dreric1kansasmac's Xanga

WHY I SOLD APPLE

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:19:55 GMT

WHY I SOLD APPLE
By Tim Beyers (TMF Mile High)
The Motley Fool

=================================================================

I own three Macs. My uncle owns two. My cousin, at least one
more. So steeped am I in the so-called Cult of Mac that I own a
black turtleneck. But I can no longer allow my portfolio to have
a position in Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), thanks to CEO Steve Jobs.

ROTTEN? PERHAPS
My problem is best summed up by a blistering rebuke of Jobs
delivered by my Foolish friend and colleague Seth Jayson three
weeks ago. At the time, Seth wrote that Jobs and Apple's
management offered a too-little, too-late apology for gruesome
options backdating practices of which Jobs was aware, and which
appear to have transferred wealth from shareholders to members
of his executive team.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178470&u=12755744
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178471&u=12755744

Many posters to our Apple board disagreed with Seth's account. I
do not. Instead,
I think he's laid out a perfectly clear case for why Jobs, for
all his obvious talent, isn't a Foolish CEO of the caliber of
General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Jeff Immelt or Whole Foods'
(Nasdaq: WFMI) John Mackey.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178472&u=12755744
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178473&u=12755744

Foolish CEOs seek to enhance shareholder returns because, as
shareholders themselves, they're content to get rich right
alongside the rest of us owners. That's obviously not Jobs; he
owns slightly more than 1% of the company, according to the
latest proxy statement. Contrast that with his widely reviled
buddy in tech, Larry Ellison of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), who owned
roughly 24% of the outstanding shares of his company as of
August.

TAKING EMOTION OUT OF THE EQUATION
But there's more than moral outrage at work here. Indeed, the
truth is I'm not really outraged at all. I sold my position in
Apple because Jobs' flimsy apology and the lack of real
consequences that came with it suggests that he and other Apple
executives are content to hold shareholders at arms' length.
It's as if he's pleading for us to simply trust him, and all
will be well. Someday.

Maybe he's right. Jobs has certainly earned the benefit of the
doubt when it comes to product design. But I'm not nearly as
sure of him when it comes to acting as the steward of billions
in shareholder capital. The stark, unemotional truth is that,
right now, we investors don't know everything there is to know
when evaluating the Mac maker. And that, in turn, increases the
risk of loss.

WHEN RISK BECOMES A THREAT
Risk alone isn't bad, of course. It's when the potential for
risk to be realized outweighs the potential rewards that
investors lose. I fear that the equation has finally gone
negative.

Consider the valuation of the shares. Apple is priced as though
it will grow earnings at roughly 28% annually for the next five
years. That's possible, of course; Jobs and his team managed
174% compound annual growth on the bottom line over the past
three years.

But current projections assume that Apple's recent earnings
reports are accurate. We already know that they aren't.
Management says so at the very outset of the latest financial
release: "These preliminary results may be subject to
significant adjustment as a result of a likely restatement of
historical results."

Isn't it impossible to produce a fair value for Apple under such
conditions? It would seem so to me.

THANKS, STEVE
I purchased January 2008 call options in June, at around the
time Apple's underlying shares were trading for $56 a stub. My
thinking was that concerns over competition were overblown by a
brutal summer downturn. The LEAPs allowed me to mitigate the
valuation risk that comes with a very high P/E. Plus, I believed
that if any of the catalysts I outlined here came to pass, I'd
be sitting on a multibagger.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178474&u=12755744

My plan worked out even better than I had imagined. After just
three months, my position was up 120%, a gain for which I must
thank Jobs and his team. So, Steve, thanks.

But, of course, it was also your failure of oversight that
suddenly and egregiously increased my risk, forcing me to sell
and give up the potential for still-greater gains. Sour grapes,
you say? Maybe it is. But I've been in the market long enough to
know that investing on the blind, as I would now be with you, is
as reckless as it is stupid. I won't do it again.

So, yeah, thanks, Steve. Thanks a lot.

