In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Nedd Ludd
<1313@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:19:01 -0400
<t5mdnYkz67Z6hDzbnZ2dnUVZ_uuqnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> That's it. I'm filtering all posts from Outlook Express.
>
> Why?
>
>>
>> FWIW, Microsoft changed the way it reports earning, so it's comparing apples
>> (last year) with oranges (this year). Nice play, but it only fools the
>> investors, who are not stupid (they are just not as clever as most people
>> because they think MSFT is worth investing in).
>
> Changes to how financials are reported would require a line in the
> footnotes describing the change. I didn't see it. Could you point me
> to the line in MSFT's 10Q where they describe the change?
>
> Also, statistic in the financial reports that compare this year's
> numbers to a previous year's would require that previous year's numbers
> be recalculated to reflect any changes in how earning are calculated.
>
> Please notify the SEC if you feel that MSFT improperly made changes the
> changes to their accounting practices. If you are not willing to stand
> by your accusations with a formal report to the SEC then we'll assume
> you're a liar.
It makes no difference; Vista is doing very well in the
marketplace, generating unprecedented sales for Microsoft.
But there is a fundamental disconnect here -- several,
in fact.
[1] Microsoft continues to sell its OS primarily through
OEMs. These OEMs are contractually obligated to
sell Vista machines, presumably; therefore, any new
machine, absent special consideration by these OEMs
(e.g., Dell's Ubuntu promotion), must have Vista
preinstalled thereon.
[2] Microsoft sells Vista, but that doesn't mean customers
will *use* Vista; many may very well wipe the disk
and install XP, or wipe and install Ubuntu or any of
a number of distros. Microsoft still gets its money,
despite that particular license never being used
at all.
[3] It is possible (I'm not sure how likely) that at
least part of that revenue is being realized by a
customer upgrading his system to Ultimate from Home
Basic or some other lower edition. The Ultimate or
business editions are the only editions which have
certain desirable functionality.
How much % any of these will factor in is not clear to
me at this time absent additional data.
And then there's the issue as to whether this has relevance
to Linux. I say that it does, if only in the commercial
realm -- any dollar spent on Vista is one dollar less
that could be spent on Red Hat, machine improvements,
good sandwiches, a new car, etc. To that end, the report
appears to be of peripheral importance, but not totally
irrelevant.
As for Microsoft accounting changes -- again, I have
no data.
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Been there, done that, didn't get the T-shirt.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
|
|
