Apple insider reports that American Technology analyst Shaw Wu believes that Apple and AT&T are considering offering a $50-$150 rebate or subsidy on the upcoming Apple iPhone.
"We are hearing rebates of $50-150 that will be offered by AT&T to lower the price points for iPhone (currently $499 for 4 GB and $599 for 8 GB) and to entice customers to sign longer term voice and data contracts," the analyst wrote. "From AT&T's perspective, a rebate is a great marketing tool and small sacrifice to make to entice a customer to sign up for 2-year voice and data cell phone plans that cost about $75-100 per month (before taxes and fees), meaning $1800-2400 in 'guaranteed' bi-annual revenue."
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Why Google spent $3.1 billion on DoubleClick
Google's deal to buy DoubleClick for $3.1 billion (£1.65 billion) is fascinating on a number of levels, and since I don't have a single unifying interpretation of it all I'll just dive right into the specifics.
There is, first of all, the price. At $3.1 billion, DoubleClick was acquired for an extraordinary ten times revenues, and the private equity firm that bought the company just two years ago made at least three times its money. DoubleClick was an early warhorse of the internet but always seemed to be falling short of its potential. Its stock price was stagnant even as the Web 2.0 bubble began to inflate, which was what enabled the private equity buyout to begin with.
So why the huge premium now? Google wanted to keep the company out of the hands of Microsoft or Yahoo!, and it genuinely wanted and needed DoubleClick to give it a foothold in internet display advertising. And, perhaps most importantly, the company is taking the view that it might as well use its cash pile to acquire long-term market position, even if the numbers make no sense from a traditional return-on-capital point of view. That's a very unusual posture: Microsoft, when it was in a similar position in the 1990s, never acted like that, and instead ultimately returned cash to shareholders.
There is, first of all, the price. At $3.1 billion, DoubleClick was acquired for an extraordinary ten times revenues, and the private equity firm that bought the company just two years ago made at least three times its money. DoubleClick was an early warhorse of the internet but always seemed to be falling short of its potential. Its stock price was stagnant even as the Web 2.0 bubble began to inflate, which was what enabled the private equity buyout to begin with.
So why the huge premium now? Google wanted to keep the company out of the hands of Microsoft or Yahoo!, and it genuinely wanted and needed DoubleClick to give it a foothold in internet display advertising. And, perhaps most importantly, the company is taking the view that it might as well use its cash pile to acquire long-term market position, even if the numbers make no sense from a traditional return-on-capital point of view. That's a very unusual posture: Microsoft, when it was in a similar position in the 1990s, never acted like that, and instead ultimately returned cash to shareholders.
Update: BlackBerry service hit by widespread outage in U.S.
Problems began last night on the West Coast
The BlackBerry wireless e-mail service from Research In Motion Ltd. appears to have suffered a widespread outage that started last night in the U.S.
Customers on the BlackBerry Forums discussion board complained of having no service starting at about 5.15 p.m. PDT yesterday.
Callers to the BlackBerry U.S. technical support line were still greeted with the following message early this morning: "We are currently experiencing a service interruption that is causing delays in sending or receiving messages. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide updates as soon as they become available."
New York television news channel NewsChannel4 reported last night that the problem affected "all users in the Western hemisphere."
However, comments from operators in Asia and Europe, as well as postings to the BlackBerry Forums, suggested that the problem may be limited to North America.
"Officials with RIM said they are trying to reset the system and told NewsChannel4 that they are concerned that the backlog of data, which will rush through when it comes back on line, could cause a bigger problem," the news channel reported on its Web site.
RIM officials advised people who use Blackberry as a major way of communications to make back-up plans, the channel reported.
A RIM official contacted in France was unaware of the problems, and said she had received messages sent to her BlackBerry as normal. Other RIM officials did not return calls seeking comment.
The BlackBerry wireless e-mail service from Research In Motion Ltd. appears to have suffered a widespread outage that started last night in the U.S.
Customers on the BlackBerry Forums discussion board complained of having no service starting at about 5.15 p.m. PDT yesterday.
Callers to the BlackBerry U.S. technical support line were still greeted with the following message early this morning: "We are currently experiencing a service interruption that is causing delays in sending or receiving messages. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide updates as soon as they become available."
New York television news channel NewsChannel4 reported last night that the problem affected "all users in the Western hemisphere."
However, comments from operators in Asia and Europe, as well as postings to the BlackBerry Forums, suggested that the problem may be limited to North America.
"Officials with RIM said they are trying to reset the system and told NewsChannel4 that they are concerned that the backlog of data, which will rush through when it comes back on line, could cause a bigger problem," the news channel reported on its Web site.
RIM officials advised people who use Blackberry as a major way of communications to make back-up plans, the channel reported.
A RIM official contacted in France was unaware of the problems, and said she had received messages sent to her BlackBerry as normal. Other RIM officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Google Buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion
Google reached an agreement today to acquire DoubleClick, the online advertising company, from two private equity firms for $3.1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the deal.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Apple delays Leopard release until October
Apple Inc. on Thursday conceded that it will be unable to release its next generation operating system in June as previously planned and now says it anticipates launching the software in October.
In a statement released after the close of the stock market, Apple said its highly anticipated iPhone handset has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned.
"We can't wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is," Apple said. "However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price -- we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned."
While Leopard's features will be complete by June, the Cupertino-based company said it cannot deliver the quality release expected by its customers within that time. Apple now plans to show its developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship the software in October.
"We think it will be well worth the wait," the company added. "Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones."
In a statement released after the close of the stock market, Apple said its highly anticipated iPhone handset has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned.
"We can't wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is," Apple said. "However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price -- we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned."
