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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from CalEden on 2:49 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
DD, then this hysteria and speculation presents a buying opportunity
Yes, it does - the dip to the low 80s was fortuitous. It will dip lower, though, I'm sure.
Quote: from CalEden on 2:49 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
Perhaps if Jobs had allowed Steven Wozniak to return to Apple there would have been an palatable transition.
It would help if you know what you are talking about:
- Wozniak never left Apple. He continues to be on the payroll, as employee #2, and maintains an office. He just doesn't do much of anything, particularly not since his aircraft accident and amnesia in 1981. He ended his involvement with Apple, on his terms, in 1987, but still remains an employee, and holds tons of stock.
Bringing him 'back' to Apple would achieve nothing, as Wozniak lacks all of the qualities that make Steve Jobs the success that he is. ALL of them.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:14 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from Buttman 007 on 3:04 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
But I do find fault with Apple being elusive and misleading about his health. One's health is a private matter, but not when you're the CEO of a publically-traded company.
Here's the problem - privacy laws do not allow a company to release an employee's medical information, without the employee's consent.
If Steve does not want any information beyond what he releases, released, there is little Apple can do. Some might claim that he is denial, some might claim that he is irresponsible for not 'coming clean'.
Clearly, Apple can not violate the laws - although at the same time, Apple has been doing well, regardless of what condition Steve has been in.
Personally, I am gratified that he has made his health condition his #1 priority (or rather, that his doctors have) and that he will be taking 5 months off from Apple in order to focus and prioritize on his health.
The common consensus is that it is NOT his cancer having returned, but something related to the Whipple Procedure he underwent - which can be anything from a failing or leaking pancreas (hence not getting the needed digestive enzymes) to malfunctions of related organs and his digestive mechanisms (and if you have a failing digestive mechanism, it's not a fun experience from what I hear, which might contribute to why he doesn't want public scrutiny - as well as explaining the Joe Nocera comments).
As such, I am quite certain the we'll hear from Jobs by June (well, really, july), and that whatever he has is a treatable condition.
Either way, Apple will continue to function during the next 5 months, as there are a number of new and refreshed products that are waiting in the pipeline, and that will do extremely well, while hosing the competition further (still time to sell RIM short, and I doubt Palm will gain much upwards momentum).
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 4:21 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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DaffyDuck
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The Battle of Smartphones
With RIM's release of the Blackberry STORM, and Palm's release of their 'Pre' platform and Web OS, many believe that the iPhone has finally met its match - but what they fail to realize is that these new platforms and smartphone models only lead to internecine war amongst all the other rivals - RIM, Palm, Nokia, Samsung, HTC.
RIM apparently believe to make headway with a device that lacks WiFi, and is restricted to only one carrier (hey, it worked for iPhone), as well as incomplete software and a terrible implementation of a Touch screen OS.
Nokia seems to be in the same boat, restricting their touch screen entry to obscure Pacific Rim markets.
HTC is doing fine, as they mostly manufacture products for others, even though those are Windows Media mobiles. Samsung's marriage to Sprint was stillborn from the beginning.
Notice how I left out the Google G1 (and other Google phones) as that fight is uniquely with Windows Media (despite what illiterate pundits would have you believe), since the Google mobile OS is designed to run on devices originally designed for Windows Mobile.
So, the way this will play out is that iPhone will continue expanding its market share, and any slowdown towards the end of that growth curve will be offset with new models, new operating system features, and eventually opening up iPhone to other carriers (in about 2-3 years, whenever LTE becomes ubiquitous).
In the meantime, the rest of the smartphone platforms will be cannibalizing each other, with whatever victor remaining in a humble, minority marketshare position, sharing the bottom of that trough with the others, licking their wounds.
In the meantime, market analysts will continue to advise caution about AAPL underperformance of their unrealistic expectations, and the stock will hover around some mark that is deemed highly disappointing by the analysts.
snpark will continue making uninformed comments about my stock holdings, and I will have bought some beachfront property - or something like that...
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:20 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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bkkz
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Test of marketing as iPhone 3G mobile phones make their debut
Source: The Nation
True Move's iPhone 3G mobile phones, which made their debut last Friday, got an overwhelming welcome from businessmen to hi-so people but it remains to be seen if True Move can meet the sales target.
True Move executives showed mixed feelings of happiness and anxiety when not only those pre-registered for the phones went to pick up the devices at the launch event in Siam Paragon's Royal Paragon Hall, but also shoppers in the mall, who rushed to register and wait for the phones.
