Monday, June 06, 2005

Pushing the MSM into the 21st century

Wondering why I haven't posted in, like, a month?

I've been busy. I became Senior Web Editor of the San Jose Mercury News and jumped right in, building this new entertainment site.

Check it out. Comment there.

Friday, May 13, 2005

The E3 video game conference kicks into gear next week in L.A.: Check with Dean and Nooch for the latest

The San Jose Mercury News is sending a couple of their gaming experts (Dean Takahashi and Mike Antonucci) to the Electronic Entertainment Expo in L.A. next week, and the two columnsits will be calling in to support a blog.

Check it out here.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Loose lips sink ships: Apple CFO crows to an analyst about iPod shuffle results. Maybe a press release would have been a better idea?

On first blush, this seems all positive: Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer brags to a Merrill Lynch analyst that the iPod shuffle will have snatched 58% of the flash player market when the NPD numbers come out for March.

The analyst, Steve Milunovich, apparently wrote about the conversation in a research note, calling it "a stunning figure."

There could be a problem there.

Recent rule changes from the persnickety Securities and Exchange Commission discourage companies from making "stunning" revelations to their favorite analysts behind closed doors. They're supposed to issue press releases for that sort of stuff. The idea is, the playing field is supposed to be more level for the small-time investor, who isn't paying for big-time Wall Street connections. Information is power.

Oppenheimer didn't stop there. He also said Apple doesn't appear concerned about the threat from cell phone music players.

This could be what we like to call "material" information – the stuff that can move a stock – and Apple is up more than 1.5 percent as of this writing (better than the broader market, and many other tech stocks). I wouldn't be surprised if Apple puts out a statement soon about iPod shuffle results to cover this near gaffe.

Hey Apple: Why not just release more information about product results to all investors? It could save some headaches.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

New iMacs, but it's hard to get excited, since Apple won't give us iMac sales numbers anymore

So there are new G5 iMacs announced today, and they come with Tiger pre-installed and WiFi and Bluetooth to boot.

This is nice, but not revolutionary. I’m going to be a little contrarian here, but I’m finding it very difficult these days to get excited about Apple’s desktop computer lineup. The Power Mac, once the belle of the ball for Apple, is no longer the profit engine it once was. The iMac is nicely designed as always, but it’s starting to feel like Apple just changes the design every couple of years so that people will upgrade and feel like they’re buying a new art piece. The eMac is a boring money maker that Apple seems uninterested in developing.

The Mac mini is the most interesting of the bunch, because it could potentially attract hordes of new users to the Apple fold. But rather than deliver a complete Mac experience to the masses, Apple has chosen to sell the Mac mini in a crippled state, 256 of RAM short of what it needs to run iLife apps the way they should.

Okay, I’ll divulge a little more about the source of my cynicism: Apple announced during its last earnings call that it is going to start providing less information about how its desktop computers are doing. That’s right. Less. Rather than tell us how sales are going for Power Macs/iMacs/PowerBooks/iBooks, the company has chosen to report simply “desktops” and “laptops." No more distinguishing between professional and consumer products.

Why? I don’t know. But it sure seems like Apple no longer wants to draw attention to the fact that unit sales of G5 Power Macs have been disappointing; and they don’t seem to want to break out sales of Mac minis, either. Apple’s always been a company to brag loudly when things are going well.

So this move toward reporting less on Mac unit sales doesn’t feel good.

Oh well. At least there’s the iPod!

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Cingular Wireless: After suffering bad customer service, I shot a note to the carrier's top brass. Will I hear back? UPDATE: Yes. In short order.

UPDATE: I just got a call from a vice president at Cingular who assured me that I would not be billed at all for my six days with the company. As you might imagine, the customer service I received from him was excellent. Let's hope this is a sign of better things to come from Cingular.

Sometimes customer service is so bad, it's worth looking up the company executives and sending them a note. That's what I did this morning after a nightmarish experience with Cingular Wireless. I'll let you know if I hear anything from Cingular. For now, the e-mail I sent is below.

