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I remember Tom. He was part of the team in the AAPLTalk, Yahoo!, Raging Bull and Silicon Investors days. And if you remember participating in all those places, you rock.
Pictures, huh?
Many are here:
http://louisgray.smugmug.com/
Sneak peek:
Much more, I promise, at the top URL.
http://www.louisgray.com/live
MacBlips Launched Yesterday - Interesting Social News Site for Mac
Sorry I haven't been as visible here as I used to be. Too many things pulling in too many directions, with work, ten-week old twins, and tech blogging in general. But a new site I wrote up yesterday had me thinking of you guys. MacBlips at http://www.macblips.com essentially is like Digg, but just for Apple/Mac/iPhone news. It finds the best stuff talked about on Mac blogs and also lets you pick friends to follow or have small communities within the site.
You can find MacBlips here: http://www.macblips.com
My user ID is here: http://macblips.com/profile/louismg/
The writeup is here:
MacBlips and GadgetBlips Launch to Capture Leading Tech Stories
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2008/08/macblips-and-gadgetblips-launch-to.html
Hope all's well! See if you can keep my AAPL stock up!
Apple Reports First Quarter Results
Tuesday January 22, 4:30 pm ET
Best Quarterly Revenue & Earnings in Apple History
Mac, iPod & iPhone Sales Break Previous Records
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080122/aqtu214.html?.v=16
CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2008 first quarter ended December 29, 2007. The Company posted revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.1 billion and net quarterly profit of $1 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, up from 31.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 45 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Apple shipped 2,319,000 Macintosh® computers, representing 44 percent unit growth and 47 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 22,121,000 iPods during the quarter, representing five percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone(TM) sales were 2,315,000.
"We're thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple's history," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We have an incredibly strong new product pipeline for 2008, starting with MacBook Air, Mac Pro and iTunes Movie Rentals in the first two weeks."
"Apple's revenue grew 35 percent year-over-year to $9.6 billion, an increase of almost $2.5 billion over the previous December quarter's record-breaking results," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Our strong results produced cash flow from operations of over $2.7 billion during the quarter, yielding an ending cash balance of over $18.4 billion. Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $6.8 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $.94."
Wireless Network Storage, Huh?
Sounds like a good idea. Wish I had thought of that.
Will Apple Ship Wireless Network Storage?
http://theappleblog.com/2007/03/26/will-apple-ship-wireless-network-storage/
re: iTunes Movie Rentals
I keep crossing my fingers that Apple will get this one done. I've been making noise about it for a real long time. It's a must to make the Apple TV relevant. I think I've watched everything on YouTube I could ever want to by this point. It's time for movie rentals... and ditching Netflix.
From April:
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/04/how-apple-could-crush-netflix-now.html
- louismg
Tex, StormTrooper and all,
Great stuff. Very detailed responses. I know for a fact I had dozens of Apple.com visits today, so either I get a nasty note, or it gets forwarded around. Maybe I'm close? Maybe I'm way off? I just know it's not getting the attention it needs right now. I want to be excited about it and suggest people get it, and right now, I don't have that enthusiasm (as you know I do for virtually everything else Mac).
- louismg
Anybody Still Have Hope for Apple TV?
I'm a little tired of my Apple TV being dissed as a hobby and not getting any real updates. The NBC mess just makes it less likely in my opinion that iTunes is going to get better traction in the film and TV space, like they did in music.
In a rare rant (for me), I gave Apple a list of eight reasons the Apple TV is failing, and then recommendations on how to make the darn thing work.
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/10/eight-reasons-appletv-is-failing-and.html
Let me know if you agree or if I'm off my rocker.
I don't believe there are any "unknown" surprises in Leopard. The video preview is pretty good. Definitely had me wanting to go get Leopard ASAP.
Leopard Is Coming, and I Want It
http://theappleblog.com/2007/10/22/leopard-is-coming-and-i-want-it/
Full transparency:
My 8 hour trade cycle...
110 shares * ($183.7 - $170.15) = $1,490.5 profit.
I have the attention span of a gnat.
Annie,
We're here when it makes sense. Just staying busy. Our 18-year-old beagle is doing well, and sends her regards.
- louismg
AAPL vs. APPL...
This one is for all you guys, and those of us who have had to deal with those who can't tell the difference...
Dudes, It’s AAPL, Not APPL!
http://theappleblog.com/2007/10/08/dudes-its-aapl-not-appl/
Five Lesser-Known Steps on Being an Apple Fanboy
http://theappleblog.com/2007/07/06/five-lesser-known-tips-on-how-to-be-an-apple-fanboy/
I hope some of these sound familiar to you guys!
Hope all is well...
Dvorak says Kill the iPhone!
http://theappleblog.com/2007/03/28/dvorak-calls-for-apple-to-ditch-iphone/
I'm sure Apple will listen and cancel the product any day now.