This prompted True Move's chief executive Supachai Chearavanont to hurry to check if the availability of the iPhone 3G at the event is enough to serve the unexpectedly long queue, of enthusiastic teenagers to businessmen.
Tech geeks, who registered for the phones since last December could pick up the devices from last Friday until today.
One woman in the queue said she picked up the phone for her sister.
"My sister told me that someone had reserved the phone for her and wanted to give it to her as a birthday gift," she added.
True Move even set up a gift- wrapping booth in the hall, in anticipation that many people would buy the devices as a present. A "Learn" room was also set up for those who had the phones to learn about iPhone 3G phone applications from True Move staff.
One high-society woman said she could not wait any longer in the long queue and would call her housemaid to come and stand in her place.
A businessman named Krit Jiramongkol, who said he is an Apple fan, was the first person in the queue. He arrived at the venue at 3.30pm on Friday, well ahead of the launch time of 8pm. The reward for being the first in the queue was he was given the iPhone 3G accessories by Supachai himself, including the T-shirt, which had the words 'I Got the First iPhone 3G by True Move'.
The first group of people in the queue were welcomed by continuous applause from 500 True Move staff when they were led to their seats in the phone receiving area.
"We studied the iPhone 3G launch ceremonies in many countries and applied them to our own style," said one True Move executive. But he was silent on the number of people pre-registered for the phones.
A telecom industry source said True Move had committed with Apple to sell around 100,000 iPhone 3G mobile phones per year for three years but True Move executives declined to confirm the report. True Move was in talks with Apple for more than three months to become the authorised cellular service provider for the iPhone 3G in Thailand.
True Move will start retailing the devices at its shops on February 16 and will initially spend Bt50 million on the phone-marketing campaign. Supachai said the company spent Bt20 million on developing the applications for the phones.
True Move has offered several iPhone 3G mobile-phone packages - some are tied in with a monthly fee.
Industry observers said those who buy the phones with no tied-in monthly fee, will sign up with different networks. But Supachai believes they would sign up with True Move for better mobile applications and after-sale services.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 5:31 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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tezza
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So Apples #1 employee (Stevie) has gone AWOL for 6 months & refuses to come clean about his health issues. How can a CEO be allowed to withhold information that has such an influence on shareprice? Don’t give me that crap about employee privacy laws. The board should sack the twit
Der Ducky says Apples #2 employee (Wozniak) “doesn't do much of anything, particularly not since his aircraft accident and amnesia in 1981”.  Now that's funny
Who’s their #3 employee...Bonzo the Chimpanzee??
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 7:31 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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FIB
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Quote: from DaffyDuck on 9:23 pm on Jan. 15, 2009
The big question is - is it unlocked?
Since TRUE currently has the exclusive, I think it may be carrier locked to TRUE for the time being - but find out what their unlocking policy is.
Not sure if that's been answered already, but I'm told it's unlocked.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:18 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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DaffyDuck
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Quote: from bkkz on 6:31 am on Jan. 19, 2009
One high-society woman said she could not wait any longer in the long queue and would call her housemaid to come and stand in her place.
Classic - it's like 'miniature scenes from Bangkok society'
Quote: from bkkz on 6:31 am on Jan. 19, 2009
Supachai said the company spent Bt20 million on developing the applications for the phones.
Holy shit! someone made some tea money -- that's nearly $100,000 per application, and considering that two of their applications are terribly redundant and similar (i.e. only required specifying a different data stream), they seriously got ripped off, or Supachai buffered his retirement fund.
Quote: from FIB on 10:18 am on Jan. 19, 2009
Not sure if that's been answered already, but I'm told it's unlocked.
Seems to be applied in that article as they were talking about concerns that users will sign up with other carriers when buying the unlocked version at full prices.
The greatest news, in my opinion, is that even the most expensive variant of iPhone, in unlocked version, costs less than iPhones used to retail for at MBK before (26K to 28K THB), and when bundled with a plan, costs a lot less and is affordable to the regular Thai (well, Bangkokian, middle class Thai, at least).
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:41 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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Mr Alan
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Wozniak was not the #2 employee at Apple. He was co-founder of the company with Jobs. Wozniak created the Apple 1 and Apple II computers, and Jobs did the marketing and management stuff.
The reason why Wozniak is not brought in to manage Apple is that he is not a manager. It has nothing to do with the plane crash.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:16 pm on Jan. 18, 2009
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DaffyDuck
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http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/9997/too-hot-to-handle
iPhone launch only highlights woeful state of local 3G services
By: Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn and Komsan Tortermvasana
The long-awaited iPhone 3G has finally arrived in Thailand, with the third-ranked mobile operator True Move staging a gala launch that drew thousands of people.
