Posted Jun 1st 2008 3:40PM by Douglas McIntyre
Filed under: Forecasts, Industry, AMR Corp (AMR), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
Many institutional funds shy away from stocks that sell below the $5 mark. It is assumed that most low-priced shares are a sign of trouble. In many cases that is true.
As some airlines become small caps, driven down as the price of oil comes up, several could drop below the $5 threshold. That may hinder these stocks from rebounding by eliminating them from some fund portfolios.
It is hard to imagine that AMR's (NYSE: AMR) stock trades at $7.19 and has been as low as $6. That puts the company's market cap at $1.8 billion. Some biotech companies with almost no revenue are worth as much. Delta's (NYSE: DAL) are at $6.15 and its market cap is about the same as AMR's.
Airline stocks are now the province of speculators and day traders. Since some may face Chapter 11, the gamble on owning the stocks is high now.
The shares of these companies have been swept into the dustbin.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Microsoft revs its patent machine
Posted by Ina Fried
Microsoft, which once was only a modest customer of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has been one of its biggest customers in recent years.
In just the past two months, more than 500 applications from the Redmond, Wash., software maker have been published. (That's actually a reflection of how active the company was in mid-2006, since patent applications aren't generally published until 18 months after their filing).
But it's one particular filing that has been grabbing headlines in recent days. That patent covers a means by which a computer that can use factors such as a person's heart rate, blood pressure, and facial expression to take action. The Times newspaper of London posted a story this week noting the "Big Brother" implications such a technology could have, such as notifying an employer if a worker appears stressed or is not being productive.
However, I'm hearing that this patent is more aimed at building a more useful and relevant help system into software than it is at offering a snooping tool for bosses. Of course, you never can tell where a technology will lead, and the patent could cover either or both applications.
Microsoft, which typically does not comment on individual applications, did offer a bit of comment, in the form of a statement from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's vice president of intellectual property and licensing.
"This particular patent application, in general, describes an innovation aimed at improving activity-monitoring systems and uses the monitoring of user heart rate as an example of the kind of physical state that could be monitored to detect when users need assistance with their activities, and to offer assistance by putting them in touch with other users who may be able to help," Gutierrez said. "It is important to keep in mind that with most organizations in the business of innovation, some of our patent applications reflect inventions that are currently present in our products, and other applications represent innovations being developed for potential future use."
Trolling through filings can offer a glimpse of where a company is headed, but as with Apple's closely watched patent filings, seeing something in a patent application is far from a guarantee of what will eventually ship.
Microsoft's patent push is stimulated by a number of factors. One is competition and trying to make sure that Microsoft's rivals don't get access to key innovations. However, the company also began a broad intellectual-property licensing push several years ago, under which it licenses technology to many companies big and small. The company has signed a slew of patent cross-licensing deals since then, the most recent being Tuesday's deal with Japan's JVC.
A number of Microsoft's recently published patent applications cover search and advertising, areas in which Microsoft is investing a lot as it tries to play catch-up with Google. There are so many of these, I'll save them for a separate post, but recent filings cover things such as creating a spot market for video ads, and creating marketing that uses a combination of video and banner advertisements.
Among the other patent filings are hardware designs such as a washable keyboard and a washable mouse. There are other washable designs on the market, including both keyboards and mice.
Another patent covers so-called managed copy, which takes something like a video file or DVD, and uses digital rights management (DRM) to enable people make a copy that can be used on their various digital devices but does not allow unlimited duplication.
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9851948-56.html
Microsoft, which once was only a modest customer of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has been one of its biggest customers in recent years.
In just the past two months, more than 500 applications from the Redmond, Wash., software maker have been published. (That's actually a reflection of how active the company was in mid-2006, since patent applications aren't generally published until 18 months after their filing).
But it's one particular filing that has been grabbing headlines in recent days. That patent covers a means by which a computer that can use factors such as a person's heart rate, blood pressure, and facial expression to take action. The Times newspaper of London posted a story this week noting the "Big Brother" implications such a technology could have, such as notifying an employer if a worker appears stressed or is not being productive.
