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cotton, looks like NTES stopped the slide. Up $1.49 as I type.
Looks like some serious profit-taking in OMG today. Not to worry for me: I'm long as the hills there.
Out of idle curiousity, why did you pick SOHU instead of NTES to make a play in today?
Bootz
Thanks, steele! I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I tried to edit it, but it wouldn't edit.
Bootz
ljk has been strangely...silent. Did the Margin Monster come calling?
The market didn't seem too elated by the 7.2% growth news. Factored in yesterday?
I'll go out on a limb: NTES will bounce back tomorrow or it won't. Until next week. Or not.
That said, the market could be up hugely tomorrow. Or not.
Feel free to quote me.
Bootz
DO NOT CLICK LINK IN MY LAST POST! Sorry, but Edit doesn't seem to be working 100% here tonight.
Not an attempt to trick anyone. Again, apologies.
Bootz
Hi, steele. Is #750 a grub, then? I'm new at this grub thing.
Did you see the news on OMG today?
Bootz
G3/OS X settlement gets preliminary approval
October 30 - 17:39 EST A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has given preliminary approval to the settlement that would allow some Mac OS X owners to get a refund for the operating system. In August, Apple reached a tentative agreement to settle the class action lawsuit that claimed the company had failed to fully support Mac OS X on some G3-based Macs. The settlement calls for Apple to refund the cost of Mac OS X (up to US$129) to users who turn in their CDs. Users who feel that Mac OS X impaired their ability to run certain applications can get a $25 e-coupon for use at the online Apple Store. Apple also agreed to pay $350,000 to the law firm of King & Ferlauto.
Bootz
The Prez is in town tonight. Anyone want me to say hello?
Bootz
Is the # 749 a grub I'm not aware of? em
Bootz
Hey, the Prez is in town tonight. Anyone want me to ask him anything?
Bootz
OMG is still my longterm pick. Once a $70 stock, my own target price is a return to $35 by at least this time next year. Metal prices up nicely now, and great Chinese demand for chrome and stainless steel. Check today's news and volume. Don't know if it's a short squeeze or just proper reevaluation.
Will average down on BPUR today, too.
Bootz
=DJ Licensing Probe Adds To Microsoft Headaches In Europe
BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--European regulators are investigating Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) software licensing agreements with computer makers, adding to the company's regulatory headaches.
European Union Commission officials said Thursday they have sent letters to makers of computer hardware and electronics products to help understand the software giant's complex licensing practices.
"Fact-finding" is at a "very early stage" and the letters remain confidential, said Commission spokesman Tilman Lueder. But Brussels-based antitrust experts say investigators are probing the conditions Microsoft enforces on computer and electronics makers who install Windows, Microsoft's dominant operating system that controls the basic functions of about 95% of personal computers worldwide.
The Commission's concerns, first reported by the Financial Times, focus on "licensing conditions under the competition rules," said Lueder.
Microsoft's chief European lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, said in an interview that the company's licensing policies are "appropriate, pro-competitive and in compliance with the law."
Microsoft has faced previous EU concerns about its licensing policies. In 2001, investigators said the company sold Windows in a way that discouraged computer makers and users from using Microsoft alternatives, but they since have backed away from those charges, say people familiar with the probe.
This time, regulators want to know whether clauses enforced by Microsoft in exchange for Windows licenses make it too difficult for hardware makers to assert patent rights and thus profit from their innovations.
Regulators' new questions come four years after the Commission started an investigation into Microsoft's business practices. In that case, regulators allege Microsoft is unfairly extending its dominance beyond the personal-computer market and into the server and multimedia software markets. Microsoft has denied those charges.
In August, the Commission gave Microsoft a "last opportunity" to comply before facing a possible fine and orders to modify Windows and share more of its software code with rivals.
-By James Kanter, Dow Jones Newswires; 32-475-520-396; james.kanter@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 30, 2003 13:51 ET (18:51 GMT)
I'm glad I'm not trying to do business in Europe these days.
EU regulations must make ours look like a veritable open door.
