Back the topic, another reason I think I did not hold the stock is because it dropped precipitously in last Dec., and I started to sell some after initially bought quite a few shares. As I sold when the stock started bouncing, I sold too early. After a while I only have a few thousand shares, I sold them at around $2: thinking to take advantage of the loss for tax deduction, and hope to get back when the price drop again the the Jan.

But obviously I did not jump back to this bandwagon in Jan.

Think long term and trade less
I have quite a few stock lessons lately, as I became new dad and think more long term about the finance (hint: pay for kids’ college), I think I need to focus more on long term.

A second point is “trade less”, as shown in the previous example, when I started to sell shares of BEE, little by little, my mind was already set to sell “all the shares”, especially when there are only a few shares left.

Babies are fun
They are a million times fun than iPhone, or at least a thousand times fun than computer programming. Maybe my wife will disagree with me on this one. Nowadays because I work in office (instead of home), I see my baby only in early morning and evening, so I tried to spend some quality time with her (like changing diaper and burp). It seems to me our baby has some change everyday. The first 24 hours is obviously very sleepy. After that she is more active, besides the cries every baby does, I can see her smile a little from yesterday.

Some trivia stuff
A year ago this time (March 5, 6 and 9) is the 10 year low of US stock market (Dow Jones stock index).

I found some iPhone apps for baby: like this one “baby brain” and “total baby” (available at iTune app store), both tracks baby diaper change and feeding, among other things. I thought about this when my wife started write those information on a notebook (although she has iPhone).

Buffett CNBC interview
(part 1 here, following the link from part 1 to get to part 2 to 8 )

Recommend reading by Buffett
Keynes’s *General Theory*, chapter 12

Intelligent Investor Chapter 8 and 20

My Notes

p. 4
Our market gain is better because in 1965 Berkshire shares sold at an appropriate discount to the book value of its underearning textile assets, whereas today Berkshire shares regularly sell at a premium to the accounting values of its first-class businesses.

In other words, our defense has been better than our offense, and that’s likely to continue.

Charlie and I avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate, no matter how exciting their products may be. In the past, it required no brilliance for people to foresee the fabulous growth that awaited such industries as autos (in 1910), aircraft (in 1930) and television sets (in 1950). But the future then also included competitive dynamics that would decimate almost all of the
companies entering those industries. Even the survivors tended to come away bleeding.

p. 5
GEICO, which is known to all of you because of its $800 million annual advertising budget (close to twice that of the runner-up advertiser in the auto insurance field).

p. 15
We’ve put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. It’s been an ideal period for investors: A climate of fear is their best friend. Those who invest only when commentators are upbeat end up paying a heavy price for meaningless reassurance. In the end, what counts in investing is what you pay for a business – through the purchase of a small piece of it in the stock market – and what that business earns in the succeeding decade or two.

2. Also come up with some smart ads (with Sprint and Verizon), something like this one from German carrier O2.

O2 has about 11% market share in Germany per Yahoo Answers.

PS:
1) Wiki entry for Jon Rubinstein (CEO of Palm). Very impressive resume. But keep in mind Jon is taking additional responsibilities now that he is a CEO: besides his strength product development, he needs to deal with investors, suppliers and carriers.

2) Palm is in a very competitive (cut throat in some sense) race, namely the war on smart phones: iPhone is the leader in the pack. Blackberry, while aging, still does phenomenal marketing and sells very well. Google entered the race with Android (which developed for a few years) and boat loads of cash (and followers like Motorola and HTC). Last but not least, Mr. Softie (Microsoft) and Nokia are not backing down, they are working on next generation smart phones. All these bigger competitors have much more resource, if Palm could not come up with a compelling product (aka something like iPhone), Palm will fade away.

Blaming others (suppliers, carriers) is NOT the solution. Ridicule the competitor (iPhone etc) is not the long term solution either. Self-deprecating is OK (hint: Geico ad).

3) A fair assessment of Palm’s current status (Yahoo tech blog).

4) Why Elevation Partners Invested $425M in Palm (Yahoo Tech-ticker>).

5) Bloomberg Grills Roger McNamee (Youtube)
>

6) Comment from AllThingsD (article here), on app development for Palm webOS.
JohnDoey 1 hour ago
3 people liked this.
Getting Web developers on board for Palm apps is not going to happen. At the same time as Palm has been making a way to make Web apps that seem to be native on Palm, the W3C has been making a way to make Web apps that seem to be native on everything. If you have Web development skills, you can make an HTML5 app and it runs on Palm, Android, Nokia, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux, and soon Blackberry. It can run when the device has no Web connection, it can store a database locally on the device. On the Apple devices, it will be GPU-accelerated.

So what Palm is really offering is a way to hobble your Web apps so it only runs on Palm. They’re not just competing with iPhone apps, they’re competing with HTML5, with the Web itself. It’s less than Web apps, not more than Web apps.

What Palm needs to do if they want apps is create a native programming interface in C. Android’s biggest native app problem is they are written in Java. You can’t port desktop C code over like on the iPhone.

