Apple Launching New Product Tomorrow?

Just read this article on Boy Genius Report (BGR) about Apple possibly releasing a new product tomorrow -- which apparently marks their 10th retail anniversary (aka since it first opened Apple Stores). The article itself lays out some interesting details about security measures taken to prepare for this sort of event.

Apple planning major product launch for 10th retail anniversary?

So I guess the question is, what could this new product be? As always, let's run through the list of suspects and see...

1. iPhone 4GS -- originally billed as the iPhone 5, but the changes from the current iPhone 4 seems insufficient to warrant a numerical advancement. This revision will include the new A5 dual-core processor found on the iPad 2, along with software adjustments (new iOS?). I think this seems unlikely as the product launching tomorrow, because (1) it is scheduled for the fall release and (2) the white iPhone 4 just came out last month. Apple isn't stupid to cannibalize its sales.

2. iPad 3 -- despite the overwhelming demand, many people (including yours truly) were disappointed with the iPad 2's insufficient changes. The biggest issue was the screen; instead of upgrading to the iPhone 4-like pixel density, Apple opted to keep the original iPad screen. Poor camera resolution was another downer. Furthermore, competition has also been heating up like Asus' Transformer. Yet similar to #1 (iPhone 4GS), not much time has elapsed since the iPad 2 was released. Steve Jobs isn't the CEO if he lacked the strategic acumen.

3. next iPod -- this is definitely more plausible than the previous two but I just don't see it happening. iPod's function as discrete mp3 players has been surpassed by the current generation of smartphones, which package the mp3 player together with internet accessibility, etc. Again, too much potential for sales cannibalization for Apple to introduce a revamped iPod.

4. Software revisions (OSX Lion, and new iOS) -- Apple has been facing stiffer challenges on this front for a while, namely at the hands of Windows 7 and Android respectively. Android in particular has become Apple's Achilles heel, with increasing activations and growing popularity among users. A common complaint against iOS is its lack of customization and closed environment -- which I foresee Apple making the proper adjustments. Although this is much more likely than the previous 3, it seems a bit anti-climatic for Apple to just release software changes on its 10th retail anniversary. Keyword is retail.

5. ? -- I honestly do not have a clue.

The aforementioned speculations are just that: speculations. But unless Apple is planning a new product offering, whatever comes out tomorrow should be one of the above. I guess we will hold our collective breath and see...

Sunday Message: Broken & Useful

[This is the first blog post on the topic of spirituality/Christianity. While I am consider myself a devout Christian, I am by no means a capable theologian. It is definitely possible that some of my points are flawed or unsound. The main point is to share what I learned and experienced through this medium...]

The past Sunday's message was on the subject of brokenness and what it means to our lives. Brokenness is defined as the imperfections we see around us, such as houses fallen into disrepair, relationships devoid of care and love, etc. We all have experienced this as brokenness is a central characterization of the post-Fall era for humankind. Perhaps some more than others.

A main biblical passage given is 2 Corinthians 4:1-7, titled as "Present Weakness and Resurrection Life":

¹ Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Apostle Paul's point is stated in verse 4, that what we preach to others is the gospel of Jesus and not of ourselves. We can be tempted to think that the effectiveness of our ministry is contingent on our personal qualities like eloquence, charisma, charm, etc. But in reality, whether we are effective in our ministry depends not on our own strivings but on the grace of God. God pours out His Spirit into us, thereby transforming us into vessels of light that obliterate the darkness around us. What is important is not the holder but what the holder is holding (as indicated in verse 7, we are merely jars of clay).

The message giver at my church also noted that Paul juxtaposes the new covenant (New Testament) with the old. For example, the old covenant was recorded on stone tablets, marked by finite glory, veiled, and was essentially a ministry of condemnation. On the other hand, the new covenant is recorded in people's hearts, underscored by eternal glory and is a ministry of the Spirit. However, there is seemingly a paradox as Paul's life was marred by his initial persecution of Christians.

Yet Paul's transformation from a persecutor of the church to an apostle demonstrates God's power to transform lives completely. This is the majestic God we worship, as the psalmist in #8 so rightfully notes. The point is that we are a broken people in need of God's mercy -- and God graciously provides! The ministry of the Spirit comes into us and transforms us utterly...completely.