Bootz
Doesn't appear as if today be the day that NTES be bouncing back.
On the other hand, the market may be separating the three portals by name, rather than treating them as a collective sector as in the past. In that possible light, it's interesting to note that while NTES is still down more, SINA is only slightly down, whereas SOHU is slightly up on the Disney news.
Whatever.
Bootz
Meanwhile, Down Under...
Australian telecom giant dumps 5,000 Macs
October 30 - 10:48 EST Australian telecommunications company Optus is dumping 5,000 Macs as part of a multi-million dollar overhaul of its information technology architecture. Australian IT reports that the move ends "11 years of loyalty which began in 1992 with the rollout of the user-friendly machines across the company in the world's largest business deployment of the computers... Optus was now in the process of moving all its users to Windows-based machines, insiders said. In recent years, the Windows machines have started to push aside Apple in Optus, grabbing about 50 percent of its 10,000 desktops."
From macminute.com
Bootz
I know it's a little early in the morning, but let's drink to cobalt -- and all that Chinese chrome and stainless steel.
Portals -- who needs 'em?
Bootz
OT: OMG = Bingo!
My largest equity holding. How sweet it is.
iPods for everyone!
(Just kidding.)
Bootz
steele, neat!
Wanna do the same Google for XP Security Problems?
I'll save you the trouble: 786,000 hits in 0.46 seconds. (And no doubt growing exponentially by the minute.)
Looks like I wasn't the first to ask.
Still, I'll spare you the links and bolded excerpts -- unless you insist.
Bootz
Those are actually two different posts. Slightly, anyway.
Bootz
Kevin, have you already forgotten the Pepsi and AOL partnerships? Who knows what's to follow?
Take a deep breath.
Yes, it ain't all priced in yet.
Bootz
Kevin, have you already forgotten the Pepsi and AOL deals?
Bootz
OT: OMG closing out strong today. Presumably on expectations of something big tomorrow?
Bootz
Good luck, ljk. The 52-week high on NTES is $72. That's almost 30% away from today. I do think there's a good chance that it will pop back tomorrow.
But if you read the whole press release, it's admitted that NTES is losing share to the competition, which I assume to be SOHU and SINA. I think they'd be a better longterm play at this point, and a cheaper one, as well.
SOHU & SINA both caught fever today from NTES, but they seem to be recovering slightly.
Longterm, I think I'd look into dropping down a risk level, that is, from the portals, to the underlying infrastructure, like CHU, CHT & CHL, possibly NTE. Or play it relatively safe with GCH.
That margin stuff just scares the bejeezus out of me, because it leads to...cloudy (ie, usually, greedy) thinking.
Just my two Chinese farthings.
Bootz
OT: NTES now down $16+ or 25%. If I were a gambling man -- or a crazy gambling man, anyway -- I would pick up some today for a good $4-5 pop tomorrow. I think I'll look into CHU and GCH instead. I might nibble off some more SINA here, but probably not.
Found the following...interesting.
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy echoed Sun's optimism about the company's long-term prospects in a research note.
"We expected NTES to report weak SMS revenue in Q3, however, we remain convinced that the longer-term growth opportunity in advertising, gaming and SMS is solid," Rashtchy said.
"New revenue streams such as SMS will inevitably have certain hiccups in their growth path. This was such a quarter for NTES," the analyst said, adding that "We believe NetEase continues to have substantial potential in games and integrated ad packages directed towards its highly desirable audience, as well as SMS."
Rashtchy maintained a rating of outperform on the stock and raised the stock's price target to $60 from $55.
The analyst did, however lower fourth-quarter and 2004 revenue estimates to $18.9 million from $21.7 million and $102.5 million from $115.4 million, respectively. Earnings estimates for the fourth-quarter and 2004 were lowered to 32 cents a share from 36 cents and $1.65 from $1.77, respectively.
Shares of NetEase recently traded at $51.68, down 21.5% or $14.18 on volume of 8.7 million compared with average daily volume of 3.5 million.