Running Web apps is expected, you’re supposed to get that for free as on every other platform. The value add is native apps that can do things that aren’t possible on the Web, aren’t possible with Web tools and languages. On iPhone, you can run interpreted HTML5 Web apps or you can run compiled C native apps, your choice, it covers all the bases. The native apps have a reason to exist because they’re NOT made with Web technologies, so you can work in C, you can port C code, you get compiled performance, you have programming interfaces that don’t exist on the Web yet.

There are many iPhone apps that simply cannot be ported to other phones because there are no other phones with a desktop class C-based object-oriented app platform. On iPhone you literally have a Mac-level app platform. The only thing that will compete with that is another desktop-class app platform.

Palm spent too much time and effort on the hardware and not enough on the software. They should have hired an Apple software guy, not hardware guy. Pre has 2 screens, 2 keyboards, 2 batteries, and only 1 programming interface with no GPU support. iPhone has 1 screen, 1 keyboard, 1 battery, and 2 programming interfaces, both of which have GPU support.

So it’s not 3rd party software developers who are holding Palm back, it’s Palm’s internal software that is holding them back.

Remember that for the first year of iPhone you could make apps for it using Web tools and the world yawned. Then Apple unveiled a native C interface and it was like fireworks going off.

(the following was written on Feb 23, 2010 when couple analysts downgrade the stock)

Are PALM Pre, Pixi and webOS here to stay?
Big drop of Palm stock today after analyst downgrade. But how credit worthy are analysts?

quote “brmiller1976″ at PreCentral (scroll down to comments section)
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Remember, the “analyst community” also declared that Palm had halted all production of the Pre and Pixi and was on the brink of closing shop, based on a “factory spot check” that turned out to be a routine suspension of production for Chinese New Year.
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brmiller1976 is probably biased toward Palm (quote comment in same article again):
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What “blockbuster features that people have come to rely on” does the Pre lack and DROID have?

What hassles does webOS have that Android doesn’t have? My experience with Android — on myTouch 3G, G1, and HTC Hero — is that it’s woefully patchworky and filled with hassles.

For everyday stuff like Microsoft Exchange integration, web browsing, availability of *good* apps, ease of use, and ease of application switching (for multitasking), webOS totally dusts the incarnations of Android I’ve used.

For the middle market who wants a smartphone, there are really only two that would pass the “mom test” (i.e. giving one to my mother without instructions and asking her to use it) — webOS and iPhone. People like my mother are the mass technology consumers.

In terms of a business device, for the corporate market, there are really only two solutions I’d use for business — webOS and BlackBerry.

And for fun, there are really only two solutions I’d use — webOS and iPhone.

webOS is the “overlap.” It allows no-compromises productivity, easy use, and no-compromises fun (with the PDK). That’s not a hurdle, it’s a feat.

Submitted by brmiller1976 on Tue, 23 Feb.
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While building credit as a student is a great idea, your efforts can also backfire if you don’t go about them properly. Fortunately, with a little bit of research and effort, you can start building your credit responsibly. Start with these five tips to help you out.

Capitalize on the Credit of Others: If your parents or older relatives have a good credit history, you may be able to take advantage of their responsible behavior. There are a few ways to do this. First, your relative could list you as an authorized signer on one of their accounts. You don’t need a credit check to do this, and in fact, they never even need to give you physical access to the credit card they are adding you to. Just adding you as an authorized signer is enough to have the card listed on your credit report. With it comes the payment history, the credit limit and balance, and the account age. So, if your parent has a credit card with a $15,000 line of credit that they have had and been making on-time payments on for fifteen years, if they add you as an authorized signer, all of a sudden it looks like you do to. Just make sure that the card they add you to doesn’t have a high balance or a history of late payments, as these things could actually appear as negatives on your credit report.

Ask for a Co-signer: Cosigning is different than making you an authorized user. When you apply for a card, you can apply individually or with a co-signer. If you have a co-signer, the account is in both of your names and both parties are responsible for the debt. You can be more than just an authorized user if you elect this option; you can apply for your very own credit card and just have a parent or relative with good credit and/or an income sign to guarantee that if you don’t pay, they will. Having a co-signer can allow you to qualify for better credit cards, with better terms, than you might get on your own. Just remember that the co-signer is doing you a favor and that if you don’t pay, they will be stuck. That could create a lot of family problems and guilt on your part, so it is essential to be responsible here.

Get a Student Card: Student cards are similar to adult cards, but often have a lower limit and/or a higher interest rate. Obviously most students won’t quality for many of the cards covered on our Best Credit Cards page. The terms of the card aren’t as advantageous as an adult card, but these cards are usually pretty easy to qualify for. In fact, on some college campuses, credit card companies offer attractive incentives such as free merchandise just to get you to fill out an application (although laws going into affect this year make this practice illegal or at least more tightly regulated). Be sure to check out our overview of the Best Student Credit Cards, and do your research before signing up for a card. Annual fees, over the limit charges or late fees could cost you a pretty-penny if the card is used improperly, and could actually hurt your credit instead of help it in some cases.

