When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do? -- John Maynard Keynes

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Who makes more off Android: Google or Microsoft?

Follow johnmpoole on TwitterIt's a fair question now that we know Microsoft is getting paid $5 for every HTC Android phone while Google gives Android away for free. Microsoft's take adds up to $150 million in all, based on a rough estimate that HTC has shipped 30 million such devices. And Microsoft is reportedly suing other Android phone makers.http://goo.gl/fkauM  At this rate, Microsoft is making more off Android than it does Windows Phone http://goo.gl/nLwVo
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Thursday, May 26, 2011

China­­—what a great place to do business!

Follow johnmpoole on TwitterAs detailed today in a story in the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Corp.'s revenue in China this year will be about 5% of what it gets in the U.S. even though personal-computer sales in the two countries are almost equal. The CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, said revenue per personal-computer sold in China is only about a sixth of the amount it gets in India, and that its total revenue in China is less than what it gets in the Netherlands, a country of less than 17 million people.
"We're literally talking about an opportunity that is billions of dollars today" if China's intellectual property rights protection were at the level of India's, he said. PC sales in China will be "as big as the U.S. market this year," yet "our revenue in China will be about a twentieth of our revenue in the United States."

Ballmer's remarks on China indicate the damage Microsoft believes piracy is causing it in the world's No. 2 economy.  “The company has long complained about the problem—which has also been an increasingly central subject in U.S.-China trade talks—but Microsoft has provided little detail on the impact. China's government has acknowledged problems with piracy but says it is taking steps to improve the situation.”  Yeah, right.
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Situation deeply abnormal

Paul Krugman writing in today's New York Times: “The economic situation remains deeply abnormal, with unprecedented long-term unemployment; why should monetary policy be normal? . . . .To return to a regular theme of mine: we’re living in a world in which Very Serious People keep inventing theories and justifications on the fly to justify policy orthodoxy in a highly unorthodox situation; meanwhile, those of us who rely on actual, coherent analysis based on standard economics are considered dangerous radicals.” Still Crazy After All These Months - NYTimes.com

Monday, May 23, 2011

Why my next phone won't be a BlackBerry

I don't know if my next phone will be an Apple or Google Android--it won't be a BlackBerry. My current phone (a BlackBerry six months old) is an inferior smartphone compared to what is available from Apple and the Google Android offerings.
What I Would Ask Jim Balsillie of RIM This Morning - Eric Jackson - Tech and China - Forbes

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Why Mobile Apps Will Soon be Dead - Technology Review

Why Mobile Apps Will Soon be Dead - Technology Review: "Why Mobile Apps Will Soon be Dead"
"It's hard to imagine Apple's App store -- 50 million users, 400,000 apps, 10 billion downloads -- being threatened with extinction, but it's not as if Tyrannosaurus Rex had a clue its demise was imminent until the process was well underway, either. We know that empires crumble: what's interesting is how." read more http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/26778/

Thursday, May 19, 2011

States of Denial

There's only one way to describe this situation--"States of Denial." Meredith Whitney: The Hidden State Financial Crisis - WSJ.com .  24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of The Ten States Where Pensions Are Running Out of Money based on state pensions that are underfunded and which have a shortfall of the 2009 recommended level--the states in the worst trouble:

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  1. Kentucky
  2. Illinois
  3. New Hampshire
  4. New Jersey
  5. Oklahoma
  6. Kansas
  7. Massachusetts
  8. Colorado
  9. Maryland
  10. Pennsylvania

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Message for Facebook users

You actually don't have to have the support and agreement of this chorus of friends around you.  You can say things that they they don't agree with or that will piss them off or that will make them mad. And I think it's actually that psychological break - the ability to say "OK, so-and-so is not going to respect me if I take this position, but I don't care." Francis Fukuyama, Philosopher and Political Theorist http://goo.gl/o2xqQ 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Cloud and Mobile/Desktop Convergence

The cloud is part of what's going to enable and probably drive convergence between phone and mobile operating systems and desktop operating systems http://t.co/dmyT3Iw Of the major software companies contacted for the story . . . only Google would comment: "Both Chrome OS and Android are innovative open-source projects that are trying to improve the computing experience by approaching the opportunity from different perspectives. At Google we focus on the user and on fostering innovation. Rather than prejudging outcomes, we will continue to focus on users by enhancing choice and innovation in the ecosystem." See also http://www.technologyreview.com/web/23140/?mod=related

Thursday, May 5, 2011

HEADWIND Number One: Unemployment


In the coming months, hundreds of thousands more will drop off the unemployment rolls. The number of people using up their regular 26 weeks of unemployment payments peaked in August 2009 at nearly 800,000 a month. That means a lot of people should be hitting their 99-week limit right about now. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/04/30/number-of-the-week-millions-set-to-lose-unemployment-benefits/

Last month more than 14 million Americans were unemployed by the official definition — that is, seeking work but unable to find it. Millions more were stuck in part-time work because they couldn’t find full-time jobs. And we’re not talking about temporary hardship. Long-term unemployment, once rare in this country, has become all too normal: More than four million Americans have been out of work for a year or more. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/opinion/29krugman.html?_r=1

These and many other facts speak to an unpleasant and unusual reality for the United States. The country now has an unemployment problem that is large in magnitude and increasingly structural in nature. The consequences are multifaceted, involving immediate personal anguish, rising social and political tensions, economic losses, and budgetary pressures. . . . more than a problem for the here and now. High and intractable unemployment has serious negative long-term consequences that threaten to become exponentially worse. This is a crisis. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/elerian4/English

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

CHINA MUST REALLY BE LAUGHING AT US--WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Google Ranks Highest on Corporate Reputation in 12th Annual Harris Interactive U.S. Reputation http://goo.gl/P7Or8

AND
Politico - Mike Zapler, Elizabeth Wasserman - ‎Apr 10, 2011‎
The Department of Justice and the FTC both want a piece of Google. | Reuters Close By MIKE ZAPLER & ELIZABETH WASSERMAN | 4/10/11 7:55 PM EDT The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission both want a piece of Google. ...


INNOVATION UNDER ATTACK--WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY! 

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