Re: "You can sleep it by pressing and holding the Play/Pause(Center) button on the Apple Remote."
Ooh... I learned something. I did try something to that effect, but I was just mashing the remote hoping I would get lucky.
Queue the Simpsons:
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/3F05.html
"Operator: The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now."
Re: Stackable AppleTVs
It certainly runs warm all day long. It's never "off". Even when I toggle to the TiVo or the DVD/VCR, the AppleTV is running the screensaver. It's a hot machine. Right now, it is stacked on top of the cable box, and I'm looking to make sure that box has enough venting to keep cool...
Apple TV: 48 Hours In
We've gotten the chance to kick the tires on the new Apple TV for the entire weekend. I posted a quick review and many photos to The Apple Blog, as well as posted a note speculating where Apple could go next with this technology. It's very solid.
Life With Apple TV: The First 48 Hours
http://theappleblog.com/2007/03/26/life-with-apple-tv-the-first-48-hours/
More nerdiness:
Will Apple Ship Wireless Network Storage?
http://theappleblog.com/2007/03/26/will-apple-ship-wireless-network-storage/
And if people don't get it, read this:
The Apple TV Debate Is Upside Down
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/03/apple-tv-debate-is-upside-down.html
How many of you got your Apple TV already? Show of hands?
Now My Apple TV is In Indiana
Mar 22, 2007 3:01 AM
Int'l shipment release
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
Mar 21, 2007 3:10 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK
1:06 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK
Mar 20, 2007 6:05 PM
Left origin
SHENZHEN CN
11:46 AM
Picked up
SHENZHEN CN
Package received after FedEx cutoff
My Apple TV Is In China (And More Nerdiness)
Is it overly obsessive to be refreshing my FedEx tracking every 30 minutes? Every 5?
And yes, I've been quiet here of late. Busy, busy. I am still long AAPL of course.
In Mac nerd heaven, I stumbled across this today:
http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2007/03/the_neglected_playlist.html
That referred back to my article on Smart Playlists on The Apple Blog this morning.
http://theappleblog.com/2007/03/21/how-smart-are-your-playlists/
We're trying to write more often, if possible, so it'd be great to see some of you guys there commenting and joining in.
I even kept my louismg handle.
http://theappleblog.com/author/louismg/
Go AAPL go...
Re: Purchased Items
Complainers don't need solutions, do they?
It seems most people don't like what I said anyway. Couldn't they just be tagged as ITMS or something? I just see the dichotomy of "Purchased" vs. "Unpurchased".
- louismg
Old Timers and Timbuktu
I remember setting up Timbuktu so I could access the home Mac from the work Mac. It was a great remote desktop program. Before the days when almost all my files lived on the Web, I could Timbuktu into the home computer, and retrieve data.
Do we have to be called Old Timers though? I swear I'm still not 30... for a little while.
- louismg
Regarding Steve Jobs' "Blog Post" on DRM...
Want to know how the blogosphere reacted to it?
TechMeme shows a few responses...
http://www.techmeme.com/070206/h2130
And in the same vein, I'm tired of Apple saying my iTunes store purchases are the only ones I've made. If I pay $10 or more for an album somewhere else, isn't that "Purchased" too?
Apple Should Drop Notion of “Purchased Music”
http://theappleblog.com/2007/02/07/apple-should-drop-notion-of-purchased-music/
- louismg
Yes - I bought AppleTV
Count me as an early adopter. I bought the AppleTV, and I bought the new Airport Extreme base station with 802.11n.
Paid for it with AAPL stock profits.
Great day.
Apple Store Is Down
Let the games begin. Good luck to each of you.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/
- louismg
Rumor: Jobs Planning Leave of Absence from Apple?
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/markets/activetraderupdate/10330882.html
"1. Apple (AAPL - commentary - Cramer's Take) will announce that Steve Jobs will be taking a leave of absence from the company."
OT: Satire: Apple and Nintendo Launch Relationship
http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/244/macintendo-family-values
Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Apple Computer Inc. today announced a multi-year, strategic partnership had commenced earlier this year and will culminate in the January 9, 2007 launch of the partnership’s first product: Podfondo. The partnership aims to leverage the technologies, trademarks, and patented processes of each company to produce products that satisfy a growing consumer demand for elegant, usable products in the consumer electronics market.
AAPL Day Trading
Up way too early yesterday, we bought in to AAPL at just over 80. To clear our portfolio for the end of the year, and to recognize the gains, we sold at just under 85 this afternoon. I had anticipated the stock option mess would be overblown.
Not bad for one day's (lack of) work.
Now let's see if I regret selling at 85 the way I did earlier this year at 72.
- louismg
White Apple Products - Is It Time to Move On?
