Today I bought my first Windows 8 desktop PC

September 9, 2013 10:16 finds me writing this entry because I am more excited than I thought I would be about this moment. Allow me to go back, I have been pacing about a new computer purchase so I can be productive while I apply for state jobs in Sacramento.

I have been to Fry's, then Best Buy, each twice three weeks apart. I had given up for the time being for lack of a qualified candidate. Duel-core processor, 6-8 GB of ram and 1T of memory, all for a price I feel comfortable paying at this time. Those two store could not keep me interested -- Best Buy was close with a price at $499. Didn't feel it, though, with some upcoming auto maintenance and limited resources.

I happened upon Office Depot while passing the time to pick up a friend from school. I found the machine I had been looking for, at a price I could not walk away from: $299. It was the computer powering the display monitors. I got it on the cheap and made a good computer contact with the IT-sales guy in the store.

Here I am, a computer and no monitor. Oh well, I got a great deal and I will have to save up for the monitor is no problem. I'm game; because, I got a great deal on this tower with AMD A-6 processor. I take my friend home and talk about the computer purchase and my subsequent monitor-problem. Turns out her brother has an extra monitor and gives it to me for keeps!

So I set it up and realized I got the HDMI cable but no power cable. But that ain't a problem for a musician like me. I have cords at that voltage already. Boom, headphones connected and the race is on.

I am the first in my family to run Windows 8.

I am the first NOT to delete the stuff I need on the computer:

                AMD Catalyst Install Manager

                Bonjour

                HP Connected Remote

                IDT Audio

                Microsoft SkyDrive

                Microsoft SQL Server

                Microsoft C++ (multiple apps)

                Wi-Fi Adapter

I am the first to figure out how to delete all the crap that is pre-installed...

                Clear Desktop of shortcuts

                CyberLink Corp. (multiple apps)

                HP (multiple apps)

                Norton Internet Security

                Wild Tangent Games

This process is time consuming yet productive. I am not multi-tasking, except on my iPhone to write this entry in real-time as I experience the excitement of my first Windows 8 experience. The final uninstall was Symantec, which also required a re-boot. Total efficiency; and, the Giants won their second extra-innings walk-off in a row. Today was a good day.

Got connected to Wi-Fi. I nearly forgot about that stage. The last time I had a desktop PC and needed to connect to the Internet was in high school at my house in Southern California. That particular computer shared a hard-line with our home telephone. 

Made some tiles smaller, unpinned, and uninstalled programs. My new monitor does not have a camera, but I found out how to get out of a program and back to the tiles. First thing I do is play Solitaire...

Microsoft requires an account I am not in the mood to set up right now. Since I unpinned Internet Explorer, I have to figure out a way to get on the Internet, download Chrome and pin it to my start screen.

 I used Bing, I found its tile. However, when searching from Bing, your web browser is IE. Default is now Chrome, I wonder if I search on Bing and have the search open in Chrome? I prefer Chrome as my default browser -- I like that we have choice in America.

The programs the Microsoft has created are glich-prone and crash more often than I care to keep track of. Though I am generally pleased with the way content is presented. I don't believe I would be as aware of the crashing if I did not use them as often as I do. 

About the apps that load sports, news, and financial data, I do not like that I have no way to access the article through the app if I want to keep the link as a source or archive the article. And, the new app interface and the desktop do not work well together. Like, I can't be reading a story on the Finance app and simultaneously be jotting notes on Microsoft Word via the desktop.

I have no other complaints or comments. Some consumers and IT professionals do not like Windows 8, it doesn't bother me more than the few things I mentioned above. We will get used to it or buy another operating system. I give Windows 8 a neutral rating. 

CSUS Food Day 2011 Poster

Obama - Jobs Speech

I am posting the speech President Obama made at the passing of Steve Jobs, October 5th, 2011.


"Following the loss of visionary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, President Obama released this statement:
Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.
By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.
The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.

The passing of Jobs has had a worldwide effect on everybody. Daring Fireball's John Gruber has posted some great material on Jobs (as well as Apple and Macintosh), especially to honor and remember Jobs.

My aunt got my family a Macintosh computer when I was in fifth grade, that would have been 1994 or 1995, and I remember a lot about it still. It had some program installed that showed two folders, Applications and Documents. The main desktop was locked with a password, and only the Parents had access. We had Kid Pics, Oregon Trail, Mavis Beacon, and a football game where the player could customize his or her team. Those were a lot of fun. My high school had all Macs, the box-shaped, multi-colored series. Before I knew what "it" was with Macintosh, I got it.