Intended recipients:

Stan Stigman, CEO
Marc Lefar, Chief Marketing Officer
Brian Shay, West Regional President
Frederick Devereux, General Manager, Northern California


Dear Cingular Wireless executives:

I am writing to complain about improper billing, deplorable customer service, incompetence, and deceptive sales practices I recently experienced from Cingular Wireless in Northern California. I was overcharged $300, misled by salespeople, and treated rudely. If you care to know the particulars, they are detailed below.

I started service with Cingular Wireless on April 3, 2005 after switching two accounts from Sprint PCS. I found Cingular’s call quality did not suit my needs, and customer service was terrible. An associate in the El Camino Real store in Palo Alto had signed me up for a plan more expensive than the one I requested. (When she was selling me the phones, she told me I could call customer service to get the activation fees waived, which a representative later told me was impossible.) Others in the Palo Alto store were rude when I tried to get my plan adjusted; they told me I would have to physically return to the store to get my account credited for the amount I was overcharged, which was unacceptable because the store was out of my way and I am a busy professional.

After I insisted upon better service, they grudgingly provided it. But within six (6) days I switched to Verizon Wireless (on April 9). After all that, I received a bill last week from Cingular Wireless that overcharged me by $300.

In other words, Cingular charged two $150 termination fees, even though I had been with the company less than a week.

This was only the beginning of my frustration.

First, the poor customer service:

I called last night (April 27, 2005) to complain about the incorrect billing and get it fixed. My call was taken by Customer Care Representative Heather -----, who quickly acknowledged that I should not have been charged two early termination fees. She said she needed to summon a manager to get my bill adjusted. When I asked about getting the early termination fee waived for my trouble, she said that would not be possible. When I asked about getting called back (because I had been on the phone for nearly 30 minutes by then and feared we might get disconnected), she said no, I would have to wait on the line. Moments later I lost the connection.

The service got worse, and was compounded by incompetence:

I called back and reached Customer Care Representative Jackie -----. When she called up my account, she asked whether I had returned the equipment from the original transaction. I assured her that I had. She said there was no record in my account of the phones having been returned, and that therefore I would be charged the $300. I told her that was unacceptable, and asked her to call the Palo Alto store to check the records. She asked ME for the Palo Alto store’s phone number, which I Googled and found, and she placed me on hold while she called. When she got back on the line, she claimed she had talked to someone named “Alan” at the Palo Alto store and “a bunch of other people,” and none of them could find the equipment I returned.

Furious by this point, but still reasonably polite, I went down to my car to retrieve the return receipts. Jackie then told me I would have to fax them to her to be made whole. I told her that was ridiculous – that I could give her any piece of information off of the receipts, and I should not have to call back a third time to get Cingular’s mistake fixed. She insisted. I asked to talk to her manager.

Finally I talked to Catherine -----, the only one of at least a half dozen Cingular employees who I can say gave me exceptional service. She listened to my complaints, admitted that Jackie ----- was wrong to suggest that equipment returns had anything to do with my overbilling, and corrected the record. She also refunded my service fees, so that I was charged only $37.10 for six awful days with Cingular. After nearly two hours on the phone, resolution.

You need more employees like Catherine -----. But -----, -----, and a handful of employees at store #05576022 on El Camino Real in Palo Alto delivered some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I will consider lodging a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission, but wanted to let you all know first.

--Jon Fortt
San Jose, CA

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Apple wows Wall Street again, powered by iPod and Mac mini sales (but mostly iPod)

My commentary is coming tomorrow. For now, the numbers, straight from Apple public relations:



Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

Revenue Increases 70 Percent and Net Income Increases Over 500 Percent
Year-Over-Year

CUPERTINO, Calif., April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple(R) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2005 second quarter ended March 26, 2005. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of $290 million, or $.34 per diluted share. These results compare to a net profit of $46 million, or $.06 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter was $3.24 billion, up 70 percent from the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 29.8 percent, up from 27.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple shipped 1,070,000 Macintosh(R) units and 5,311,000 iPods during the quarter, representing a 43 percent increase in CPU units and a 558 percent increase in iPods over the year-ago quarter.
"We are delighted to report a record second quarter for Apple in both revenue and earnings," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Apple is firing on all cylinders and we have some incredible new products in the pipeline for the coming year, starting with Mac OS X Tiger later this month."
"We're very pleased to report 70 percent revenue growth and a 530 percent increase in net income," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the third quarter of fiscal 2005, we expect revenue of about $3.25 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $.28."
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2005 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime(TM), Apple's standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq205/ and will also be available for replay. The QuickTime player is available free for Macintosh and Windows users at www.apple.com/quicktime.