While stuck at the San Jose airport on Christmas Eve, I was struck once again by the vast number of white iPod earbuds I saw around the hall, from all varieties of people. The white earbuds were so clearly Apple. But that got me thinking - can Apple branch out now that they have such momentum? Why not embrace the route they took in the late 1990s with colors. Remember the first iMac? Colors were big.
That's the idea behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, which is yet another opportunity for you to heap abuse on why I'm out of touch with the Mac community.
http://theappleblog.com/2006/12/28/im-tired-of-white-apple-products/
- louismg
The Apple Blog
All - sorry for my absence of late. We've been in a permanent state of busy. One new distraction is occasionally adding commentary to "The Apple Blog" at www.theappleblog.com.
Today's stuff-stirrer is around iWork and its success, or lack thereof.
http://theappleblog.com/2006/12/18/has-iwork-been-an-idud-for-apple/
Let us know what you think.
- louismg
Microsoft Zune Install: Pretty Crappy, Apparently
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/
The Pricing Schemes Suck, Too
http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/zune-marketplaces-absurd-pricing-scheme/
Apple Teams Up With Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM & United to Deliver iPod Integration
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061114/sftu071.html?.v=74
CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® today announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPod® and in-flight entertainment systems. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.
"There is no better traveling companion than an iPod, and now travelers can power their iPods during flight and even watch their iPod movies and TV shows on their seat back displays," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "We're excited to work with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to offer iPod users an even better in-flight experience."
In-flight iPod connectivity will be available to Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United passengers beginning in mid 2007. Additionally, Apple is working with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to bring even more leading airlines in-flight iPod connectivity in the future.
The iPod ecosystem continues to flourish with more than 3,000 accessories made specifically for iPod that range from fashionable cases to speaker systems, and more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles currently offer iPod connectivity.
iPod and iTunes® are leading the digital music revolution, providing the best way to listen to music on the go, at home, in the car and now on an airplane. With nearly 70 million iPods sold, the iPod is the world's most popular digital music and portable video player and the iTunes Store is the number one online music store with over 1.5 billion songs purchased and downloaded worldwide. The iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) features over 3.5 million songs, 65,000 podcasts, 20,000 audiobooks, 5,000 music videos, 250 television shows and over 100 movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online store.
NOTE: Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPod and iTunes are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners
The newest iPod Shuffle is teensy-tiny. As it just hit stores on Friday, and my wife's birthday was Sunday, we had to make sure she had one.
To illustrate how small this new iPod is, I put it in a teaspoon (right, not a tablespoon).
Check it out:
When they say "Do Not Eat iPod Shuffle", they mean it.
In the last two weeks, with CEOs losing their jobs over accounting stock options issues, I believed that Apple was still at risk for yet more bad news. I thought that even if they had a strong quarter, the uncertainty and potential restatement of previous quarters would be a drag on the stock. Beyond that, anyone who watches AAPL closely knows that even the slightest hint of weakness can cause a tidal wave of financial negativity. With a product transition to Intel processors, and the occasional analyst note regarding slowing iPod sales, I thought I was the smart one by selling my stock for a profit and getting out below $73. Maybe a decrease after earnings would get me a chance to buy in again in the mid to high 60s?
Clearly, I was wrong. Again. And now, while my money sits in cash at eTrade, those who kept the faith and tried not to game the stock are reaping the rewards. I still love my Macs, but I'd love them even more if I wasn't such an idiot investor.
Apple to Pay $100 Million to Creative
Wednesday August 23, 5:00 pm ET
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060823/sfw084.html
CUPERTINO, Calif. and SINGAPORE, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® and Creative Technology, Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF - News) today announced a broad settlement ending all legal disputes between the two companies. Apple will pay Creative $100 million for a paid-up license to use Creative's recently awarded patent in all Apple products. Apple can recoup a portion of its payment if Creative is successful in licensing this patent to others. In addition, the companies announced that Creative has joined Apple's "Made for iPod" program and will be announcing their own iPod® accessory products later this year.
"Creative is very fortunate to have been granted this early patent," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "This settlement resolves all of our differences with Creative, including the five lawsuits currently pending between the companies, and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation."
"We're very pleased to have reached an amicable settlement with Apple and to have opened up significant new opportunities for Creative," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. "Apple has built a huge ecosystem for its iPod and with our upcoming participation in the Made for iPod program we are very excited about this new market opportunity for our speaker systems, our just-introduced line of earphones and headphones, and our future family of X- Fi audio enhancement products. We expect that the one-time licensing payment of $100 million will contribute approximately $.85 of earnings per share to our current quarter, ending September 30, 2006."
I'm so confused.
So who does that make me?
- Is not Jim
I see it as all Apple, all Baseball, all Google, all Microsoft, all TiVo... all over.
Try it and you might like it.
Apple to Be Cored on Option Issues
This won't be thought of as good news.
