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On the edge of the abyss


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Amazon to buy back up to $2 bln in shares

 

I dunno.

 

Maybe it's just me.

Or, maybe I don't understand the nuances of corporate capital optimization.

 

But....

 

I'm not really convinced that the track record is really encouraging of technology company management well-timing repurchases of their shares.

 

And....

 

Doesn't this sort of suggest that there aren't a lot of profitable opportunities for investment of that cash in the bidniz itself?

 

Lastly....

 

Amid the on-going difficult economic period, isn't there the possibility of, I dunno, picking up some smaller distress assets from struggling tech startups to improve the underlying competitive position of the bidniz?

 

Just sayin'......

I wonder if Mr. Bezos and other insiders are planning to sell shares...

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I-PON

 

The string is the antenna, and makes a convenient carrying cord

 

Defective by Design

 

DRM will give Apple and their corporate partners the power to disable features, block competing products (especially free software) censor news, and even delete books, videos, or news stories from users' computers without notice-- using the device's "always on" network connection.

 

This past year, we have seen how human rights and democracy protestors can have the technology they use turned against them. By making a computer where every application is under total, centralized control, Apple is endangering freedom to increase profits.

 

Apple can say they will not abuse this power, but their record of App Store rejections and removals gives us no reason to trust them. The iPad's unprecedented use of DRM to control all capabilities of a general purpose computer is a dangerous step backward for computing and for media distribution.

 

Others will be watching the reaction to this thing...

:ninja:

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Defective by Design

 

DRM will give Apple and their corporate partners the power to disable features, block competing products (especially free software) censor news, and even delete books, videos, or news stories from users' computers without notice-- using the device's "always on" network connection.

 

This past year, we have seen how human rights and democracy protestors can have the technology they use turned against them. By making a computer where every application is under total, centralized control, Apple is endangering freedom to increase profits.

 

Apple can say they will not abuse this power, but their record of App Store rejections and removals gives us no reason to trust them. The iPad's unprecedented use of DRM to control all capabilities of a general purpose computer is a dangerous step backward for computing and for media distribution.

 

Others will be watching the reaction to this thing...

:ninja:

 

Nobody is being forced to buy and use the product. If the user does not want to live within the ecosystem and restrictions, then they don't need to buy it. They can buy one of the other tablets, or use good old fashioned paper.

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Senator Jeanne Shaheen is going to visit the utility control room where I work. She wants to see how a $15 million corporate handout is going to be applied for smart metering.

 

Just think, upper management can keep their high pay/bonuses, set an example by cutting back on the hours of those who are near retirement, run a company with the highest rates in the area and get a handout with a pat on the back.

 

Bailout Nation

Mr. Market can pound sand

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Doc's favorite blogger ZeroHedge is possibly getting sued by Morgan Stanley for plagiarism of its charts.

 

http://blog.ctnews.com/teribuhl/2010/01/28...inst-zerohedge/

 

What I find amusing is that the blogger on another site who pointed out the similarity of the charts, used the name Dexter Morgan. Aside from the reference to Morgan Stanley, you may remember that Dexter Morgan is the name of what Showtime refers to as "America's favorite serial killer."

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How low?

 

Maybe lower then 666. :ninja:

 

Why?

Greed, power, population aging, debt, bubbles, resources, wars, low education, pollution, and the awakening of the dragon.

:o

 

Don't you know about the new fashion honey?

All you need are looks and a whole lotta money.

It's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways

It's still rock & roll to me.

 

(Billy joel)

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if the automatic earth blog isn't one of your stops everyday

 

YOURE A DOUCHEBAG

 

The headlines will get much worse from here. Negative t-bill rates are coming in a much bigger way, but always less negative than would yield a low real rate of interest, so the liquidity trap persists. Negative t-bill rates will make cash on hand look better than bonds, even of the shortest duration, as cash won't have a built in depreciation. T-bills will still be a good deal relative to most things, but cash on hand will be better. That will increase the likelihood of cash withdrawals leading to bank runs.

 

Eventually one will want to get into hard assets, even if asset prices still have further to fall. Liquidity can be as hard to hang on to as it sounds, and is therefore not a long term bet. A couple of years should be enough to ride out the worst of an asset price collapse while still being in a relatively low risk position regarding liquidity.

 

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

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Nobody is being forced to buy and use the product. If the user does not want to live within the ecosystem and restrictions, then they don't need to buy it. They can buy one of the other tablets, or use good old fashioned paper.

 

Exactly, however it is very interesting to see how popular the IPhone is given the restrictions. This thing is even more onerous and a sign of the times:

 

'This is a huge step backward in the history of computing,' said FSF's Holmes Wilson, 'If the first personal computers required permission from the manufacturer for each new program or new feature, the history of computing would be as dismally totalitarian as the milieu in Apple's famous Super Bowl ad.' The iPad has DRM writ large: you can only install what Apple says you may, and 'computing' goes consumer mainstream — no more twiddling, just sit back, spend your money, and watch the show — while we allow you to."

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