stlplaceI got to play more with my Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (XM) phone in the weekend. The following are the things I tried.
1) Video playback: I found there are some Nokia sample videos and a .wmv video (transferred from my PC Windows media player). Both played without problem. However, when I copied some Apple Dev movie (mpeg-4 format?), it only plays the audio.
2) Game: the Bounce game comes with the phone is a bit challenging for me, as you may know I don’t play computer or smartphone game often.
I read two news this week, which makes me think this is coming. Keep in mind many local governments are upside down in terms of budget and debts, any tax revenue helps. Collecting tax revenue from online merchants in remote places like Seattle (HQ of Amazon) is a convenient choice.
Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) tax lawsuit (source: hotel-online): from my reading, basically the dispute is around the basis of tax, we know Expedia sells hotel room at discounted rates, but the local government (Columbus, GA in this case) think it should be the listed price. I am not lawyer but I lean towards the discounted rate.
Amazon may stop doing affiliate business. Quote WSJ Amazon Threatens Cuts Over State Taxes:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) may stop doing business with some of its marketing affiliates over state taxes.
Yahoo tech-ticker
Criteria
* 20% quarterly year-over-year revenue growth
* 25% quarterly year-over-year earnings growth
* Trades at a P/E ratio below 12
Apply it in Google finance stock screener (here is the link), it finds 134 companies (this number could change as the stock price, PE ratio changes daily).
Not exactly, but close enough (here is a post I wrote on June 29, 2007 when iPhone started). Today the new iPhone 3G S is on sale at AT&T store, as I understood. This time iPhone did not generate as much buzz, but I heard my favorite tech writer Walt Mossberg was also standing in line (he already has a free iPhone from Apple for review, maybe he is buying another one for his wife/girl friend). Here is his tweets:
“Just gave up on iPhone line. Have to get to work. Should have ordered online. But scored a free bottle of water.”
谷歌, Google China, is reprimanded by CCTV (China official TV) on its prime time news broadcast, for “provide easy access to porn material in search, and harm Chinese youth”. A while ago Baidu was blamed for “placing faked medicine ads in search results”.
Video source: Tudou.
(Update) My initial guess was wrong. If you read the introduction at YouTube, it says it’s located at Dallas Fort Worth.
(Original) Via YouTube.
Reuters: JM Smucker Q4 beats Street, raises 2010 profit view. Quote:
Peanut-butter and jelly maker J.M. Smucker Co’s (SJM.N) fourth-quarter profit handily beat market expectations, helped by strength in its Folgers coffee business, and the company raised its 2010 profit outlook.
“Our core business continues to produce solid results and the recently added coffee business’s performance has exceeded our expectations,” co-Chief Executive Tim Smucker said in a statement.
My take
More trouble for Starbucks…this is one sign of consumer behavior change amid this recession. Bye bye $2 a cup coffee, welcome home brewing gourmet coffee 🙂
A poor man’s blog.
A microblog service which shutdowns from time to time without notice (in the old times, until Hillary’s guy called to delay the shutdown yesterday).
A gossip with limit of 147 character.
A tool appears used by Iranian opposition and youth to exchange information on campaign and protest.
A tool used by Dell to sell $3 million hardware (DellOutlet, source: WSJ).
…a tool the big brother thinks it’s too hot for its people 😀
From ABC news.
Maybe I will visit that place sometime.
May housing starts beats expectation, quote Bloomberg:
U.S. builders broke ground on more houses than forecast in May, offering a sign that the industry’s slump, now in its fourth year, may be approaching an end.
The 17 percent increase in housing starts to an annual rate of 532,000 followed a 454,000 pace the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Building permits, an indicator of future construction, also rose more than estimated.
(source: NAHB web site)