My first laptop was an iBook,running the first version of OS X. I didn't realize at the time I needed to upgrade to the new feline operating systems until I was two OS's behind. My old iBook makes for a great jukebox! I also had the second generation white iPod. The black one was just made available for the first time, but white seemed better, more hip, somehow. My father was with me at the time (he is kinda doft), and he questioned my rational for buying Apple products. Though I could not quite express what it was, intuitively Apple products were far superior, and the natural choice.

There has been much written about Jobs' impact on our world - it's true. For the first time in my life, I feel very much compelled to join up with the masses and push the good vibe that is, and always will be, Steve Jobs. I am taking Values, Ethics and Society this semester and all I have been reading about are the crooks who rob from Americans under the guise of free markets. Steve Jobs possessed unquestionable integrity, but not because he sought to be ethical, but because he was.

I read on Daring Fireball Jobs only hired a marketing manager one time at Apple, and that was to see what another company,Compaq or Dell, did wrong. I will save my opinions on marketing for a future post; however, if I could personify Marketing into a tangible person, I would choke that person to death. For this reason, I will probably never be as influential as Jobs, but it sure would feel great."

Mr. Jobs, where ever you are, I will spark my next doobie for you!

Double Soy Sesame No Whip Add Avocado

I have been reading a lot about the merger and acquisition (M&A) division of many financial firms and the more aggressive sounding name for a similar part of a company, Leveraged Buy-Outs (LBO). I am all about world peace, multiculturalism, and equality of opportunity, etc. But when it comes to business, companies are not charities. I want to know more about how to create a successful LBO of another company; because, it is my opinion that Starbucks (SBUX) and Noah’s Bagels (BAGL) should become one company, exploiting the best aspects of each company to bring a better service to customers.

I worked for Starbucks a few years ago and was not really impressed with the corporate culture that it had developed for itself, so I quit. Recently Starbucks began to sell food they can heat up for customers in a really big convection oven. I have not tasted any of it, fortunately for me all the selections are non-vegetarian so I haven’t even been tempted, but I can tell it is all crap. Moreover, walking into the store used to be somewhat pleasant because I like coffee; now, it smells so bad inside that I want to sick up from the food being sold.

On the other hand, the bagels at Noah’s are really great. There is a good selection of smears (cheese creams) and there is a big selection of bagels made fresh with all sorts of good other toppings and combinations for making the bagel experience even more tasty. Yet the coffee brewed at Noah’s not only leaves something to be desired, but makes me question my affection for coffee altogether. This is where being a consumer becomes a challenge, and I don’t want to be challenged when I am gladly giving away what little money I have.

The problem with a LBO with these two companies is that Noah’s is in the red this year and has owners who would see positive cash flows only if Starbucks bought the bagel company. At this point, we would be looking at a merger and/or acquisition of Noah’s by Starbucks. This product-extension merger for Starbucks is what was supposed to happen when the breakfast food was introduced, but failed miserably, I avoid Starbucks completely because of the terrible smell that is a bad mixture of coffee, cardboard and reheated egg.

To make a sound merge decision, a key figure is a Price Earnings Ratio, Noah’s has a P/E of 2.76, meaning that investors are willing to pay less than $3 for each $1 in earnings. A very low number when compared other companies in the industry. Krispy Kreme (KKD), for example, has a P/E ratio of 80, Starbucks’ is 26, Panera Bread Company (PNRA) has a P/E of almost 30. There are other figures to consider, but just looking at the balance sheet for each company will reveal Starbucks has over 25 times the dollar amount of assets of Noah’s. Just to be clear for the mathematically challenged: Noah’s total assets are $200,000 while the total assets for Starbucks is $5.5 million.

While I am interested in finance, I can still think in terms of business and economies of scale. It would not be efficient, nor very practical to make the bagels inside the Starbucks coffee stores. There would need to be just a few adjustments to the business of each company to make everything run well enough to provide the customers with exceptional goods and services. Some may question my irritation of having to go to one store for decent coffee and another for a decent bite to eat; well, I am paying to make my life easier, so make my life easier.

