHERE on her website...go figure!

Amazon.com Bubble 2.0?

...well, that was a waste of time...why even bother with an article like this?...is it to meet some sort of quota or just a mindless effort to attract suckers to their blog?...gee, a stock has rallied and there might be a correction...or not...a WORTHLESS observation...

The Global Oil Scam: 50 Times Bigger than Madoff

..."Before ICE, commodities followed a more or less normal growth path that matched global GDP and was always limited in price appreciation by the fact that, ultimately, someone had to take delivery of a physical commodity at a set price."...say what????....I used to trade commodities and I guarandamntee that I NEVER took delivery of any real product....so by your definition then ALL of my trades were "bogus"????...that's just nonsense....and "commodities commodities followed a more or less normal growth path that matched global GDP"????...do you have some data to support that statement??...my recollection is that prices flopped around every which way and bore basically no relation to GDP...were it were that simple, I would be a multitrillionaire by now....

Another Wall Street Fraud, With Few Consequences

...to me, even worse is the fraud that's perpetrated LEGALLY every weekday on Wall Street...you look at man of these companies -- e.g. RZ, HEB, CXM, and a LONG list of others -- and you see companies that do NOTHING but generate empty promises and meaningless news releases in order to sell stock...I'm glad I'm not a stockbroker...I don't think I could look myself in the mirror in the morning if I were forced to make a living selling scam stocks day in and day out...

Amazon and Barnes & Noble: A Tale of Two Booksellers

...try again -- copy and paste:

"finance.yahoo.com/echa...;range=5y;compare=amzn...