To me, this message highlights the importance of grace in our daily lives -- in addition to the insignificance of any self-perceived constraints. It's not about well we can recruit, but whether we do so in a manner worthy of the calling we have received. God calls us to be His People and blesses us accordingly. Surely he will equip us to fulfill the plans He has for us.

Book Review: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Arguably my favorite novel is Great Expectations, authored by Charles Dickens. It is the remarkable story of a young boy from a very humble background who is ushered into the high society. The novel follows the story of the boy, named "Pip", as he embarks on this journey.

In many ways, there is nothing special about Pip. He does not have superhuman powers, nor jaw-dropping charisma and wealth. Instead, the Pip we are introduced to in the beginning is very much an ordinary product of his times: orphaned at a young age, brought up by his sister "by the hand", and who enjoys the company of his friends. Pip aspires to follow in the footsteps of his kind brother-in-law, Joe, who is is a local blacksmith. Yet certain events quickly unfold that ultimately propel him into another life altogether -- the life of a "gentleman".

The immediate change we see in Pip when he first hears of his "great expectations" is his attitude to those around him. In reality, this change in attitude from a humble/naive boy is set in motion in Pip's encounter with a beautiful girl named Estella. (We assume Estella is very beautiful because that is how Pip always refers to her). But there is a noticeable problem -- Estella is the daughter of a wealthy lady while Pip is the complete opposite. The class barrier between the two is made more glaring through Estella's cruelty toward Pip in the beginning.

Plot summary aside, Dickens masterfully crafts Great Expectations like a mystery novel: Pip is simply "handed" the opportunity to rise above his circumstances. It is enthralling because Pip's reaction to this good fortune resembles someone who has won the lottery. He is confused yet overjoyed, optimistic but also saddened to leave behind his friends and family. There would be many complications to his journey in becoming a gentleman -- including a heart-rending episode in which the relationship between him and Estella climaxes.

From this novel's perspective, I can see similarities with other famous and/or contemporary works of fiction. The recently discussed Memoirs of a Geisha comes to mind: as the child Chiyo is similarly conferred "expectations" in the form of an opportunity to become a geisha. The romance between Pip and Estella is also reflected in other works such as Pride and Prejudice, as well as The Great Gatsby. [Perhaps not very much at all...just came to mind.]

As it is perhaps my favorite novel, there are multiple reasons that explain my affinity to the novel. All these reasons pertain, in one way or another, to the way I identify with Pip's experiences.

1. I identify with Pip's childhood. After having moved around various countries during my childhood, I sometimes wonder what things would have been like had I stayed in my country of birth (China). What would my life look like now? Amongst other things, my prospects are certainly brighter than otherwise. But it makes me wonder sometimes

2. I identify with Pip's expectations. Having growing up as male heir in a Chinese household, I was always expected to honor my family through my achievements (the movie Mulan captured this obsession with honor very well...). These expectations are raised further as I have a much younger brother, who looks up to me. Similar to Pip, I was bestowed these expectations and am sorta bound to strive to fulfill them.

3. I identify with Pip's sentiments toward Estella. Inasmuch as I try to deny or forget, I often still find myself thinking about Mandy and how we seem to belong. Pip's description of how he felt toward Estella is identical to how I feel toward Mandy. I simply cannot phrase the sentiment better than Pip does in chapter 29:

"Estella was the inspiration of [his dream to restore the desolate house and marrying her], and the heart of it, of course. But, though she had taken such strong possession of me, though my fancy and my hope were so set upon her, though her influence on my boyish life and character had been all-powerful, I did not, even that romantic morning, invest her with any attributes save those she possessed. I mention this in this place, of a fixed purpose, because it is the clue by which I am to be followed into my poor labyrinth. According to my experience, the conventional notion of a lover cannot be always true. The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I loved her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection."

In retrospect, the 3 reasons I just provided rarely existed together. This is to say they came in stages during my life -- when I was younger, I identified more with the child Pip, and now I identify more with the older Pip. Maybe this flexibility of identity is what makes Great Expectations (one of?) my favorite novels of all time.

Monetization of This Blog

I finished my finals exam a few days ago and have been relishing a class-free summer since. Amongst others small things, I do have personally-assigned projects like learning some programming language (SQL, TOAD, VBA) and playing the guitar.