Shares of Sohu.com recently traded at $35.76, down $1.41 or 3.8%, as Sina.com traded at $41.95, a decline of 3.7% or $1.62. Other competitors Chinadotcom Corp. (CHINA) recently traded at $10.02, down 36 cents or 3.5% while Asiainfo Holdings Inc. (ASIA) fell 2% or 15 cents to $7.24.
Rashtchy was unavailable to provide disclosure information concerning ownership of NetEase shares. U.S. Bancorp has either received compensation for investment services from NetEase within the past 12 months or intends to seek compensation for services in the next three months.
Bootz
Kevin, someone said there was a trade for 1.4 million shares at $23.56 pre-market. Looks like it may be going green again. Good work!
On other fronts, ASYT now over $19, OMG over $17. I think OMG announces tomorrow.
I'm kicking myself this year for missing out on TRID, a stock you could regularly buy around $3-5 and sell at $11-13, cycle after cycle. This year I just sat and watched. Now around $22.
Can't win 'em all.
Bootz
Crazy offers. Buy any version of MS Office (or upgrade) at OfficeMax until 11/1/03 and you can get an HP Digital Photo Studio (supposed $300 retail value) thrown in for free. The latter includes a digital camera (PhotoSmart 320), inkjet printer (PhotoSmart 7350), 32MB smart card, and HP photo paper.
Details at officemax.com
Windows version only, natch.
Hard to compete against that economy of scale.
Bootz
Nice move, AAPL. I'm up two iPods now.
Bootz
The college music crowd is gonna love this:
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/
Bootz
New Apple iLife for January:
Apple Computer plans to roll-out a new version of their award winning iLife digital software suite during the first month of next year, sources tell AppleInsider. An unconfirmed rumor implies that iTunes 5.0 will be available for Mac OS X users prior to being deployed for Windows. The updated iLife package will also include a speedier version of iPhoto and major updates to iMovie and iDVD.
Likewise, the company is working on a major upgrade to their presentation software via Keynote 2.0. The release is also rumored for early next year, but is said to be part of a looser development schedule to prevent it from intertwining with the release of an Apple-branded word processor application, among other things.
From AppleInsider.
I wonder if that's a reference to an AppleWorks upgrade or a new standalone program?
Bootz
cotton, here you go: WindowShade for Panther for only ten bucks.
http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/wsx/
Bootz
Ah, I love the smell of SINA in the morning! Afternoons, too!
Bootz
Apple posts 'Federal Smart Card Package' details
October 27 - 19:39 EST Apple has published a document detailing the "Apple Federal Smart Card Package" (FSCP), new software that lets users gain access to a Mac using a Department of Defense Common Access Card. It is widely known that Mac OS X 10.3 Panther includes seals for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Public Health Service.
Well, I didn't widely know it, but there you go.
Bootz
Found this Panther intro on the old board:
http://diveintoosx.org/panther/
Looks pretty good.
Bootz
Quite a magical Sunday. After a clear, windy Saturday, woke up in the morning at 4700 feet in west Texas to an inch of snow, with more steadily falling. Kids were digitally documented going crazy.
Reached Del Rio late in the afternoon, where a brief hole of clearing in the clouds to the west resulted in a beautiful double rainbow over Laughlin AFB.
Finished the drive home under gray clouds and a light drizzle, logged on and learned that SINA was up $4.71 a share Friday.
What was with that?
G'night, and don't forget to set your clocks back.
Bootz
ace, c'mon. You're getting sloppy. Your statement implies that 98% of computer users are also using Windows XP. I know that you know that not to be true.
Not even 98% of Windows users are running XP.
(I'd feel nekkid w/o a bold sentence in a post, wouldn't you?)
If you say that the inclusion of a Miscrosoft logo at the end of your post means that you were really talking about all MS operating systems and not just XP, that won't wash, either, as you refer to the same testional as Matt's, which only referenced Win XP.
Bootz
Near-CD-Quality
OT: Cotton, did you check out JBLU today?
Bootz
KVW, buy (and trade) some COVD instead.
