by Anura Guruge
on October 29, 2023
Working on paperback.
I see that none of you have BOUGHT a copy as yet. Thanks. With ‘friends’ like YOU! Smile.
If the $3 is a problem let me know. I will send you a free copy. OK?
Merry Christmas 2023. Just around the corner.
by Anura Guruge
on September 15, 2023
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My interest here is purely as a STOCK TRADER or to be more precise & HONEST, a rabid OPTION TRADER.
When I saw this news I expected to see a BIG drop in the Apple (AAPL) stock price. Yes, I own a fair chunk of Apple stock (which I bought in 2006) — BUT my main interest is that of trading OPTIONS on swings. But, the stock was down, but not majorly. Doesn’t make sense. I don’t like it when stocks & the market defies sense.
Yes, the iPhone 12 is OLD — 3-years? But, I am sure many still own it.
Yes, you can validly argue that given that the phone is OLD, this news doesn’t impact Apple’s current or future revenues. Very true. But this kind of flap damages reputation & credibility. So, that has to have an impact on future revenue. That is why we should have seen a move in the stock.
Just letting you KNOW.
by Anura Guruge
on July 24, 2023
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Last week I finally finished reading “Walter Isaacson’s” mammoth biography of ‘Steve Jobs’ — sanctioned (& semi-approved) by Jobs. It too me 5.5 months to read all 600 pages. I had wanted to read it for a long time & I am glad I did.
I had a very strange, complicated relationship with Steve Jobs.
Over the years he made me a LOT OF MONEY with ‘Apple‘ & ‘Pixar’ shares. I owned Pixar from its IPO & have owned Apple shares for close onto 20 years. So, yes, I owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
For 8-years, between 1991 & 1998 YOU would NOT have found a more ardent fan & advocate of Apple Macs than I. I was ALL, 100% Mac — & very gungho about Macs.
In 1998, I had 8 Macs in the house.
In 2000, I had NONE! I had switched, totally & utterly, to PCs & Windows!
Jobs had managed to LOSE ME. That took some doing.
Despite owning AAPL for two decades I stayed away from Apple products. I let others make the money for I. SMILE.
Steve Jobs was, obviously, a brilliant, talented, once-in-a-decade guy. No question about that.
The book confirmed much of what I had known over the years. He was very conflicted — & not that happy.
In many ways he was a sick puppy before he truly became sick.
All that wealth & he STARVED himself.
I found his views on God & life-after-death AMUSING & in the end, emblematic of him.
I on the other hand, have NO DOUBTS. And I thank God for that.
I do NOT believe in God. Never have. Never will.
I also do not believe in life-after-death. That is the biggest consolation in my life. I know that when I die — that is it. The switch is TURNED OFF. Poof. Nothing. What a relief.
by Anura Guruge
on September 10, 2022
Apple Watches are ugly. Period.
I am positive that ‘Steve Jobs’ would never have allowed such an UGLY product to be released. Square watches tend to be ugly.
In marked contrast, high-end Garmin watches, like the Venu 2, the Forerunners, Fenix & Epix 2, ooze class. They have presence. They have pizzazz. So, I am not in the slightest bit concerned that the Ultra will cut into the sales of Garmins (not that I own Garmin shares anymore).
Plus, there is also the matter of battery life, something that Garmin has already pointed out. See top image.
by Anura Guruge
on January 12, 2022
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IBM has been doing cloud since the 1960s, if NOT earlier!
That is IBM’s current problem. People keep on saying IBM needs to ramp up its cloud business — BUT, that is a bit hard when they have been doing cloud all along.
‘Cloud’ is a MISNOMER — & widely misunderstood. That is a problem. So many of the ‘pundits’ that prattle on daily about ‘cloud this & cloud that’ have NO IDEA what the cloud is.
This cloud ‘thing’ all goes back to the late 1990s when ‘Sun Microsystems’, then a MEGA tech company came up with the slogan: ‘the network is the computer‘.
Well that was never the case, but it was an attempt to highlight that networking was becoming increasingly important.
What ‘Cloud Computing’ means, cut to the chase, is SERVER-SIDE computing.
OK. So what does that mean. It means doing most — if not all — your computing & data storage on a server, as opposed to your desktop, laptop, mobile device (whatever).
Easy example. If you still use a PC/laptop do YOU still DOWNLOAD all your e-mails before reading them? If so, you are NOT doing CLOUD. You are reading your e-mails, previously downloaded, on your PC/laptop. CLOUD computing is if you do your e-mails, reading & composing, using a SERVER somewhere (far away) accessed via a network (i.e., the Internet).
Server side (i.e., Cloud) vs desktop (i.e., local).
IBM basically pioneered server side computing way, way, way back.
In the late 1980s & 1990s it was SEVERELY criticized & chastised that it never really succeeded in getting into local/desktop computing. That is where Apple, Microsoft & PCs came in. IBM was entrenched with Server Side computing –> i.e., cloud.
Now it is ALL cloud.
But, IBM’s major customer base was already doing cloud.
IBM can’t SWITCH these folks to the cloud. They are already doing cloud.
Now you get folks prattling on about Linux etc. Yes. Yes. That is a different story. That is NOT just cloud. That is changing the server side technology. The cloud part is still the same.
IBM’s current management has NO CLUE!
They are as clueless as the media punits.
IBM needs OLD IBMers (like I) who know what this is all about. NO, I am not looking for a job. I am happy. Thank YOU. But, there are plenty others.
I will say it again. IBM’s current management has NO CLUE!
IBM can only do so much with the cloud because so much of its base is already in the cloud.
I had to get this off my chest.
Thanks. I feel much better now. SMILE.
by Anura Guruge
on October 2, 2021
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It is amazing the amount of housekeeping I end up having to do each time I publish a new book. I was hoping that having this NEW Website cum blog, all-in-one, will simplify things. It has. But, it has still taken me 2-weeks to get around to updating the Website. I am sure it is my old age. Well, it is done & that is what matters.
I have already told you about the book — I think. But, just in case, here is the link to the Amazon listing. It is, however, also available across nearly all conceivable platforms — including ‘Apple‘. Here is a sample.