First, Starbucks would do away with the mediocre selection of pastries and other products, selling the superior selection of current Noah’s Bagels stock, delivered fresh each morning from the location of the nearest current Noah’s. Next, Noah’s would install an espresso machine and employ a barista to make and serve coffee and coffee drinks in addition to the sumptuous selection of bagels and bagels sandwiches. Finally, Starbucks would begin to open new stores that better accommodate the paring of delicious bagels and finely picked and roasted coffee. Thus, a beautiful symbiosis of breakfast and sales is created.

Midterms All Week

I will be back next week, after this wave of midterms passes. Wish me luck. Until then, I hope this keeps you smiling.

Money Never Sleeps

What should a business do when confronted with an increase in the supply of labor from a low ability group that has a high productivity of output? What if this group is a non-native group that carries a racial stigma yet provides the lowest wage cost in the market? The decisions made by a manager will be tied with increasing the profits for the company, producing the best results with the available inputs.

The argument for immigrant labor as a complement to the native labor force follows that an increase in low-skilled work will push the high-skilled native workers into better jobs, more requisite of their skills. Often this movement up the labor ladder coincides with a physical relocation of the worker as better employment is found in other parts of the country.

Two American economists, George Borjas and David Card , have dissenting opinions from one another on the actual impact of immigration in the labor markets. Each have many papers that have been published, some as independent papers and others as responses to one another, filled with all kinds of data, tables, graphs, and math. The most recent housing bubble that wrote the demise of the banking system has, in my opinion, given opportunity for new papers to be written on the future of immigration impacts to the labor market.

An example of the problem has been written in The Economist as recently as the beginning of September. It reads: “Many owe more on mortgages than their homes are worth. Households often opt to stay put rather than default, leaving them trapped in places with high unemployment and unable to move to where jobs are plentiful.” In terms of unemployment, this is structural, requiring government action that is contrary to what has been explored with looser monetary policy.

It will be in the best interest of the immigrants to remain in their current jobs and with their current, lower wages. That is the rational behavior expected of an individual who maximizes well-being. If, however, the native workers become substitutes to the immigrant workers, where both compete for the same jobs in a lousy job market, I can predict a magnification of the racial stigma many immigrant workers already face. Love thy neighbor; because, he is you.

A Cure for the Hurd

A few weeks ago the Department of Justice ordered a few of the big software companies, Apple, Adobe, Google, et al, to remove each other from a no-call list, preventing employees from being taken from one firm to another. This was an attempt by the government to halt the possibility of collusive activity between these software giants, implying the importance of competition within an industry.

Flash forward to the present and enter into the drama of Hewlett-Packard and Oracle. Oracle boss, Larry Ellison, is in a rage about the hiring of Leo Apotheker by Hewlett-Packard as a replacement for Mark Hurd, who was hired by Oracle after he was let go from Hewlett-Packard, creating tension between the once complementary companies.

Quickly, Hurd left H-P over allegations of sexual harassment and went to Oracle. Oracle develops software and H-P primarily develops hardware, such as printers and the netbook I am using now. When Hurd was taken in by Oracle, H-P was freaking out because they thought Hurd had access to privileged information and would use that information against H-P.

In the computer industry, software and hardware are perfect complements; and, H-P and Oracle had a successful relationship, sharing 14,000 customers. H-P chose to hang Hurd out to dry when he was presented with some problems, despite the immeasurable success that he brought to the company “on the back of fierce fiscal discipline,” according to the New York Times, “focused on fostering growth in three areas: operating and managing next-generation data centers, mobile technology, and printing in its broadest applications.” In fact, when I looked at H-P share value, the stock doubled while Hurd was at the helm from $20 in 2005 to $40 in 2010.

It is obvious he was important to H-P, first a lawsuit was filed against him, and then they hired Mr Apotheker. If H-P were a man, (We’ll call him Tony) he is morally adverse to the actions of Mr Hurd but still has a need for his innate qualities as a leader. Tony has an anger problem and is acting in his well-being, yet filled with anger; nothing good can come from that. The next step for Tony, apparently, is making a bitter decision to “get back” at Hurd and his new family (we’ll call them the Osterholms).

H-P needs to forget about Hurd and let him live his new life with his family, stop pestering him and, ultimately, Tony needs to get his own life. Whether it was truly a strategic management decision to hire a former software CEO in Mr Apotheker, or a bitter hiring decision directed at Hurd and Oracle, one hopes that H-P is able to survive on the island it has built for itself, depending on no one else to seamlessly transition from hardware to its weak spot, software. Can anyone say “Apple?”