From a personal finance perspective, I try to avoid any unnecessary recurring expenses. I figure I’m stuck with a cell phone, high speed internet and utility bills for the most part, but things like NetFlix, Premium Cable and Car Payments are things I can live without.
Software as a Service (SaaS) has been talked about for quite [...]
Posts under ‘Commentary’
Microsoft announces Equipt - Office subscription for $70/year
Congratulations Starbucks, now your coffee tastes like McDonalds’
A few weeks back, Starbucks launched their new Pike Place Roast coffee. They advertise it as “Smooth and Bold, made every 30 minutes, all day, every day, just for you“.
Here in Seattle, the Starbucks center of the universe, they’ve been promoting it very heavily. Without coming out and saying it, it seems pretty [...]
Your computer printouts can reveal your identity
Slashdot has a post today about a technology that is embedded in many printers that can actually identify when any given page was printed and, often, the serial number of the printer that printed it.
According to the EFF’s website, the US government was able to convince “some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page [...]
Yahoo rejects Microsoft - Microsoft up $4/share Monday?
If logic prevails, Microsoft stock may be in for quite a rebound on Monday. After announcing an offer to buy Yahoo! for 44.6 Billion on February 1st, Microsoft’s stock went into a steep decline. Ending January 31st at $32.60/share, the stock closed yesterday at $28.56/share, a drop of roughly $4 or ~12%.
Its clear that investors either [...]
Per capita incomes from around the world
I headed over to the International Monetary Fund website last night, trying to find out what the per capita income was for Afghanistan and ended up finding a list of per capita incomes for all the countries that participated in their data collection for 2007. Afghanistan came in at $383 dollars per year. The United States sits [...]
Seattle winters suck - 7 things to help you cope
Requirement #1 to get you through a cold, dark, wet Seattle winter? Coffee. Caffe Appassionatto is roasted locally and served in many of the fine Seattle cafe’s. Looks like Amazon only has three packs, but three bags of coffee for $20 isn’t bad and it’ll be just enough to last you through a Seattle weekend.
Requirement #2 [...]
When 50% growth just isn’t good enough
Yesterday, VMware announced earnings. The company makes virtualization software that can be used to maximize computer hardware by allowing you to run multiple operating systems on a single set of hardware. It can offer additional gains by allowing a company to house all of its hardware in remote locations where rent may be cheaper, power [...]
McDonalds vs Starbucks - its all in the “experience”
With McDonald’s focused effort to enter into direct competition with Starbucks via their “McCafe” concept, I’ve been giving some thought to what that really means to the investors in both companies.
McDonalds is certainly a juggernaut and has nothing to lose by entering into the industry (high margin coffee drinks could greatly increase the average order [...]
Rick Steves for president!
This morning, someone forwarded me a link to Rick Steves’ “Cold in Kyoto and other hot topics” article and, after reading it, I can’t help but feel like the current batch of presidential candidates are missing the boat.
As some of you know, Steves is a well known travel author and tour guide. He’s spent his [...]
Over-consumption: Consumer gluttony or basic requirement?
I was listening to NPR on Friday while heading out for Thanksgiving, round II and heard an interesting argument about Americans’ over-consumption and insatiable appetite for cheaply made imported goods.
Is it true that we Americans are in love with having more, more, more or is there something else going on? The interview was with several folks, [...]