So, look at Google. Once upon a time it had a really great business — Search. And though well-heeled competitors nipped at its heels, it stayed ahead. Then it went and spent $12.5 billion (that’s billion, not million) to buy Motorola Mobility, which makes cell phones and has a bunch of mostly-antique patents.<\/p>\n
Neither the market nor I liked the deal. I sold my Google instantly and the stock has dropped, and will continue to drop.<\/p>\n
Google is getting into dangerous territory. Google has never made a product that consumers actually had to pay for — unlike Apple — or Microsoft, or Nokia, or RIM, or Sony, or even Motorola.<\/p>\n The magazine “This Week<\/em>” looks at seven predictions. I’m inclined to believe this one:<\/p>\n 7. It will be a total trainwreck<\/strong> Read more: Click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n BAC going to zero?<\/strong><\/span> My friend shorted it at $15. He’s still short.<\/p>\n He thinks it’s going to zero. I don’t know. I do think financials are way overpriced. That’s why I keep recommending against buying any of them — whether Goldman Sachs, or Citigroup, etc. I should have shorted them all. Dumb me.<\/p>\n If it works, don’t mess with it. <\/strong>This\u00a0 advice applies particularly to software “uprades.” Item: Don’t upgrade Firefox to the new Firefox 6 — no matter how many times Firefox badgers you. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My recommendation: Test all software upgrades on an old machine you’re not using — except to test new software and upgrades. As a general rule, 90% of software uprades are not useful, and designed mostly to extract fees from your pocket. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I’m still using Windows XP and can’t think of one reason to upgrade to Windows 7. Watch your magazine subscriptions: <\/strong>I receive this generous offer. I have to rush. It says “reply by 8\/31\/11”. But I think; something is wrong. What does that line “23NOV15<\/strong>” mean? <\/span> I call the New Yorke<\/em>r. Oh, yes, the “23Nov15” means your subscription is paid until November 23, 2015 — more than four years hence. Why would they send me a 2-For-1 Insider Discount Savings Form? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Heck, why not? Maybe their readers (or some of them) are really stupid? And print media needs the money.<\/span> Fix Your Outlook. <\/strong>Somewhere on your Windows hard drive, you’ll find a file called SCANTPST.EXE. Microsoft calls it the Inbox Repair Tool<\/em>. Run it on your Outlook.pst file.It will clean it and make it run more reliably. Trust me.<\/span> What is wrong with the younger generation? <\/strong><\/span>Don’t they ever know how to say Thank You? Apparently not.<\/p>\n Please teach your kids to say, email and mail “Thank Yous<\/em>.” Adults are NOT<\/strong> kin the business of avalanching other people’s kids\u00a0 with favors — time, money, or advice.<\/p>\n Burning bridges is not useful at a young age.<\/p>\n There’s no faster way to burn them than to appear ungrateful by not saying\u00a0 Thank You. I have several examples. They all make me despair. I sound like a grumpy old man.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.technologyinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/GoogleTwoDays.jpg\" "\\"GoogleTwoDays\\"")
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\n“Unless Google quickly sells off Motorola’s hardware businesses [but retains the valuable patents], the deal will be a colossal disaster,” says Henry Blodget at Business Insider. “Google has no idea how to run a global hardware manufacturing business,” and it’s likely Motorola will quickly run into problems and drag Google down with it. “It’s not inconceivable that it will end up the same way the disastrous AOL Time Warner merger did: With a quiet spin-off after years’ worth of value destruction.”<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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