This press release contains forward-looking statements about future products and the Company's estimated revenue and earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2005. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ. Potential risks and uncertainties include continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the effect competitive and economic factors and the Company's reaction to them may have on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company's products; the ability of the Company to make timely delivery of new programs, products and successful technological innovations to the marketplace; the continued availability of certain components and services essential to the Company's business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources, including the timely resolution of manufacturing issues associated with the G5 microprocessors used in many of the Company's Macintosh systems; possible disruption in commercial
activities caused by terrorist activity and armed conflict, such as changes in logistics and security arrangements, and reduced end-user purchases relative to expectations; possible disruption in commercial activity as a result of natural disasters or major health concerns including epidemics; risks associated with the Company's retail initiative including significant investment cost, uncertain consumer acceptance and potential impact on existing reseller relationships; the effect that the Company's dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third-parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; the Company's reliance on the availability of third-party music content, and the ability of the Company to successfully evolve its operating system and attract sufficient Macintosh developers. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in
the Company's public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2004, the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 25, 2004 and the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 26, 2005 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.

NOTE: Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, iPod and QuickTime are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.





















































UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In millions, except share amounts)

ASSETS:
March 26, September 25,
2005 2004
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $2,254 $2,969
Short-term investments 4,803 2,495
Accounts receivable, less allowances of $51
and $47, respectively 888 774
Inventories 164 101
Deferred tax assets 297 231
Other current assets 601 485
Total current assets 9,007 7,055
Property, plant, and equipment, net 742 707
Goodwill 80 80
Acquired intangible assets 33 17
Other assets 249 191
Total assets $10,111 $8,050

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:

Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $1,773 $1,451
Accrued expenses 1,579 1,200
Total current liabilities 3,352 2,651
Non-current liabilities 373 323
Total liabilities 3,725 2,974

Commitments and contingencies

Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, no par value; 1,800,000,000
shares authorized; 823,136,748 and 782,887,234
shares issued and outstanding, respectively 3,195 2,514
Deferred stock compensation (70) (93)
Retained earnings 3,255 2,670
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 6 (15)
Total shareholders' equity 6,386 5,076
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $10,111 $8,050


UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In millions, except share and per share amounts)

THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
March 26, March 27, March 26, March 27,
2005 2004 2005 2004

Net sales $3,243 $1,909 $6,733 $3,915
Cost of sales 2,275 1,379 4,769 2,849
Gross margin 968 530 1,964 1,066

Operating expenses:
Research and development 119 123 242 242
Selling, general, and
administrative 447 345 917 688
Restructuring costs -- 10 -- 10
Total operating
expenses 566 478 1,159 940

Operating income 402 52 805 126

Other income and expense:
Gains on non-current
investments -- -- -- 4
Interest and other income,
net 33 12 59 21
Total other income and
expense 33 12 59 25

Income before provision for
income taxes 435 64 864 151

Provision for income taxes 145 18 279 42

Net income $290 $46 $585 $109

Earnings per common share:
Basic $0.36 $0.06 $0.73 $0.15
Diluted $0.34 $0.06 $0.69 $0.15

Shares used in computing
earnings per share
(in thousands):
Basic 808,172 730,694 798,602 727,796
Diluted 857,011 756,460 848,553 750,336


RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP TO GAAP RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

(In millions, except share and per share amounts)

Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
March 26, 2005 March 27, 2004

Non-GAAP Non-GAAP
As Adjustments Non- As Adjustments Non-
Reported (a) GAAP Reported (a) GAAP

Operating income 402 10(b) 412 52 16(c) 68

Total other income
and expense 33 -- 33 12 -- 12

Provision for
income taxes 145 1 (d) 146 18 4 (d) 22

Net income $290 $9 $299 $46 $12 $58

Earnings per
common share:
Basic $0.36 $0.37 $0.06 $0.08
Diluted $0.34 $0.35 $0.06 $0.08