Lately I have also begun exploring the idea of monetizing this blog -- after coming across an amalgam of success stories. Before you (the imaginary reader?) lash out against this practice, I must point out a few items concerning this monetization process:

• For now this is just a trial period as I test out the feasibility of including ads.
• I need some capital to fund blog-expansion methods outlined previously, such as buying a camera to take pictures.
• 99.9% of the time, the ads will be provided through Google Adsense and be located on the right hand-side of this blog. This means that it should not interfere at all with the posts.
• I also encourage anyone concerned or curious to contact me with any questions about this monetization process through placing ads on my blog.

The above being said, I encourage all readers to check out the ads if time or personal disposition permits. Some of the ads could be helpful -- and it would certainly help fund my blog-expansion projects.

On top of the things already noted, I also developed an outline to produce original content on a variety of topics. Capturing readers aside, I do want to better develop my writing skills through this blog. Thus I plan to categorize future posts into the following topics:

1. Young Professional -- this would include reflections about my daily routines, insight into the working world and potential challenges, and other issues related to work environment such as interactions with colleagues and bosses.
2. Cuisine -- I am certainly not the greatest chef in the world, but I do enjoy cooking and preparing meals to bring to work. My cuisine has a distinct Asian-flavor but are simple and quick to prepare. I will try to take pictures and recount how I prepared the food for anyone interested.
3. Spirituality/Religion -- I am a devout Christian, so I hope to share my experiences with others about living as a Christian. I will also be summarizing Sunday messages I hear from service and anything else related.
4. Personal Finance -- as demonstrated in a previous post about budget, I think this is a very important topic for young professionals. I will also be discussing things like planning from retirement and savings, which will be unique as it will be from my own perspective.
5. General Finance/ Economics -- I majored in Economics and currently pursing a graduate degree in finance, so I can draw from the knowledge I currently possess. I am also a shareholder in some companies, so this topic will be near and dear to me.
6. Technology -- I am a geek.
7. Politics/World News/Miscellaneous -- I like to keep track of world events and reflect on their significance. This will be topic I do so.
8. About This Blog -- I am pretty new to the world of blogging and this marks a new chapter in my attempt to become a better blogger. This topic will consist of any updates to about this blog, blogging in general, including any advice/tips.

Now after reading the breakdown of these topics, you may be wondering how frequent postings will be on these topics. The honest answer at the moment is I am not sure. But I will try to spend 1-2 hours each day blogging on a variety of topics. Some will be blogged more often than others -- for example, technology news may become a daily thing. I am thinking perhaps 4-5 times per day for now.

Thank you for reading! (And please consider checking the ads if interested...)

Facebook vs Google...the lesser of two evils?

After reading this interesting report from Engadget (link way below), I had some thoughts about this to share with my (imaginary?) readers. I should be studying for the final exam in Derivatives I have later today but some things are infinitely more....pressing.

Facebook admits hiring PR firm to smear Google -- Engadget

This purported report highlights the growing tension between these two giants in the internet/social media industry. Over the past year, Google appears to either feel threatened by the rise of Facebook or sense of a goldmine and subsequently began developing products to compete against Zucks' (as in Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg) pride and joy. Recent examples include the "Buzz" feature on Gmail and the "Like" of certain websites through Google's ubiquitous search engine. Unsurprisingly, Zucks is not content to share/cede his company's clout in the field so easily. This purported smear campaign epitomizes the brewing animosity.

Overall, I see Google as a confused giant looking to expand into other markets. The analogy to Microsoft in the late 1990s and early 2000s is uncanny. In a way, it is understandable as Google is the undisputed market leader in search advertising -- which brings in tremendous cash flow year-in and year-out. Their expansion into other internet-related realms is also mandated by their status as a public company (aka to maximize shareholder wealth). But I am perplexed as to the direction of their expansion. Instead of picking a particular segment and focusing, Google is sinking development capital into a wide variety of different markets. For example, Google's Android OS looks to compete in the smartphone business, its Chrome OS in the computer business, its soon-to-be-released music streaming service in the music industry, and it appears very much inclined to take on Facebook. Google's failed acquisition of Groupon indicates the company desires to also be relevant in that business (small business advertising?).

