Daily Archives: April 26, 2024

Google’s Dividend (& Stock Buyback): I Am V. Leery.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 26, 2024

Click to ENLARGE. News snippets from ‘Google News‘.

Successful, high-flying HIGH TECH stocks never gave dividends.

This goes back to the ‘dot.com’ era of the late 1990s — which I was lucky enough to live through & benefit from.

Amazon still does NOT do a dividend & unlikely to do so anytime soon.

Announcing a dividend (along with a massive stock buyback) is a ‘cheap’ way to make one’s stock attractive.

That Google is doing this now makes me leery. IF all is GOOD when it comes to AI etc. they didn’t NEED to do this. Unnecessary. This feels like an attempt to prop up the stock because they are concerned that they might be losing ground.

Oh, I own Google. So, this is NOT sour grapes. But, it is because of this that I am concerned. So, we are GOOD for now, but what about next year? That is the question.

“What Exactly Does IBM Do?” — Damn SHAME That This Has To Be Asked By The Media.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 26, 2024

Click to ENLARGE. News snippets from ‘Google News‘.

As a proud ex-IBMer, who made 90% of his income during his working career thanks to my in-depth knowledge of IBM technology — & who used to claim that “IF cut deep, I bleed ‘blue‘” — I found this headline most distressing, BUT I fully understood why it was posed.

IBM, alas, is NOT what it used to be — the computing behemoth that had 70% of the datacenter market. Those were the days. I was lucky enough to be a part of IBM in those halcyon days though I started to see — & write about — its decline in the late 1990s.

The last CEO, viz., ‘gin-and-tonic’ Rometty (who was an unmitigated disaster) and the current clueless clown have run IBM to the ground. Have no idea what IBM is all about. Shame. Well, I could wax lyrical for days. It is very distressing.

I am so GLAD that I managed to enjoy working for IBM — both as an employee and then as a consultant.

IBM is still dear to my heart. I always wish IBM well.

Anura’s Picture Of The Day + 6 Others, April 26, 2024 — Night Photography.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 26, 2024

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Anu’s Picture of the Day:
Click to ENLARGE for FULL-SIZE ENLARGEMENTS.

The other 6:
In smaller-size here in gallery, for FULL-SIZE (i.e., to ENLARGE) click on an image. You can then SCROLL through all 6 images ENLARGED.

| All taken with my (January 3, 2023) Google Pixel 7 Pro. | Post processing limited, at most to just adjusting brightness, if & when required. | Attribution will be strictly ENFORCED. |

Amazon’s Shipping Algorithm Still Has Pockets Of ‘Artificial Stupidity’ (i.e., Opposite Of ‘AI’).

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by Anura Guruge
on April 26, 2024

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Click to ENLARGE. This is from the last 36 hours.

Amazon’s shipping REALLY hasn’t got that much better over the last 6 months — despite their claims that they are using more & more Artificial Intelligence (AI). They have got better at playing games.

The above was beyond stupid. I ordered 12 copies of the SAME BOOK (as author copies). They SPLIT the order in TWO. Yes, split it in TWO — but not even 6 + 6. Instead 11 + 1. They printed 11 in one location & ONE in another. Shipped them SEPARATELY.

How does that make SENSE?

Two shipping costs to THEM. Stupid.

This, alas, is NOT the only example. I have talked about others too. See below.

From late last year.

Click to ENLARGE. Post from 4-months ago. You can, EASILY, see the STUPIDITY.

From May 20, 2023. An even earlier post.

This is beyond CRAZY.

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