The iconic handset revolutionised the user interface by replacing most keystrokes normally required with taps and drags on its touchscreen. As a result, users can quickly manage their e-mail or search content.
Finding and downloading a song on the iPhone are also a snap and at least three times faster than the same exercise through a network operator's portal, thanks to the much faster data speed of the third-generation (3G) standard.
But despite its high appeal, the iPhone 3G has raised some interesting questions, including how many Thai users can take full advantage of its rich features.
Or more to the point: Does Thailand have the 3G mobile broadband services available to accommodate the popular enriched data-enabled smartphone?
Besides, given its steep price tag, another question arises: Does the iPhone make sense for consumers and operators in Thailand, where voice calls dominate mobile use?
Top executives at rival companies are watching coolly as the third-ranked operator attempts to promote the iPhone.
They say the device was designed primarily to deliver rich content so its basic phone functions are relatively poor.
But in Thailand, data traffic is only 10% of mobile operators' revenue.
One executive said: "Imagine using the iPhone for data on WiFi or GPRS, and not on 3G. Why do people need to pay such high prices for a handset when they cannot take full advantage of the features it has to offer?"
The two largest operators, Advanced Info Service (AIS) and DTAC, decided last year to scale down their investment on 3G network upgrades in light of the flagging economy and shrinking consumer spending.
For an average consumer, it may not make much sense to pay more than 25,000 baht for an iPhone 3G when the most he can get from any operator in the foreseeable future is 2.5G speed.
The same could be said for the local operators. In exchange for the right to distribute the much sought-after handset, Apple asked True Move and DTAC to each commit to 300,000 units within three years and AIS 400,000 units.
The executive said the inventory costs would be massive. For example, True Move is required to set aside 7.5 billion baht for the quota it got.
Add that to the fact that the deal is not exclusive and up to one million iPhones could be pushed into the Thai market this year, and the prospect of a big profit could be elusive at best.
Since its US launch, fewer than 100,000 units of smuggled or grey-market iPhones have been sold each year in Thailand.
Another telecom source said AIS's decision to temporarily suspend its talks with Apple about marketing the phone in Thailand made economic sense.
He said that not only did AIS need to shoulder a huge inventory cost, it would face intense competition now that a large number of touch-screen handsets, both 2G and 3G capable, were on the market.
The competition could bring iPhone prices down significantly, especially now that the global leader Nokia has jumped onto the touch-screen bandwagon.
An industry source said True Move had received lukewarm response due to the iPhone's high price, with only 5,000 customers making advance reservations online. True Move did not provide sales figures but it extended its launch party at Siam Paragon to midnight on Friday to accommodate the big crowd.
True Move is offering a series of promotional tariff packages together with the subsidised handset, which can be paid in interest-free instalments. Starting from a monthly payment of 1,399 baht for 24 months (33,576 baht total), the package would include phone calls, SMS and data downloading over WiFi.
To push demand, True Move has brought down its iPhone prices by offering the 8GB model at 23,275 baht and the 16GB model at 27,075 baht.
With the promotion, postpaid customers - of True fixed-line phones, dial-up and high-speed broadband internet, mobile phone, PCT and TrueVisions pay TV - are required to sign up for the service for 12 months with a monthly payment of 599 baht for unlimited usage of WiFi, Edge and GPRS. The package also includes 300 minutes of phone calls plus 300 SMS messages.
Customers who purchase iPhone 3G handsets alone will have to pay 24,500 and 28,500 baht, respectively.
The source said the revised packages had attracted about 3,000 customers to buy the handsets without signing up for True services.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 2:34 am on Jan. 19, 2009
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DaffyDuck
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Well, there you have it -- the deal, as stated in the article above, is NOT exclusive:
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Add that to the fact that the deal is not exclusive and up to one million iPhones could be pushed into the Thai market this year, and the prospect of a big profit could be elusive at best.
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Since TRUE is not committing to pushing these additional 900,000 iPhones into the market, I will assume that the remainder will be available via Apple Centres and various store affiliates, if not even Apple's Online Store in Thailand (albeit not yet listed for sale on the Thai Apple Store page).
All of it pretty good news -- though not sure where they are pulling that 1 million iPhones number from, if earlier estimates placed only 300,000 grey market phones sold per year....
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:40 am on Jan. 19, 2009
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