High tech. Biotech. Nanotech. Any tech. David Gardner and his
Foolish band of analysts cover it all for Motley Fool Rule
Breakers, and they've unearthed four multibagger stocks in two
years as a result. Want to find out what they are? Try the
service free for 30 days and find out. Whole Foods is a Stock
Advisor pick.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178475&u=12755744
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178476&u=12755744

Fool contributor Tim Beyers, ranked 1,330 out of 11,654 in
Motley Fool CAPS, is much more pleased with his MacBook Pro than
he is with Jobs' management. C'mon, Steve. You can do better.
Tim owns shares of Oracle. Get the skinny on all of the stocks
in Tim's portfolio by checking his Fool profile. The Motley
Fool's disclosure policy is always on the up-and-up.
mailto:MileHighFool@yahoo.com
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178477&u=12755744
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178478&u=12755744
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=2178479&u=12755744

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itunes hot tips

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:18:11 GMT

http://www.apple.com/itunes/hottips/

Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS:(dreric1kansas@aol.com): DrEric1MacNews/Macsightings Blog
: http://www.xanga.com/dreric1kansasmac: editor MacsU.N.I.T.E. ( MacIntosh Users
Network for Integrating Technology into Education):(Subscribe send email to :macsunitsubscribe@egroups.com)
MacCompanion Reviewer/writer (http://www.maccompanion.com/); moderator
macintoshvideo@yahoogroups.com- to subscribe
macintoshvideo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com; editor TechU.N.I.T.E. (Subscribe send email to PC version TechU.N.I.T.E.: to subscribe send email to techunite-subscribe@egroups.com

At Macworld's Creative Space you'll find:

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 22:21:37 GMT

At Macworld's Creative Space you'll find:
- Secrets and Tips for photography, flash animation, CSS tricks just
to name a few
- Featured designs submitted by you and members of the design
community
- Forums and discussion threads on a variety of design topics and
submitted pieces
- News & Reviews on the latest design product announcements
- Deals on design related products

Check out Creative Space Now:
http://www.macworld.com/topics/hp/index.php

Apple's iTV: promise and peril

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 01:27:24 GMT

from September 13, 2006, 2:21 PM PDT

Apple's iTV: promise and peril
Posted by: John P. Falcone

http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6637708.html?tag=txt

Apple's iTV: promise and peril

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 03:02:53 GMT

http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6637708.html?tag=txt

September 13, 2006, 2:21 PM PDT

Apple's iTV: promise and peril
Posted by: John P. Falcone

Mac OS X v10.4.8 improves networking, Finder

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:19:57 GMT

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/29/1048/index.php

Mac OS X v10.4.8 improves networking, Finder

By Peter Cohen

Apple on Friday released Mac OS X v10.4.8 and Mac OS X Server v10.4.8. Both updates are available for download in various forms both from the Software Update control panel and from Apple's Web site.

Mac OS X v10.4.8 contains myriad improvements and fixes for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. Here's a rundown of things that have changed:

Apple on Friday released Mac OS X v10.4.8 and Mac OS X Server v10.4.8. Both updates are available for download in various forms both from the Software Update control panel and from Apple's Web site.

Mac OS X v10.4.8 contains myriad improvements and fixes for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. Here's a rundown of things that have changed:

connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol

Apple USB modem reliability

using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word

compatibility with 3rd party USB hubs

scanner performance

RAW camera support

printing documents with Asian language names

performance of the Translation widget

broadband network performance

security updates

In detailed information about what's changed in this update, Apple reveals that Mac OS X v10.4.8 sports a fix for performance issues that could occur for Macs connecting to cable service provider Comcast's broadband network. It also improves reliability for connections established using the Apple USB Modem, improves ExpressCard support for MacBook Pro systems, improves Apple File Sharing client performance, and more.

It also adds RAW image decoding support for various Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras including models from Sony, Nikon, Fuji and Konica Minolta. Rosetta, the emulation technology used to enable Intel-based Macs to run code optimized specifically only for PowerPC hardware, has also gotten some improvements, with better numerics and improved ColorSync matching.

Finder problems associated with Finder alert messages after mounting a partitioned FireWire drive have been corrected, along with a bug fix for Preview and reliability improvements for iTunes iPod syncing.

Mac OS X Server has also been updated. Changes in that release include the following:

avoiding AFP server deadlocks and thread starvation

membership and permissions issues when Windows users are in more than 16 groups

synchronizing Open Directory password information between Master and Replicas

changing and saving Open Directory password policy security settings

directory service usage affecting Mail server performance

streaming movies to localized versions of the QuickTime Player

handling TCP Selective Acknowledgments in congested networks

compatibility with third party applications and devices

previous standalone security updates

More specific details are available from Apple's Web site.