Shares used in
computing
earnings
per share
(in thousands):
Basic 808,172 808,172 730,694 730,694
Diluted 857,011 857,011 756,460 756,460

(a) These adjustments reconcile the Company's GAAP results of operations
to its pro forma or non-GAAP results of operations. The Company believes that
presentation of results excluding items such as non-cash share-based
compensation, restructuring costs, and investment gains provides meaningful
supplemental information to both management and investors that is indicative
of the Company's core operating results and facilitates comparison of
operating results across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP
measures when evaluating its financial results as well as for internal
planning and forecasting purposes. These non-GAAP measures should not be
viewed as a substitute for the Company's GAAP results. Neither the Company's
GAAP nor non-GAAP results of operations include the accounting impact had the
Company chosen to apply the fair-value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123
or SFAS No. 123 revised (123R) to expense share-based compensation, the impact
of which is disclosed in the Company's Forms 10-Q and 10-K as filed with the
SEC. The Company expects to adopt SFAS No. 123R in its fourth fiscal quarter
ending September 24, 2005.

(b) This adjustment reflects the non-cash compensation expense related
primarily to restricted stock awarded to the Company's CEO in fiscal 2003 and
restricted stock units awarded to selected members of the Company's senior
management team in fiscal 2004. Of the total non-cash compensation expense of
$10 million, $1 million is included in cost of sales; $1 million is included
in research and development expense; and $8 million is included in selling,
general and administrative expense. Note that neither the Company's GAAP nor
non-GAAP results of operations includes the accounting impact had the Company
chosen to apply the fair-value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123R.

(c) This adjustment includes $6 million related to the non-cash
compensation expense primarily attributable to restricted stock awarded to the
Company's CEO in fiscal 2003, which is included in selling, general and
administrative expense, as well as $10 million related to restructuring
actions initiated during the second quarter of fiscal 2004.

(d) Amount reflects the expected tax impact on the above noted non-GAAP
adjustments.


RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP TO GAAP RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

(In millions, except share and per share amounts)

Non-GAAP Non-GAAP
As Adjustments Non- As Adjustments Non-
Reported (a) GAAP Reported (a) GAAP

Operating income 805 20(b) 825 126 22 (c) 148

Total other income
and expense 59 -- 59 25 (4)(d) 21

Provision for
income taxes 279 2(e) 281 42 2 (e) 44

Net income $585 $18 $603 $109 $16 $125

Earnings per
common share:
Basic $0.73 $0.76 $0.15 $0.17
Diluted $0.69 $0.71 $0.15 $0.17

Shares used in
computing
earnings
per share
(in thousands):
Basic 798,602 798,602 727,796 727,796
Diluted 848,553 848,553 750,336 750,336

(a) These adjustments reconcile the Company's GAAP results of operations
to its pro forma or non-GAAP results of operations. The Company believes that
presentation of results excluding items such as non-cash share-based
compensation, restructuring costs, and investment gains provides meaningful
supplemental information to both management and investors that is indicative
of the Company's core operating results and facilitates comparison of
operating results across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP
measures when evaluating its financial results as well as for internal
planning and forecasting purposes. These non-GAAP measures should not be
viewed as a substitute for the Company's GAAP results. Neither the Company's
GAAP nor non-GAAP results of operations include the accounting impact had the
Company chosen to apply the fair-value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123
or SFAS No. 123 revised (123R) to expense share-based compensation, the impact
of which is disclosed in the Company's Forms 10-Q and 10-K as filed with the
SEC. The Company expects to adopt SFAS No. 123R in its fourth fiscal quarter
ending September 24, 2005.

(b) This adjustment reflects the non-cash compensation expense related
primarily to restricted stock awarded to the Company's CEO in fiscal 2003 and
restricted stock units awarded to selected members of the Company's senior
management team in fiscal 2004. Of the total non-cash compensation expense of
$20 million, $1 million is included in cost of sales; $2 million is included
in research and development expense; and $17 million is included in selling,
general and administrative expense. Note that neither the Company's GAAP nor
non-GAAP results of operations includes the accounting impact had the Company
chosen to apply the fair-value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123R.