Consider Secured Cards As Good Starter Cards: If you can’t qualify for a student card, a secured credit card can still help you build credit. With a secured card, you put up cash in a special account to act as collateral. For example, if you put up $500 cash, you have a $500 credit limit. These cards may charge fees, or higher interest rates or both. However, many secured cards either convert to standard cards after a period of good behavior, or open the door for you to build your credit history and get a standard card from another creditor. The major question to ask when buying a secured card is whether the creditor reports your account and behavior to the bureau. If they don’t, there’s little point in getting such a card.

Look Into Store Credit Cards: Almost every store from your local department store to your local big-box discount retailer offers a credit card to customers specific to that store. These cards can sometimes be relatively easy to qualify for, especially if you have some income. The major benefit to store cards, however, is that it may be harder for you to get into financial trouble with them. A general purpose Visa or MasterCard that is designed to build your credit may make its appearance for a late night pizza or bar run, leaving you to pay the bills later. With a store card, this is less likely to happen.

Regardless of which option you choose to start building your credit, the key is to be responsible. Check your credit report once a year for free from each of the major credit bureaus to make sure your credit behavior is being reported accurately. Don’t charge more than you can pay in full each month, pay your balance on time all the time, and don’t go over the limit. The card should be used to make a few small purchases and then paid off and left at home until next month.

2) Rollover to an Rollover IRA; or Rollover to the new employer’s 401k.
I did this once: not because of change of job, but because of change of company ownership, I have opportunity to rollover some of the 401k money into Vanguard Rollover IRA in year 2007. That money didn’t recover to the initial value so far.

3) Leave it alone (until 59 1/2 years old).
I did this when I left my former employer in Oct. 2008 (the middle of financial crisis), it turns out to be a good move (or no-op), as the value recovered from the crisis.

Should I open a traditional IRA or Roth IRA?
Tax deduction: IRS publication here.

Scottrade IRA calculator:
Vanguard IRAs:

But I think the more important of IRA is the “Saving” part: it forces a person to save on a regular basis. “Dollar cost average” or not (it seems more difficult to practice DCA in IRA compared to 401k), we know we are putting money away for retirement if we do that every month.

(Source: Brandies U.)

Strategy and Job search sites I used

Work on Resume and Cover Letter: fortunately my brother (who have more experience on this topic) helped me quite a bit. It does make a difference.

joelOnSoftware: this web site from best selling software engineering book “Joel On Software” author also features a very unique job board.
Craigslist: I found my current position via this. I added local IT job RSS feed to My Yahoo (to save the clicks).

All the leads of phone interviews (2 last year, 2 this year) are from those two sites.

LinkedIn and Glassdoor: not big in terms of number of jobs, but mostly are relevant leads.
The good old Monster.com

Use recruiter: IT recruiter is fairly common in the field. There are a lot pro and cons discussed on the web. I think we don’t need to be religious about this. Recruiters need to feed their families too. As long as we know who is the “boss” in the “search” process, we will be fine (similar arguments goes to real estate brokers). Here I also want to thank a gentleman who shared his thoughts on “job security” with me.

Remote test

Besides initial screen questions (both HR and technical via phone, and written questions from HR), remote programming tests are becoming more common. I lost two weekends on those, but in the process I re-discovered what I liked to do.

Last but not least, a new job is just the new beginning. However, as an old saying goes, “a good beginning is half the work”, so let’s not forget perform on the new job

Today is my last working day with my current employer. I switched to my current job about 15.5 months ago, in the middle of financial crisis (what an co-incident). I recall in last Chinese New Year’s day I was on road for business (the downside of consultant job). Obviously there is upside of working as consultant too (see different people and places; working from home, again Pros and Cons there).

I will start my new job on Monday Feb 15. Another co-incidence is my next employer and my first employer starts with same syllabus.

BTW, an excellent YouTube video on “how to quit with class” (saw it from Workopolis first).

First iPhone ads

There’s an app for that

First Palm Pre (Sprint) TV ad titled “Flow”

New Palm Pre Plus (Verizon)

Last not not least, a faked iPhone ads?

(”HelloWorld” app created by WebOS, instruction here)

Besides physical keyboard, another strength Palm Pre over iPhone is Pre can do multitasking. Engadgets has a fairly comprehensive review (both text and video comparing to iPhone) of Pre Plus (available at Verizon Wireless). PreCentral has a nice video review on Pre Plus and Pixi Plus (the little brother of Pre Plus), the video is about 9 mins.

Last but not least, here is a total ownership cost comparison chart of smart phones (iPhone 3Gs, Palm Pre, T-mobile MyTouch, and Motorola Droid) from Billshrink.

Walt Mossberg, my favorite tech reviewer, wrote Palm Pre review last year.

Disclosure: the author has PALM shares as of this writing.