While Leopard's features will be complete by June, the Cupertino-based company said it cannot deliver the quality release expected by its customers within that time. Apple now plans to show its developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship the software in October.
"We think it will be well worth the wait," the company added. "Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Big Apple Voters Are Souring On Giuliani
Rudolph Giuliani isn't feeling the love from the city he once served, based on the results of an exclusive NY1 poll released Wednesday.
The poll shows that the Republican presidential candidate is better liked by New Yorkers who do not live in the five boroughs, than those who do.
“He does a lot better outside the city than inside the city,” says NY1 pollster Mickey Blum.
The poll shows that 55 percent of voters statewide have a favorable opinion of the former mayor, while 32 percent do not and 13 percent are undecided.
In New York City, however, only 44 percent have a favorable opinion of Giuliani, while 46 percent think unfavorably about him.
In his eight years in office Giuliani had a tense relationship with communities of color, and it shows in the poll. Only 15 percent of black voters rate him favorably.
Imus Fired !!!!
CBS Terminates Long-Time Radio Host Over Racial
CommentsFollowing outcry from public officials, civil rights leaders and advertisers, CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show this afternoon, in a final blow for the broadcaster who called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" last week.
"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."
Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton met with CBS executives earlier today to demand them pull the plug on Imus completely because of the controversial comments.
It's not clear if the meeting is what pushed the network to terminate Imus' show. The shock jock's show was syndicated nationally on Westwood One, which is owned by CBS.
"This is not about bringing Imus down, it's about lifting people up. CBS has as its symbol this eye. So far when it came to racism they blinked,” said Sharpton on his way to the meeting. “We gonna march until we get that eye open for justice."
Sharpton said he was planning a rally for Saturday, adding that he would sooner go to jail than back down from an issue he felt passionately about.
Gov. Schwarzenegger in NYC TODAY
Governor Schwarzenegger WAS SPOTTED TODAY GOING INTO Barney's clothing store on 61st and Madison ave. around 2pm. With a full squard of secret service agents.He was getting out of his SUV, and buying a suit.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Imus NOT In the Morning
WHAT DID HE DO NOW ?.....
OH IMUS YOU SILLY DOG YOU....
CBS Radio and MSNBC both said they were suspending Don Imus' morning talk show for two weeks following his inappropriate comments about members of the Rutgers women's basketball team.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Clearing Air in Spring Training Puts A-Rod in a ‘Good Place’
Alex Rodriguez said he figured the ninth inning would come down to his at-bat yesterday because, with the Yankees, almost everything seems to revolve around him. Rodriguez cannot avoid being a story, even when he is not a story and even when he is desperately trying to avoid being a story.
There is always another wrinkle with Rodriguez, a player who is both fascinating and frustrating. Is Rodriguez friends with Derek Jeter? Will he opt out of the last three years of his contract after the season? Can he hit in the clutch? Will the fans embrace him? The Rodriguez chronicles operate on a 24-7 cycle.
But for one glorious day at Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez was the only story, and he was thrilled to be in that position. He hammered a two-out, two-strike grand slam in the bottom of the ninth into the black bleacher seats behind center field to catapult the Yankees past the Baltimore Orioles, 10-7.
A-ROD is the Man....homers in the bottom of 9th !!!!!
Alex Rodriguez slapped his hands as he rounded first base yesterday afternoon and then nearly plowed into the third-base coach Larry Bowa as he rounded third. Before touching home plate, he heaved his batting helmet toward the sky, a smile on his face every step of the way.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Back From Vacation in Las Vegas AREA!!!
Wondering where i was ?....been on vacation out in Pahrump ,Nevada about 1/2 way between Death Vally and Las Vegas i would say about 60 miles away. A great little town of 40,000 and growing with the expansion of Las Vegas.Plenty of open space and of course you get that great Nevada weather.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Want a Good Greek restaurant in Astoria,NY
Check out: Taverna Kyclades in Astoria 33-07 Ditmars Blvd at 33st. phone 718 5458666
This restaurant had always appealed to me, just from walking by.
I am born and raise in Astoria , so i know my food here.As a kid i use to play in the garden behind it, when there was nothing there.
There's an indoor section and a section that's outdoor in the summer, and enclosed in the winter. It's filled with grape vines and looks very inviting. Now that I was eating what was on the menu, I decided to try this place out.The menu focused on seafood, though there were other options. Sadly, no haloumi, but they did have a lovely fried cheese dish that we got as an appetizer. I got the Salmon Steak as my entree.Very tasty, but the portions were huge. Definitely a good deal for their moderate price. I will be enjoying that salmon for the rest of week.
New mail boxes for NYC... Star Wars ????
Has anyone seen these boxes around town?
They seem to be popping up everwhere these days in New York City
well here is the story:
Coming to a Manhattan streetcorner near you - and a select few in the other four boroughs - a "Star Wars"-themed letter box in the form of lovable R2-D2.
Overnight, two dozen boxes were to get a robotic makeover as part of a gimmick to promote a new stamp out March 28.
In a news release, the Postal Service likened itself to the feisty little droid, boldly declaring that R2 "embodies the trust and dependability for which the Postal Service is so renowned."
The R2-D2 boxes will pop up in 200 cities nationwide. In New York, most will be in high-traffic areas in Manhattan, like 43rd St. and Broadway, 58th St. and Fifth Ave., and 33rd St. and Seventh Ave.
"It's a little teaser for the upcoming announcement, and we decided to have a little fun with it," said Anita Bizzotto, the post office's chief marketing officer.
While postal officials want the public to make full use of the boxes, Bizzotto urged folks not to tamper with them - noting that's a crime. Hear that, crazed "Star Wars" fans?
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