Finally, a Security Update has been posted for Mac OS X v10.3.9 and Mac OS X Server v10.3.9. The update improves the security of the following components:

CFNetwork

Cyrus SASL

Flash Player Plug-in

QuickDraw

WebKit

Mac OS X v10.4.8 improves networking, Finder

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:19:54 GMT

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/29/1048/index.php

Mac OS X v10.4.8 improves networking, Finder

By Peter Cohen

Apple on Friday released Mac OS X v10.4.8 and Mac OS X Server v10.4.8. Both updates are available for download in various forms both from the Software Update control panel and from Apple's Web site.

Mac OS X v10.4.8 contains myriad improvements and fixes for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. Here's a rundown of things that have changed:

Apple on Friday released Mac OS X v10.4.8 and Mac OS X Server v10.4.8. Both updates are available for download in various forms both from the Software Update control panel and from Apple's Web site.

Mac OS X v10.4.8 contains myriad improvements and fixes for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs, according to Apple. Here's a rundown of things that have changed:

connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol

Apple USB modem reliability

using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word

compatibility with 3rd party USB hubs

scanner performance

RAW camera support

printing documents with Asian language names

performance of the Translation widget

broadband network performance

security updates

Mac OS X Server has also been updated. Changes in that release include the following:

avoiding AFP server deadlocks and thread starvation

membership and permissions issues when Windows users are in more than 16 groups

synchronizing Open Directory password information between Master and Replicas

changing and saving Open Directory password policy security settings

directory service usage affecting Mail server performance

streaming movies to localized versions of the QuickTime Player

handling TCP Selective Acknowledgments in congested networks

compatibility with third party applications and devices

previous standalone security updates

More specific details are available from Apple's Web site.

Finally, a Security Update has been posted for Mac OS X v10.3.9 and Mac OS X Server v10.3.9. The update improves the security of the following components:

CFNetwork

Cyrus SASL

Flash Player Plug-in

QuickDraw

WebKit

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:17:05 GMT

The Wired Family

By Rich Maloof for MSN Tech & Gadgets

http://tech.msn.com/howto/article.aspx?cp-documentid=945815

This article I found on MSN has a picture of several family members. One has a mac laptop wti the Apple insignia on it.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:00:36 GMT

Microsoft tells EU will ship Vista to Europe
Despite regulatory disputes, software firm tells European Commission it will not delay shipment of its new operating system.
10/13/06 06:20 AM, EDT
Software giant Microsoft told the European Commission it will not delay shipping its new Windows operating system, Vista, to Europe, after fears that it might do so because of its regulatory disputes there.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/13/technology/microsoft_eu.reut/index.htm

Tech earnings watch: Apple, IBM, Intel
Expect strong results from the Mac maker, watch for guidance from Armonk and a dip in Santa Clara.
By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer
October 13 2006: 10:10 AM EDT
http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/12/technology/earnings_walkup/index.htm

Flashing the Web
Now that everyone from YouTube to Viacom relies on its software, CEO Bruce Chizen thinks Adobe is ready for its close-up.
By John Battelle, Business 2.0 Magazine contributor
October 6 2006: 3:54 PM EDT
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/10/01/8387108/index.htm

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 16:54:01 GMT

Worst tech of Q3 2006
Worst tech of Q3 2006 read more #7 itunes 7
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11524-6649789.html?tag=nl.e729

By Tim Moynihan (October 11, 2006)
It's been a gangbuster quarter for terrible tech, from exploding batteries to half-hearted upgrades to pretexting scandals and everything in between. Please join us on a lighthearted romp through the worst tech stories and products from the past three months. Then, skedaddle on over to page 2 of this feature and download some free apps that will make you miserable and possibly dumber.
Want to catch up on the worst tech of the entire year? Take a look at our previous top 10 worst tech lists.
• Top 10 worst tech of Q1 2006
http://www.cnet.com/4520-11524_1-6478472-1.html
• Top 10 worst tech of Q2 2006
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11524_7-6548835-1.html

Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS:(dreric1kansas@aol.com)