I thought you would have learned your lesson(s) re SGI and SUNW by now, but apparently not.
My two cents...
Bootz
Poifect! The wife wanted to get the kid an iBook this month for his birthday. I talked her into waiting for the new specs and I'm glad I did.
If it was for me, of course, I'd want the 14-inch screen, but I think we'll go with the 12-inch for him. It's lighter, too.
Do I hear a second?
Bootz
PS: Will I be able to steal his Panther or will I still have to get my own?
Ibotez, thanks for the concern, but I've long seen to it that no (silk) shirts will be lost here.
Still have a $10/share cushion on my remaining shares of SINA, even at today's current price.
I am watching things, though.
Bootz
OT: Wow, the Chinese Portals just did an abrupt about-face!
From nearly $2 up each to nearly $3 down each. Someone must know some news we don't.
Bootz
Gov't, Microsoft fight over online music
By TED BRIDIS
AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Nearly a year after Microsoft Corp. agreed to end its anticompetitive conduct, the government is raising concerns the world's largest software maker is trying to use its dominant Windows operating system to influence where customers buy their music online.
If the dispute isn't resolved by week's end, it could become the first test of Microsoft's landmark antitrust settlement that was approved by a federal court in October 2002.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and 19 state attorneys general have formally complained to a federal judge about a design feature of Windows that compels consumers who buy music online to use only Microsoft's Internet browser and steers them to a Web site operated by the company.
Microsoft's design "may be inconsistent" with the settlement, government lawyers wrote in court papers asking U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to intervene if the problems aren't resolved.
The company said Monday it is willing to work with the government but does not believe the design is illegal. Online music purchases are expected to be one of the most-lucrative areas for Internet commerce.
"We believe that the use of Internet Explorer by the Shop-for-Music-Online link in Windows is consistent with the design rules established by the consent decree, and we will continue to work with the government to address any concerns," spokeswoman Stacy Drake said.
The dispute already has risen to the level of a three-member technical committee of experts established by the judge to help oversee the antitrust settlement.
Those experts are Harry Saal, founder of the company that became Network Associates Inc.; Franklin Fite Jr., a former Microsoft employee, and Skip Stritter, former director of business development for wireless products at Cisco Systems Inc. Saal referred questions about the latest dispute to the Justice Department.
The fight over online music sales was disclosed in documents filed last week with the judge and made available by the court Monday.
The dispute centers on a design feature in Windows XP called "Shop for Music Online," which lets consumers purchase compact discs from retailers over the Internet. When consumers click the link to buy music, Windows opens Microsoft's browser software even after consumers specify that they prefer using rival browser software.
The link - prominent whenever a computer user opens a designated folder containing songs - also steers Windows users to a Web site, windowsmedia.com, operated by Microsoft with links to online retailers, such as Buy.com or CDNow. On Monday, the page promoted CDs by Madonna, 50 Cent, Linkin Park and Celine Dion.
The Windows behavior does not affect consumers who use another Internet browser to directly visit other music sellers, such as Apple Computer Inc.'s new iTunes site or the Rhapsody service from Listen.com.
The dispute affects one of the central tenets of the antitrust settlement: improving the ability of rival software vendors to compete against Microsoft's own programs running on Windows. One settlement provision allows Microsoft's own programs to launch only if rival software "fails to implement a reasonable technical requirement."
The long-running antitrust case accused Microsoft of abusing its Windows monopoly to crush software companies whose products could weaken demand for the Windows operating system.
---
Microsoft: www.microsoft.com
Justice Department: www.usdoj.gov/atr
Technical Committee: www.thetc.org
States' watchdog site: www.microsoft-antitrust.gov
Just heard a nice little tidbit of news on NPR. Soon as I see it as an article somewhere I'll post it here.
Wasn't paying full attention, but someone (DOJ?) was looking into charges/allegations that Microsoft was trying to use its monopoly power to muscle around the way that online music was being sold. Will be interesting to watch that one develop.
AAPL just went green. Let's see if it can hold it.
Bootz