Returning to the Microsoft analogy, the Redmond giant diversified away from its core Windows & Office software business by expanding into the entertainment media. Its success has been debatable through the Xbox, Zune, and Windows Phone -- but do appear to be picking up steam as of late. To me, the amalgam of Google's interests also resemble someone with a mid-life crisis. Or perhaps they have grown so confident (arrogant?) in their own prowess as to seek new challenges. It's interesting to point out that a motto of Google's has long been the phrase "don't do evil". Recent spats of privacy-related fallouts certainly puts a damper on that.

In contract to Google, Facebook appears to be a company with a solid command of its own abilities and possesses a vision for its future. I still remember the days when Facebook membership was limited to college students, and there were so such thing as "news feeds", etc. So much has changed since then! Facebook has not only opened its doors to anyone with a valid email address, but also to application developers to grow its service offerings. It came somewhat of an alarm when I read a recent report on online display advertising, which stated Facebook as a runaway leader in this market segment. But in hindsight, it's not that surprising when you consider how much time people spend on Facebook.

The beauty of Facebook's business model is that it is (almost) perfectly built to cater to advertising. With regard to marketing, a major preoccupation (and cost expense) for marketers/advertisers is matching their ads to target specific demographics. They conduct a multitude of surveys every year for the express purpose of finding out the consumers' state of mind. The goal is to bridge the asymmetry of information --ultimately, to be able to price discriminate. For example, car makers would not want to waste their advertising dollars on teenagers. So how is Facebook ideally suited for advertising purposes? Well, people voluntarily post important indicators of their tastes and preferences on their profile pages! "Voluntarily" is what makes Facebook's business model a thing of beauty: it does not cost them a cent to seek out this information, instead, people donate away this precious information.

Back to the news article, it is precursor for bigger battles ahead between the two giants. Things could get dicey quickly.

Thoughts as a Shareholder

As noted before in a post somewhere, I am a shareholder in a few companies at the moment. This started in the Spring of 2009, when the stock market crashed and I thought it was worth a shot in investing than earning 0.1% interest rates while holding it in the bank. This turned out to be a great call as my initial investment almost doubled by the year end -- mostly due to the strong bounce back by the market itself. Since then, there have not been much movement, but I thought I would take a few minutes to talk about my holdings and share my thoughts about them.

Until last year, I held shares in quite a number of different companies. The main purposes were twofold: speculation on any major movements, and diversification. I was fortunate to catch positive swings like AIG but the bulk of them have languished. To the best of my knowledge (I haven't checked my holdings in weeks), I currently hold shares in 3 companies.

[Ranked in order of # of shares, from most to the least.]

1. Advance Micro Devices (AMD) -- my holdings in AMD is essentially an extensive of the inner geek, always fascinated with computer gadgetry. Its stock prices hasn't moved in years, but I think it will be due for a breakthrough. As noted before, its main rival is Intel in the marketplace, a company that engages in monopolistic practices and has an R&D budget many times the size of AMD's. In other words, AMD is the David to the Intel's Goliath. I am inclined to keep holding AMD due to certain predictions:

• AMD's rival in the discrete graphics market, NVidia, will be exiting this market entirely due to its focus on mobile ARM chips (e.g. Tegra). This remains a significant market but AMD's Radeon series has been dominating lately over NVidia's GeForce counterpart.
• AMD's expanded clientele for its products. Since Intel's settlement with AMD, the latter has expanded the number of customers buying its computer chips and other goods. The most notable is Apple, who now only uses AMD graphics in their products. Others like Dell and Toshiba have expanded their offerings too. This is good as sales revenue increase = profit increase.
• Fusion is the future of computing and Intel lags behind on this. AMD's Fusion products are system-on-a-chip (similar to ARM) that unifies the processor and video graphics onto a single die in production. This allows these chips to be made smaller, more video-capable, cooler, and probably cheaper. But these are different from NVidia's Tegra and other ARM (e.g. Qualcolmm's Snapdragon) in that they are designed for x86 systems (think Windows). Intel's counterpart is the Atom series which, to plainly put it, suck.