However, I'm hearing that this patent is more aimed at building a more useful and relevant help system into software than it is at offering a snooping tool for bosses. Of course, you never can tell where a technology will lead, and the patent could cover either or both applications.
Microsoft, which typically does not comment on individual applications, did offer a bit of comment, in the form of a statement from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's vice president of intellectual property and licensing.
"This particular patent application, in general, describes an innovation aimed at improving activity-monitoring systems and uses the monitoring of user heart rate as an example of the kind of physical state that could be monitored to detect when users need assistance with their activities, and to offer assistance by putting them in touch with other users who may be able to help," Gutierrez said. "It is important to keep in mind that with most organizations in the business of innovation, some of our patent applications reflect inventions that are currently present in our products, and other applications represent innovations being developed for potential future use."
Trolling through filings can offer a glimpse of where a company is headed, but as with Apple's closely watched patent filings, seeing something in a patent application is far from a guarantee of what will eventually ship.
Microsoft's patent push is stimulated by a number of factors. One is competition and trying to make sure that Microsoft's rivals don't get access to key innovations. However, the company also began a broad intellectual-property licensing push several years ago, under which it licenses technology to many companies big and small. The company has signed a slew of patent cross-licensing deals since then, the most recent being Tuesday's deal with Japan's JVC.
A number of Microsoft's recently published patent applications cover search and advertising, areas in which Microsoft is investing a lot as it tries to play catch-up with Google. There are so many of these, I'll save them for a separate post, but recent filings cover things such as creating a spot market for video ads, and creating marketing that uses a combination of video and banner advertisements.
Among the other patent filings are hardware designs such as a washable keyboard and a washable mouse. There are other washable designs on the market, including both keyboards and mice.
Another patent covers so-called managed copy, which takes something like a video file or DVD, and uses digital rights management (DRM) to enable people make a copy that can be used on their various digital devices but does not allow unlimited duplication.
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9851948-56.html
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Amazon And Pepsi To Offer Free Music
Amazon.com and Pepsi have teamed up for a new free music cross promotion that will see Pepsi drinkers earn free music with Pepsi purchases.
“Pepsi Stuff” is billed as a “massive collect-and-get program” where “consumers can download the most DRM-free MP3 music available anywhere.” In layman’s terms, drink lots of Pepsi, get DRM free music for free on Amazon.
Starting February 1, Pepsi users must “bank” their points on PepsiStuff.com to redeem them for music on Amazon MP3.
Cross promotions of this kind aren’t new, but it does show the seriousness of Amazon to promote its DRM free music store to a wider audience (Pepsi has previously given away iTunes downloads). It was only 12 months ago that we wrote about the inevitable death of DRM, yet one year later in 2008 the market is now focused on which DRM free music provider comes out on top, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Hopefully the increasingly cut-throat competition will result in downwards pricing pressure as well in the coming months.
Play PC Games on Your PS3...FREE
StreamMyGame Lets You Play PC Games on Your PS3, Reduces Need to Ever Leave Your Couch
We almost did not believe it, but those guys at StreamMyGame have included a video in which they are playing Crysis on their PS3, all streamed from their PC. There is no visible lag, and the resolution is user definable. In short; it looks crisp. Check out the tutorial above, but skip through to the money shot at 07:55, unless you are setting it up, in which case you will need to go through it all. The best thing about all this streaming wizardry?
It is free. That's right; by hitting up the link you are able to get your hands on all the software required. Your PS3 will need to have Linux installed (either Ubuntu or Yellow Dog), and your PC will require Windows Vista or XP. The StreamMyGame Server does the rest, converting the game's video and audio into a "Game Stream" that is then sent across your local network. The device you stream to can be a PC, laptop, PS3 or Linux device. The machine being streamed to does not need a copy of the game installed, but does need the StreamMyGame Player, which is also free.
The CEO, Richard Faria had this to say about the development:
"Playing the latest PC game on the PS3 is now a reality at HD resolution and fast frame-rates. I have a PS3 in my living room and PC in my office and my two kids both have old PCs in their bedrooms. Now we can play games anywhere around the home. StreamMyGame's technology networks the power of a main PC so it can be used to play high end games on other PCs, PS3s and Linux devices".