Apple Finds 'Irregularities' In Stock-Options Practices
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115161324185694569.html
Apple probe found option grant "irregularities" - Reuters
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060629/accounting_options_apple.html
Apple investigating stock option grants - at CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/29/technology/apple_options/index.htm
Apple Finds Option Grant Irregularities - at TheStreet.com
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/tech/hardware/10294514.html
Apple: Probe Finds Option Grant Issues - AP
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060629/apple_option_grants.html
Lack of clarity at Apple
June 26, 2006 00:01:00 (ET)
SAN DIEGO (MarketWatch) - If you missed my column in the Weekend Wall Street Journal: From the "for what it's worth" file: For all of its terrific marketing, superb products and highflying stock, there's another side to the revival of Apple Computer(AAPL, Trade) that gets less airplay: Its lack of a certain type of disclosure.
With the exception of analyst Robert Renck, nobody seems to care. Renck, of the private research firm R. L. Renck & Co., may be the only analyst to rate Apple a "sell." Among the reasons: the sparse way in which it breaks out operating results of its segments. Renck, who prides himself on knowing his way around the dark alleys of financial statements, has a knack for questioning the status quo of Wall Street darlings. His earlier targets include McDonald's(MCD, Trade), before investors realized how stale it had become, and CUC International, before it was acquired by - and became a major headache for - Cendant(CD, Trade).
While not predicting a similar fate for Apple, Renck believes the company's skimpy segment disclosure makes it a "have-faith, trust me" stock. As a result, he has warned his clients, Wall Street's bullish forecasts aren't without risk for this simple reason: Analysts can't get a true and complete picture of how Apple makes its money. "I don't think Apple is doing anything wrong other than their penchant for secrecy," he says.
Like much in accounting, rules for the way a company breaks out its different businesses in Securities and Exchange Commission filings are subject to interpretation and considerable debate. Apple has chosen to report segment results pretty much the way it always has: by breaking out operating profits by the regions in which it operates, not products, for which it only gives sales; it also breaks out the operating profits for its retail stores. That may have been fine when most of Apple's sales came from Macintosh computers, making a separate breakout for analytical purposes irrelevant, Renck says. But computer sales now trail sales of iPods, which as of the first six months of Apple's fiscal year accounted for 46% of total revenue. See Herb's blog
Furthermore, in its SEC filings the company in recent years has changed its description to include "music products and services" as a separate part of its business organization. Renck, in one of his reports, is more direct: "Apple clearly has its feet in two separate and distinct business models, namely computer manufacturing and software creation and the consumer electronics industry."
Accounting standards, he adds, require that segments generating more than 10% of a company's revenue be broken out by several metrics, including sales, profit and assets. The iPod first passed that threshold in early 2004. Commenting on the issue, in a statement on current accounting and disclosure issues, the SEC staff has said it believes segment information should be broken out unless "separate reporting of segment information will not add significantly to an investor's understanding of an enterprise [because] its operating segments have characteristics so similar that they can be expected to have essentially the same future prospects." Renck goes so far as to say he believes Apple should do a separate breakout for computers, iPods, music-related products, peripherals and software and service. "Their business has changed and they should be doing it differently," he says. "Transparency is what everyone wants, and they don't want to be transparent."
Apple declined to explain why it doesn't provide more financial information on different business segments, saying it doesn't comment on analyst reports. Instead, it sent me a copy of what it believes is a critical passage from its 10-K, which goes into detail about how it "manages its business primarily on a geographic basis."
But even the company's fans appear to be growing impatient with Apple's hesitancy to disclose more. On a recent earnings conference call, several analysts specifically asked about the iPod's gross margin. Finance Chief Peter Oppenheimer responded to one, saying, "... Our competitors would just love to know what our specific gross margins are ... and we just don't want to help them."
While that is understandable, Renck doesn't believe it is necessarily right. "Without clarity," he argues, "analysts can't forecast with any degree, other than to rely on what management says."
That may be fine when business is booming; it is foolhardy, when it is not. And it won't always be for Apple.
Blogger Says Leopard Screenshots Were Faked.
Oh well.
http://trinityrubicon.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_trinityrubicon_archive.html
"Seeing as my third screenshot didn't fool anybody, I think it's about time I just give it up. So in case you didn't just hear me admit it, those screenshots are 100% fake. They are entirely Photoshopped, done merely for fun out of lots of free time and about 6 cans of Diet Coke."
Back to the salt mines.
New Leopard Screenshots Leaked
** Looks like Dual Boot Windows
** Desktop Switching
** Native running of Internet Explorer (Windows App)
** Tabs in finder - like Safari!
** New AddressBook with a date (Merged with iCal?)
You make the call - real or Photoshop?
Source: http://trinityrubicon.blogspot.com/2006/06/mac-os-x-105-leopard-screenshots.html