2. Ford Motor Company (F) -- I purchased Ford not knowing the brilliance of its CEO (Allan Mullaly) but because I thought the company was undervalued. At the time when I made my purchase, the other Detroit carmakers were begging the government for bailout while Ford had enough on its balance sheet to weather the storm. Today, people applaud it for not taking bailout money and it is riding on the woes of its other competitors (Toyota and Honda) through capturing market share across the board. I am very high on Ford and believe its stock has the potential to hit mid-$20 in a year. My speculations on Ford are:

• Positive public image of the company's products will be a big plus for both the short-term and the long-term. If you want to own shares in an American carmaker, you pretty much can't go wrong with Ford. I recently met a guy who said he owns GM shares -- I found that hard to believe and had to force myself not to say anything combative.
• Allan Mullaly is a genius. When you have a visionary CEO, how can you go wrong? Thanks to his leadership, Ford is posting record profits while carrying products that are very fuel-efficient. The latter is important as long as gas prices keep skyrocketing.
• Growing market share gains in other parts of the world. The Ford Figo is doing great in India and there is discussion of migrating it to China too.
• Unification of company's platforms across the world. I like how Ford brought over European models like the Ford Fiesta and Ford Transit Connect to the United States. Both cars have tremendous potential as the U.S. has seen nothing like them. As a personal quip, I would like to see Ford being over its Ford Ka line to the U.S. also. The Ka should be better priced, safer, and with better fuel efficiency than its competitors like the Mini Cooper. (I am going to try to pitch to Allan about this...haha).

3. General Electric (GE) -- I actually know very little about GE and its products/services, other than the fact that it is a global conglomerate with a failure chance of nil. I use them as the backbone of my investment portfolio (I pretty much invested all my savings into stocks at the time). I have no speculation/prediction about GE, other than the fact that it will be a stable, blue-chip stock.

Overall, I think it is a great idea to take a look at investing in the stock market right now. Interest rates still are terrible and picking up any blue-chip company (e.g. GE above) would lead to better returns. Of course, one has to do some research and determine how to best allocate the investment funds. The brokerage firm I use is entirely online -- "Tradeking", which allow for trades for only around $5 fee. If you don't want/need hand-holding in picking your investments, I would recommend them.

Microsoft + Skype = Stupidity?

This morning, Microsoft announced it would be acquiring the video communications company Skype in a behemoth of a $8.5 billion deal. While on paper it looks like a strategic acquisition, I am growing more disgusted by more details I find out about it. The acquisition makes sense -- but absolutely not for $8.5 billion...even if you're cash-rich like Microsoft.

Let's first look at the positives before the negatives. The potential of integrating Skype into Microsoft's current product offerings is enormous (in M&A terms, the potential "synergy" is immense). So in one way, Microsoft has much to benefit from the acquisition:

1. Skype has a massive user base, in addition to a well-recognized brand name. More and more people are turning to Skype as a means of long-distance communications. Microsoft can tap into this user base, which is mostly different from its major corporate clientele.
2. As Skype is based in Luxembourg, Microsoft can use the cash on its foreign accounts to pay for the acquisition. How is this a positive? No tax has to be paid on the deal.
3. Microsoft's product offerings are increasingly dependent on video ecosystems. For example, Xbox Kinect and Windows Phone systems can benefit much from video integration. This can make the different between customers choosing an Android or iOS device versus a Windows Phone.
4. Synergy cost cutting. Both Skype and Microsoft are inherently software companies. Even though Skype had a net loss last year, it would not be difficult for Microsoft to integrate the core of Skype's business into itself without major costs.

Now that the positives of the deal has been outlined, let us turn to the negatives (muhaha!).

• Price tag of $8.5 billion. This is a ridiculous sum of money for a company that had a net loss last year, was dumped by Ebay recently after a write-down, and purchased by a group of investors for $2.75 billion. I smell a conspiracy brewing here -- is Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft) being bribed to make this deal. This is especially true in light of speculation that Skype's IPO (initial public offering) would value the company at around $2 billion dollars. Why couldn't Microsoft waited?
• It's all potential. This is the thing investors miss out on technology companies, that they are mostly based on potential outcome and not certainty. The same thing can be said about companies like Facebook -- there is no way such a firm can be valued at more than $10 billion. Technology changes so fast and the market is so competitive that popularity can deteriorate in a heartbeat (anyone remember MySpace?). Microsoft even has a bad history of purchasing companies that eventually flop big time.
• Even if all the potential can be realized, I highly doubt it would be worth $8.5 billion in the long term. In the short term, this is a disaster deal.

All in all, this post has been my own perceptions of the Microsoft-Skype deal announced this morning. I am really glad I do not own any Microsoft shares -- nor do I plan on purchasing any thanks to these thick-headed moves. Heck, I might even buy...Apple instead.