March 28, 8:52 am ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Consumer Spending Posts Weakest Gain in 17 Months in February
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers, jolted by a credit crisis, job cuts and soaring energy costs, turned in the weakest spending performance in 17 months in February, further evidence that the risks of a recession are increasing.
The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending edged up by just 0.1 percent last month, the poorest showing since September 2006. And if the effects of inflation are removed, spending was flat in February, the third consecutive month of sluggish activity.
The performance of the consumer is closely watched since consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity. Economists said the sustained weakness in this area is one of the most worrisome signs that the economy could be tipping into a recession.
The prolonged slump in housing, rising job layoffs, soaring energy costs and a severe credit crisis are taking their toll on consumer confidence. All of these troubles are causing consumers to cut back on their purchases.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/economy.html
Signs of A Recession
1. Consumer spending increased just .1% in February, the worst in 17 months
a- if inflation was removed, the spending was flat
b- consumer spending accounts for 2/3's of total economic activity
2. Housing Slump
3. Rise in job layoffs
a- consumers cut jobs for a second consecutive month in February
4. Increasing energy costs
5. Credit Crisis
6. Fed aggressively cutting interest rates
7. The mere fact that the Government has issued an Economic Stimulus Package
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Microsoft Giving Penalties for Xbox Cheaters
""CounterStrike" is widely popular in India; but by no means is it all 'fair play'. If anything, the game's seen a surge in the number of 'hackers' -- that one word given to all those who use cheat software to play good when they can't even 'pwn' a child in a fair manner.
In turn, truly fair players (if at all they exist) and server administrators have been driven sick and tired by the antics of these 'hackers'. Maybe, just maybe, Valve can take a leaf out of what Xbox Live is doing...
Last year itself, Xbox had issued warning to players who stole identities and tampered with achievements. Taking this a step further, Microsoft yesterday took action against those found guilty of 'bumping up' their Gamerscores and achievements.
Several accounts were affected adversely. Punishments meted out ranged from resetting of Gamerscores to public shaming to permanent banning or all of these. Microsoft has listed all cheaters in a public hall of shame at http://xboxlivecheaters.com/. The list is being regularly updated as more and more cheaters get added on to it."
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Microsoft_Cracks_Down_on_Game_Cheats/551-87968-585.html
I commend Microsoft for this. They're bringing their awareness down to the gaming level and I'm sure they will be rewarded with it in the future. Everyone hates a cheater and I know a couple of gaming freaks personally and they're passionate about video games so I'm sure the video game culture is praising Microsoft for this act.
In turn, truly fair players (if at all they exist) and server administrators have been driven sick and tired by the antics of these 'hackers'. Maybe, just maybe, Valve can take a leaf out of what Xbox Live is doing...
Last year itself, Xbox had issued warning to players who stole identities and tampered with achievements. Taking this a step further, Microsoft yesterday took action against those found guilty of 'bumping up' their Gamerscores and achievements.
Several accounts were affected adversely. Punishments meted out ranged from resetting of Gamerscores to public shaming to permanent banning or all of these. Microsoft has listed all cheaters in a public hall of shame at http://xboxlivecheaters.com/. The list is being regularly updated as more and more cheaters get added on to it."
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Microsoft_Cracks_Down_on_Game_Cheats/551-87968-585.html
I commend Microsoft for this. They're bringing their awareness down to the gaming level and I'm sure they will be rewarded with it in the future. Everyone hates a cheater and I know a couple of gaming freaks personally and they're passionate about video games so I'm sure the video game culture is praising Microsoft for this act.
Microsoft Eyeing iPhone for Apps
"Microsoft recently told Fortune magazine that it is looking at developing software for the iPhone.
It was only inevitable that Microsoft would be trying to cash in on the popularity of the iPhone, especially after the release of the iPhone SDK. The iPhone SDK gives Microsoft the opportunity to jump on the millions of people using the iPhone without having to work with Apple, at least directly. The SDK gives Microsoft the ability to produce suites of Office and other applications for the iPhone.
Don't sign the paperwork, yet. Microsoft's team of Mac developers has only been looking at the iPhone SDK for a week or so now and deciding whether or not the opportunity exists to produce applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch."
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006698.html
Soon we're just going to witness Microsoft breaking into Apple and Google territory, Google breaking into Microsoft and Apple territory, and Apple breaking into that of Google and Microsoft. Whatever the result, I'm sure its going to be great for the consumers.
It was only inevitable that Microsoft would be trying to cash in on the popularity of the iPhone, especially after the release of the iPhone SDK. The iPhone SDK gives Microsoft the opportunity to jump on the millions of people using the iPhone without having to work with Apple, at least directly. The SDK gives Microsoft the ability to produce suites of Office and other applications for the iPhone.
Don't sign the paperwork, yet. Microsoft's team of Mac developers has only been looking at the iPhone SDK for a week or so now and deciding whether or not the opportunity exists to produce applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch."