In the pipelines is remote streaming across high bandwidth broadband connections, as well as Windows Mobile and Android versions. If that does not get your pants wet, we'll have to send Jason in with his dildos (NSFW.) Follow the link to get streaming, and let us know how you get on. [StreamMyGame via Akihabara News]
http://gizmodo.com/344882/streammygame-lets-you-play-pc-games-on-your-ps3-reduces-need-to-ever-leave-your-couch
Monday, January 14, 2008
Car vs. Boeing 777
A Boeing 777 jet and an A1 Grand Prix racer clashed at the Auckland International Airport in New Zealand to see which was the faster machine. The Boeing got a headstart down the runway for the first race, and defeated the A1 handily. When the starting points were equal, however, the A1 emerged as the victor, reaching a top speed of 285 km/h (versus 270 km/h for the Boeing). And is it just me, or does watching this news piece give you a strange urge to watch Flight of the Conchords? [TV New Zealand via Jalopnik]
http://gizmodo.com/344354/a1-racer-beats-boeing-777-in-runway-showdown
Google betting big on mobile market--and Apple
January 14, 2008 3:00 AM PST
Google betting big on mobile market--and Apple
Posted by Elinor Mills
Vic Gundotra, vice president of mobile and developer at Google, shows of the new user interface of Google Web apps for the iPhone being unveiled at MacWorld on Monday.
(Credit: Google)
On Christmas Day thousands of people opened up boxes with something cool and functional inside and wasted no time logging onto Google.com through their brand new iPhones.
As a result of those gifts, the number of global queries to Google's search site from iPhones surpassed the number of queries from people using market-leading Symbian-based phones for the first time. Google calls it the "Christmas cross-over."
That is huge given the fact that the number of iPhone units shipped is tiny compared to the number of Symbian-based phones out there. The cross-over only lasted a few days or so, but it shows the impact the iPhone is having on the telecom industry and provides a glimpse into its future market potential for the Web.
"It's about usage, not just units," Vic Gundotra, vice president of mobile and developer at Google, said in a recent interview with CNET News.com. "The data proves that people are using the browser on the iPhone."
The iPhone revolutionized the industry by making it easy and affordable to use the Web on a cell phone, he says. Google is offering Web apps written for the iPhone browser that bring the PC experience to the mobile device, he says.
On Monday--the first day of MacWorld, Google plans to unveil a new user interface for its iPhone Web apps that make Gmail, search, Reader, Calendar, Picasa and other services faster to use and more customizable. It also has optimized iGoogle for the iPhone.
Now, new e-mail messages automatically show up so you don't need to hit refresh, messages can arrive in 25 seconds or less and auto-complete makes composing an e-mail faster. Calendar offers a month-at-a-glance view that isn't yet offered on the desktop. Your favorite apps are in tabs at the top of the screen and they can be switched around.
"This app will work great on Android," Google's mobile software platform launched in November, says Gundotra.
What's next? Will more Google apps join YouTube and Google Maps on the iPhone's home screen that shows up when the device is first turned on?
Gundotra smiles mischievously.
"One thing that bothers me is that (mobile) apps don't work offline," he says when prodded.
Given that Google launched Google Gears, which allows people to work on their Web apps even when they are not connected to the Internet, last May it's likely they'll have something similar for mobile soon.
Netflix to loosen restrictions on internet viewing option
Netflix to loosen restrictions on internet viewing option
Posted Jan 13th 2008 10:13PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Granted, there are some out there who've been dodging the whole "limitation" aspect of Netflix's Watch Instantly feature for a good while, but for the honest, upstanding citizens abiding by the rules, things are (seemingly) about to change for the better. According to a recent report from the AP, Netflix is gearing up to banish the time limits for online streaming on all but its el cheapo $4.99 plan, meaning that subscribers to every other plan will be able to watch online content as much as they'd like. In case you haven't connected the dots quite yet, it's being suggested that the move will be made to fend off the looming competition from Cupertino, and while this would undoubtedly increase costs, it doesn't seem as if the firm plans on hiking rates (at least initially) to compensate. Now that's a change we can live with.
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