Posts by GlobeTrot

Chinese takeaway, hold the Google: Xiaomi Mi4 LTE Android

We use Xiaomi phoned extensively in India, and they come completely localized to meet all local requirements. Try one of those out...

Get your Indian Landfill Android One handsets - they're only SIXTY QUID

Re: Similar to mine

All all the bloatware/ junk that the manufacturer may have installed.

Microsoft, Adobe, wilt during Australian price gouge grilling

The world has changed...

Look up the 10 year FX rates between the AUD and USD, you'll notice the AUD has massively increased in strength against the USD in the past 10 years. http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=AUD&to=USD&view=10Y

I did not look further back, but it's possible the AUD has gained even more against the USD since the time that commercial software products were being sold in Oz.

While the AUD has risen, salaries have not fallen. It's just that the cost of doing business in Oz has gone up by a lot *relative to the rest of the world*. This FX rate strengthening reflects in costs (of course), but also in benefits (like salaries, retirement benefits etc.) to the Aussie public.

Hypothesis: If folks are paying similar AUD prices today compared to 10 years ago, then are they really being cheated? Their salaries are unchanged (or increased), and the price they're paying is the same. And Aussie businesses are making record profits due to the massive boom on commodities (among other things).

Bottom line - win some, lose some - sure you'd like to win it all, but sometimes that does not happen!

IT: Why pay money to M$ - We use Libreoffice and it works brilliantly. Sure not as sexy, but they you gotta pay for the $exy $tuff...

Intel snaps up McAfee in $7.68bn deal

Massive win for MFE, long term gamble for Intel

Clearly - based on the stock price movement - this is a massive win for MFE's directors and investors. Hurrah to them!

For Intel - they've completely missed the "software/ services" bus, the virtualization train, the cloud ship etc., while other hardware manufacturers like say IBM, HP etc. have been branching out pretty aggressively. Could this be Intel's reply - synergies between chipzilla and security be damned (and great if something actually occurs)?