Hewlett-Packard is not doing well. But then neither is Cisco, Dell, AOL, Yahoo or Microsoft or most of the huge, old technology companies. Apple is doing well, but its stock isn’t. I suspect a lot of big institutions have dumped it, having made oodles of money with it. I’m playing ultra-cautious with technology. But I continue to feel confident with our picks, including gold. I’m glad I’ve keep you out of the big tech companies. That’s been hard. Every broker and his uncle has been pounding the table for the same old villains — Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Intel. (To its credit, Intel has popped. But I wouldn’t touch it. There’s no “story.”
Sweet story of technology. Once upon a time, TV anchors would sit at a desk and talk to the TV camera. They had paper in front of them, but they were encouraged to look at the camera, not the paper.
CBS had an idea. Let’s force our anchors to learn braille. That didn’t work.
Then someone invented the teleprompter. Today it costs $600 a day to rent a Teleprompter, or $10,000 to buy it.
No more. For $14.99, you can now buy Teleprompt+, as app for the iPad.
Great for anyone giving a speech. Check out the maker’s web site. Click here.
Nice Facetime on iPad2. I sound like an Apple ad today.
Michael has a new iPad2. Last night we did FaceTime between his iPad2 and my iPhone4. Geat way for the family to stay in touch and to see Winnie, the family yellow lab, sleeping.
FaceTime is a phone call with ultra-clear video. You need broadband Internet on both ends. But who doesn’t have that?
If you don’t have Apple stuff, you can do great video calls on Skype using your Windows PC. Needs broadband Internet on both ends also.
Don’t join Linked-In. It’s a waste of time. And you’ll be bombarded with stupid emails.
The universal fix-its.
1. Reboot. Turn it off. Unplug it. Count to 60. Plug it back in.
2. Cables. Replace them. if your phone crackles, it’s your handset cord. If your Internet is intermittent, it’s the cable from your PC to the wall. If your TV is looking crappy, it’s because there’s water in one of your coaxial cable joins.
3. Make recovery discs and clones of your hard drive today — before disaster strikes.
French scandal. The future president of France does something really dumb. He attacks his cleaning lady in his $3,000 a night suite. New York police charge him, and lock him up in Rikers Island prison, an unsavory place where the lowest, most despised person is sex offender. Murderers rate higher in prison social hierarchy. Meantime, I’m devouring the stories. My morbid fascination. Favorite quotes:
From the New York Times:
Politicians in France are not hounded out of office for sexual indiscretions (although violence against women is another matter). Traditionally, a political man who reveals his sexual prowess is proving his vigor: he is showing his constituents that he is fully and physically capable of running the country.
News about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, dominated papers read at Cannes.
During the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal in the United States, even some French politicians associated with Catholic causes chose to congratulate President Clinton for his strength of libido. “He loves women, this man!” Marie-Christine Boutin, a deputy in (French) Parliament and a leader of the religious right, said. “It’s a sign of good health!”
From Bloomberg:
Strauss-Kahn was aware that his personal background contained political liabilities. Liberation newspaper reported yesterday that at an April 28 meeting with its editors in Paris, Strauss-Kahn listed “wealth, women and my Judaism” as the main obstacles to his presidential bid. “Yes, I like women, so what?” he told the newspaper.
Harry Newton who wonders how such an ostensibly intelligent man can get himself into such an awful pickle. What goes on in men’s heads? Anything?
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is 62. Maybe he’s fighting this:
Harry, have to disagree about LinkedIn. I have used it to find certain connections in my consulting business that were invaluable. The key is to judiciously not accept all the requests from the wannabe strangers who are trying to treat it more like Facebook friendies. They find your resume and think that if they glom on to you, they will somehow benefit, when they often have nothing to offer you in return.
I think the lack of morale standards and expectations play a large role today, especially in France and Europe. Everything is “relative”. What ever happened to real men? Oh, he's French. Add in the instantaneous nature of modern media and stupid gets involved too. Libido is one thing; rape is not libido, it's power. Perhaps normal for $3K+ room EU officials.
All I know is that every time I go to an Apple store it is stuffed cheek and jowl with customers — sometimes with waiting lines outside… (probably no institutional buyers — but that is not the way to judge the health of a company in my opinion).
I got tired of asking if the iPAD I wanted was in stock — after 8 separate times — and over a year after the product release…
I can't think of another product from another company that has been in demand for so long! (without someone else developing a competitive alternative). SAI compiled a survey yesterday that stated the majority of people who bought an iPAD are not even interested in the competitive alternative. That's a loyal, satisfied customer set — there are no 'blind fanatics' buying these devices at $700+ a pop. I finally ordered one online and it is taking 4 weeks to deliver.
That's all the investment 'research' one needs to do… and what makes me a happy investor.
That, and listening to the latest Harry Horror Story about how this hard drive failed, or that virus attacked, or how I had to reboot several times, or the lack of software compatibility.
I would find a keyboard I am comfortable with to forgo all that nonsense (btw, I have a MacAir and a small wireless bluetooth keyboard, which is easily the most comfortable keyboard I have ever used).
Signed,
Long on Apple
I guess today must be “Arnold Schwarzenegger Day” in France. I wonder if Maria Shriver and their 4 children are celebrating too?……..”Viva La Arnold”