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006698.html
Soon we're just going to witness Microsoft breaking into Apple and Google territory, Google breaking into Microsoft and Apple territory, and Apple breaking into that of Google and Microsoft. Whatever the result, I'm sure its going to be great for the consumers.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Gates Forecasts rapid change
In the next decade, computer interaction will advance, TV will be based on Internet, he says
09:30 AM CDT on Monday, March 24, 2008
Associated Press
In a recent speech Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates speculated that some of the most important technological advances of the next decade will come in the ways people interact with computers: speech-recognition technology, tablets that will recognize handwriting and touch-screen surfaces that will integrate a wide variety of information.
"I don't see anything that will stop the rapid advance," Mr. Gates told the Northern Virginia Technology Council
He noted that technological change driven by academia and corporate researchers continued even after the Internet stock bubble burst in 2000.
He also said the coming years will bring rapid changes in media as television increasingly becomes a targeted medium, where viewers can select niche content for news, sports and entertainment.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/ptech/stories/DN-gatestalk_23emp.ART.State.Edition1.463b48c.html
Sometimes I start to feel that all this change is a bit frightening considering the speed at which all this change is occurring. Soon there won't even be a need for the good ole' pen and paper.
09:30 AM CDT on Monday, March 24, 2008
Associated Press
In a recent speech Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates speculated that some of the most important technological advances of the next decade will come in the ways people interact with computers: speech-recognition technology, tablets that will recognize handwriting and touch-screen surfaces that will integrate a wide variety of information.
"I don't see anything that will stop the rapid advance," Mr. Gates told the Northern Virginia Technology Council
He noted that technological change driven by academia and corporate researchers continued even after the Internet stock bubble burst in 2000.
He also said the coming years will bring rapid changes in media as television increasingly becomes a targeted medium, where viewers can select niche content for news, sports and entertainment.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/ptech/stories/DN-gatestalk_23emp.ART.State.Edition1.463b48c.html
Sometimes I start to feel that all this change is a bit frightening considering the speed at which all this change is occurring. Soon there won't even be a need for the good ole' pen and paper.
Microsoft not looking towards blu-ray
Ian Lamont writes
"Ever since Toshiba stopped production of HD DVD players, many Xbox 360 owners have been wondering when Microsoft will offer some sort of Blu-ray option for the Xbox 360. The answer: Probably never. Microsoft's product manager for the Xbox 360 has told Reuters that Microsoft is not in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association. Why not? The Industry Standard points to HDi, an obscure Microsoft technology that was part of the HD DVD interactivity layer. HDi may be dead on physical media, but it could potentially be applied to other Microsoft HD-compatible technologies such as Xbox Live Arcade and Windows Media Center, and be part of a long-term play to own a big share of the market for HD content delivered over the Internet."
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/03/24/1416204
I'm not sure what HDi is or what it does but if it saves the consumer from having to buy a blu-ray attachment then i'm all for it
"Ever since Toshiba stopped production of HD DVD players, many Xbox 360 owners have been wondering when Microsoft will offer some sort of Blu-ray option for the Xbox 360. The answer: Probably never. Microsoft's product manager for the Xbox 360 has told Reuters that Microsoft is not in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association. Why not? The Industry Standard points to HDi, an obscure Microsoft technology that was part of the HD DVD interactivity layer. HDi may be dead on physical media, but it could potentially be applied to other Microsoft HD-compatible technologies such as Xbox Live Arcade and Windows Media Center, and be part of a long-term play to own a big share of the market for HD content delivered over the Internet."
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/03/24/1416204
I'm not sure what HDi is or what it does but if it saves the consumer from having to buy a blu-ray attachment then i'm all for it
Microsoft aimed at Patching Bug
March 22, 2008 (Computerworld)
Microsoft Corp. yesterday warned of a critical vulnerability that affects users of Word running on Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 SP1 -- several weeks after one security company first reported an exploit and a day after a second vendor confirmed ongoing attacks.
In an advisory posted Friday, Microsoft acknowledged "public reports of very limited, targeted attacks" that exploit a bug in the Microsoft Jet Database Engine, a Windows component that provides data access to applications including Microsoft Access and Visual Basic.
According to Symantec Corp., however, the attacks Microsoft described used malicious Word 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007 documents, which in turn call up the vulnerable Jet .dll (Dynamic Link Library file).
"We believe that the issue being described [by Microsoft] is one described on March 20, 2008, by Elia Florio of Symantec Security Response," the security firm told customers of its DeepSight threat-analysis network on Saturday. "He notes a recent discovery, by Panda Security, of a possible zero-day exploit observed in the wild."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9070840
I commend Microsoft for their swift movement on fixing this infectious bug that is going around. If everyone company took action after just two complaints, maybe they would be raking in $50 billion a year in revenue
Microsoft Corp. yesterday warned of a critical vulnerability that affects users of Word running on Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 SP1 -- several weeks after one security company first reported an exploit and a day after a second vendor confirmed ongoing attacks.
