Jester,
The idea that anybody would want to buy AMD is close to absurd,
given that they're competing against Nvidia on one hand and
INTC on the other, and getting badly banged on both end. They
weren't doing so well when they bought out (who was it? Videocard
company, Canadian I think, can't recall the name), and things
haven't gotten better. Their next-gen videocard *better* be
competitive with Nvidia, as they're playing catch-up with them, as
AMD is struggling to include features NVDA is aready bringing to
the table.
MS does seem to be the 'whipping boy' for rumours of buy-outs
for other companies ERTS, AMD you name it. May buyout Kellogs, as
they require that you put in a cereal number anytime you even
*think* about using their software. Last night I spent several
hours logged in as the Administrator on a machine running Vista
(yeah, I know, act of stupidity but I'm 'married' to that machine),
first it said that my 'password had expired' (what?), and after I
resolved that, it refused to give me access to everything including
the C:\ drive. I once more re-visited reading their byzantine rules
on taking possession of an object, and it was no more
comprehensable than the last time I tried to grok it. Yes, I know
user accounts on Vista was aimed at security for corporate
customers and IT professionals, but that it never occurred to MSFT
that the huge majority of the home user-base couldn't possibly
understand that system is just mind boggling. Talk about 'insulated
from reality': I'm sure the programmers thought understand that was
a cinch. And when MS releases a 'beta' version of the next OS
that's free to try, it's hard to imagine that the average Joe signs
up. Do they ever take 'normal' people and see if the software is
comprehensible to them? I wonder.
It will be interesting to see what the market does when the Fed
does take away the punch bowl, and it has to stand on its own
merits.
On other fronts, I read a story yesterday, after one of the
regulatory agencies approved the ALU-NOK deal, that Goldman put one
of them on their 'conviction buy' list. Ah, yes, my memory come
back, it was NOK, because their CC showed decent results. I'm
conflicted about ALU - I want a *lot* more shares than I'm holding,
but I simply can't tell where to dig in and buy. On the one hand,
given that it has appreciated from $3.06 (and I only bought a bit
at $3.27) is painful, but if we get a market upset it may revisit
that. On the other hand, looking out long term, even at ~$3.50, one
can consider that a pretty decent price. Not sure which way to go
so I may sit on my hands for a bit.
0
0