(c) This adjustment includes $12 million related to the non-cash
compensation expense primarily attributable to restricted stock awarded to the
Company's CEO in fiscal 2003, which is included in selling, general and
administrative expense, as well as $10 million related to restructuring
actions initiated during the second quarter of fiscal 2004.

(d) This adjustment represents gain on sales of non-current investments.

(e) Amount reflects the expected tax impact on the above noted non-GAAP
adjustments.


Apple Computer, Inc.
Q2 2005 Unaudited Summary Data

Q1 2005 Actual Q2 2004 Actual Q2 2005 Actual

CPU CPU CPU
Units Rev Units Rev Units Rev
Operating Segments k $m k $m k $m
Americas 476 $1,637 361 $881 477 $1,443
Europe 320 847 187 449 276 705
Japan 64 185 76 173 102 284
Retail 119 561 70 266 144 571
Other Segments (1) 67 260 55 140 71 240
Total Operating Segments 1,046 $3,490 749 $1,909 1,070 $3,243

Units Rev Units Rev Units Rev
Product Summary k $m k $m k $m
iMac (2) 456 $620 217 $252 467 $483
iBook 271 297 201 223 251 278
Power Mac (3) 167 381 174 349 141 320
PowerBook 152 307 157 336 211 413
Subtotal CPUs 1,046 1,605 749 1,160 1,070 1,494
iPod 4,580 1,211 807 264 5,311 1,014
Other Music Products (4) NM 177 NM 60 NM 216
Peripherals & Other HW NM 284 NM 238 NM 280
Software & Other NM 213 NM 187 NM 239
Total Apple $3,490 $1,909 $3,243


Sequential Change Year/Year Change
Operating Segments Units Revenue Units Revenue
Americas 0% -12% 32% 64%
Europe -14% -17% 48% 57%
Japan 59% 54% 34% 64%
Retail 21% 2% 106% 115%
Other Segments (1) 6% -8% 29% 71%
Total Operating Segments 2% -7% 43% 70%

Sequential Change Year/Year Change
Product Summary Units Revenue Units Revenue
iMac (2) 2% -22% 115% 92%
iBook -7% -6% 25% 25%
Power Mac (3) -16% -16% -19% -8%
PowerBook 39% 35% 34% 23%
Subtotal CPUs 2% -7% 43% 29%
iPod 16% -16% 558% 284%
Other Music Products (4) NM 22% NM 260%
Peripherals & Other HW NM -1% NM 18%
Software & Other NM 12% NM 28%
Total Apple -7% 70%

(1) Other Segments include Asia Pacific and FileMaker.
(2) Includes eMac and Mac mini product lines.
(3) Includes Xserve product line.
(4) Other Music Products consists of iTunes Music Store sales and iPod
related services and accessories.

NM: Not Meaningful


SOURCE Apple Computer, Inc.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Expect glitches with Virtual PC 7 on Tiger; Spotlight search should index Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit's public relations team at Edelman Seattle just released a statement about compatibility with Tiger, the new Apple OS version due at the end of this month. The statement from Julie Fogerson and Kerry Gentes reads:

With Tiger availability just announced, we wanted to provide an update on the work that the Mac BU has been doing with Apple to ensure Office 2004 for Mac support of the latest OS technologies. For example, upon installation of the new OS, Spotlight will be able to index Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. Support for additional features such as sync services will be enabled by a future update.

Additionally, Microsoft is collaborating with Apple to identify potential issues when running VPC 7.0.1 on Tiger and will conduct final testing upon Tiger’s availability. Microsoft will release a free update within the next two to three months to address any issues. The update will be available for download from www.microsoft.com/mac.

Microsoft strives to ensure that Mac BU products run seamlessly on each new Apple OS and take advantage of new technology that will enhance the overall user experience. A large part of the team’s success in achieving this goal can be attributed to the strong and productive partnership with Apple.

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Audio edition (podcast): Talk of video iPods, Mac minis at Besy Buy, and other minutae

Check out this blog's first podcast, which might be available for just a short time if it kills my bandwidth. (I tried hosting it on Ourmedia instead of my own server, but some software bug kept me from successfully uploading.)

Have a listen, then write in and tell me what you think. (Or just post a comment.)