In an advisory posted Friday, Microsoft acknowledged "public reports of very limited, targeted attacks" that exploit a bug in the Microsoft Jet Database Engine, a Windows component that provides data access to applications including Microsoft Access and Visual Basic.
According to Symantec Corp., however, the attacks Microsoft described used malicious Word 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007 documents, which in turn call up the vulnerable Jet .dll (Dynamic Link Library file).
"We believe that the issue being described [by Microsoft] is one described on March 20, 2008, by Elia Florio of Symantec Security Response," the security firm told customers of its DeepSight threat-analysis network on Saturday. "He notes a recent discovery, by Panda Security, of a possible zero-day exploit observed in the wild."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9070840
I commend Microsoft for their swift movement on fixing this infectious bug that is going around. If everyone company took action after just two complaints, maybe they would be raking in $50 billion a year in revenue
Monday, March 24, 2008
10 Improvements for Microsoft 7
"On Monday, I highlighted 10 things I told Microsoft about Windows Vista and what it needed to succeed Windows XP.
Commenter bigAPE complained: "If the author is such a visionary why is he writing blogs instead of the next Windows OS?" The commenter called the post another "told you so article." I gave the advice before Vista shipped, and it was mostly right. I didn't second-guess afterward. Anyone who followed my analyst blog between 2004-2006 would have seen this advice spread out among various posts.
But bigAPE has a point about making a positive contribution. So, once again, I offer my advice to Microsoft, this time for Windows 7. I encourage Microsoft Watch readers to do the same with their comments.
These 10 things intentionally mirror those from Monday's post.
1. Windows 7 has to be a whole lot better than Windows Vista. Better doesn't mean tons more features. CDs replaced vinyl records because of perceived better audio quality, small disc size and greater convenience. The older analog technology actually delivered better fidelity because it captured the full sound wave; the digital successor samples and compresses the sound wave. DVDs rapidly replaced VHS tapes for similar reasons. The experience was much better.
Microsoft's first priority should be reducing complexity. There, the Zune Marketplace UI has shown one way. The software/service is highly functional and fun, yet sharply streamlined compared with iTunes or Windows Media Player. Windows 7 should emphasize simplicity while hiding complexity. For example, must there really be 50 icons in Control Panel?
Any process requiring more than two mouse clicks is too complicated. Every Wizard is unnecessary. Windows 7 must wring the complexity out of the user interface. Microsoft can make Windows 7 more compelling by radically—and I mean RADICALLY—changing the UI. The old motif has got to go, and its replacement shouldn't be one motif but several. I'll explain more in No. 5 and 6. "
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/10_ways_microsoft_can_make_windows_7_lucky.html
Microsoft should hire this guy to just sit in the board room and throw his ideas and responses around. His criticism of Microsoft's vista product is probably what everyone was saying when Vista was released and everyone had their trial with it.
Commenter bigAPE complained: "If the author is such a visionary why is he writing blogs instead of the next Windows OS?" The commenter called the post another "told you so article." I gave the advice before Vista shipped, and it was mostly right. I didn't second-guess afterward. Anyone who followed my analyst blog between 2004-2006 would have seen this advice spread out among various posts.
But bigAPE has a point about making a positive contribution. So, once again, I offer my advice to Microsoft, this time for Windows 7. I encourage Microsoft Watch readers to do the same with their comments.
These 10 things intentionally mirror those from Monday's post.
1. Windows 7 has to be a whole lot better than Windows Vista. Better doesn't mean tons more features. CDs replaced vinyl records because of perceived better audio quality, small disc size and greater convenience. The older analog technology actually delivered better fidelity because it captured the full sound wave; the digital successor samples and compresses the sound wave. DVDs rapidly replaced VHS tapes for similar reasons. The experience was much better.
Microsoft's first priority should be reducing complexity. There, the Zune Marketplace UI has shown one way. The software/service is highly functional and fun, yet sharply streamlined compared with iTunes or Windows Media Player. Windows 7 should emphasize simplicity while hiding complexity. For example, must there really be 50 icons in Control Panel?
Any process requiring more than two mouse clicks is too complicated. Every Wizard is unnecessary. Windows 7 must wring the complexity out of the user interface. Microsoft can make Windows 7 more compelling by radically—and I mean RADICALLY—changing the UI. The old motif has got to go, and its replacement shouldn't be one motif but several. I'll explain more in No. 5 and 6. "
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/10_ways_microsoft_can_make_windows_7_lucky.html
Microsoft should hire this guy to just sit in the board room and throw his ideas and responses around. His criticism of Microsoft's vista product is probably what everyone was saying when Vista was released and everyone had their trial with it.
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