Do we need Window's Vista

Last week, MSFT threw a bomb to the tech market: its long awaited OS Vista will be delayed, again. While a lot of analysts lament about not being able to buy a Vista PC this Christmas season, I would like to ask: does it matter at all to average consumers?

What we average consumers want is just a stable and secure operating system. For over a decade, the PC industry has been putting us on a treadmill of constant hardware and software upgrades. Initially, the benefits of upgrading were apparent. But over time, consumers have begun to see very little value in upgrading to the next level of super-powered PC.

This also explains why Intel has been losing market shares in consumer desktop PC. People bought those AMD machines, not because it got 64 bit or dual core technology. They bought them because they are cheaper than Intel's. People have finally figured out, the average PC is good enough for the everyday computing tasks, unless you want to play serious games.

As for business customers, do they really need to have the 3D image capability and fancy multi-media functionalities promised in Vista?

So what if Vista is delayed!

Don't blame labor for the big 3 auto companies' woes

It is very conceivable that GM might have to file bankruptcy protection. I have often heard the TV talking heads promulgating the official GM executives' lame excuse: our labor cost is too high. But I have never heard anybody challenging this assumption.

True, the labor cost of US auto makers is higher than that of Asian car makers. But the financial troubles they are facing are not the result of high labor cost, but rather bad management. European car makers like BMW did not have the advantage of low labor cost. But that company is thriving.

The logic behind the labor cost excuse is that: if we have lower labor cost, we can sell cheaper cars. But the cars made by GM and Ford ARE cheaper than Toyotas and Hondas. The problem is consumers don't want cheaper cars. They want reliable and better-design cars. The problems of GM and Ford are the result of market share loss. The market share loss is due to the fact they make bad cars, not because they don't make cheap cars.

For years, the US auto makers have relied on big SUVs and trucks to generate profits to offset their loss-making passenger car business. Now with oil price record high, the demand for the gas-guzzlers will undoubtedly decline. On top of that, Asian car makers are also encroaching on the SUV market. How would GM survive without the fat profits from its SUV business?

I predict that in ten to twenty years, the US will cede auto business to Asia companies, like they did a few decades ago in the TV and consumer electronics business.

Dismal approval rating of Bush shows American people care

As violence and ethnic conflict in Iraq intensifies, the poll shows Bush's approval rating plunges to the low 30% range, barely better than that of Cheney's.

Although the deaths were the Iraqis, American people still care. We don't want to see our soldiers hurt. We do not want to see Iraqis die, either. American people are not self-centered narrowed-minded unilateralists represented by the Bush administration.

In his speech a few days ago, Bush is shifting the blame of violence in Iraq from Al Qaeda to Iran. Now Iran is public enemy No. 1, replacing Al Qaeda. It seems that Iran is behind the suicide bombing activities in Iraq. That just puzzles me. I thought the insurgents were Al Qaeda-supported Sunis, according our governments just a few weeks, with the western media agreeing in unison. Now how come Iran, supporter of Shiites, turn around to support the Sunis?

But the truth of the matter is the Bush government is trying to play the blame game to evade their own responsibilities.

The Bush government is SO incompetent that it has failed in almost every action and policy it has taken, from Katrina to Iraq, from the handling of Dubai Port deal to handling of Supreme Court nomination, from Medicare prescription drug enrollment for seniors to no-child-left-behind act, and the list goes on. This is an administration that cannot do a single thing right!

Pentagon defending guantanamo detainees right to privacy

Asked why all the secrecy behind guantanamo bay detention system, the Pentagon finally gave a good reason: "the detainees have the right to privacy". Yes, privacy is the most supreme right here. Forget about all other human rights, like right to a fair trial, right to personal freedom, etc. It is the privacy of the detainees that the Pentagon is protecting. The Pentagon has gone all the way to Afghanistan to get these detainees so that their privacy will be better protected here at guantanamo. Hey you journalists, stop nosing around.

In a separate news item, a former guantanamo bay detainee claimed that he was beaten at the detention. Shocking! Preposterous! Outlandish! How could that happen! Responding to this accusation, a Pentagon spokesperson made a funny face: "na na na na na na.... He's got no proof." Now all of you sing along: "na na na na na na, he's got no proof."

New CFO of SUN hinting major changes are coming for SUN

"Everything is on the table," said Michael Lehman, the newly appointed CFO, who has been on the board of directors of SUN, on March 1 in a Goldman Sachs-sponsored investment conference. He sort of hinted that Jonathan and Greg will stay. But he deliberately left out Scott McNutty :) Lehman sounded very frustrated with the lack of execution at Sun.

It is indeed time to get business done. The first thing they should do is to kick out the McNutty guy. Customers would not believe SUN is really changing if he is to stay. He has lost his credibility among customers and investors. I hope Lehman will bring back some veteran SUN alum to fill the rank. Talk is cheap. Forget about the slogan "Sun is about sharing". Nobody cares about the slogan any more. Customers want cheaper and better performing products. Investors want to see profit. Sun has not done either for a long time. It's about time to shake things up.

iPod Hi Fi is not the iPod boombox we were waiting for

What a disappointment! The $349 iPod Hi Fi is just a high-priced speaker, albeit a heavy and ugly one. I have tested one in the local Apple store. I cannot tell the sound quality of it being any better than the Bose and JBL speakers to justify the higher price. The "menu" button on the remote did not work. The sale rep immediately reported the malfunction to Apple hierarchy.

What I was looking for is a true boombox to replace my cassette/CD boombox. I want to be able to record and play back immediately. The digital recorders out there do not have high quality external speaker. I don't want to use the magnetic tape to record any more. It is about time we get rid of the cassette players and replace it with something that can record and play digital music. The iPod Hi Fi did not have an FM radio, nor a recorder, nor a slot for CD, all of which I think should be included. The ideal iPod boombox should have a dock for iPod, a harddisk, Airport express for syncing with iTunes of the PC, a built-in mic for recording, an iPod size screen for programming the RF radio and play back music and recordings, and an audio input to allow it to serve as a speaker for PC. A CD slot should be optional. I think this kind of product should sell somewhere around $349.

Apple is just being too greedy to set such a high price for merely a speaker that has very limited functionality. And the $99 leather case for iPod? How about a $1000-bag for MacBook Por?