discussed the rolling out of the Caffeine update further with popular search enthusiast Barry Schwartz:
What are your thoughts on Google’s Caffeine update? Discuss here
If you are unfamiliar with Caffeine, it is an algorithm update that Google announced in the summer. Upon the announcement, Google’s Matt Cutts said, "The Caffeine update isn’t about making some UI changes here or there. Currently, even power users won’t notice much of a difference at all. This update is primarily under the hood: we’re rewriting the foundation of some of our infrastructure." Cutts told WebProNews about Caffeine in the following interview:
When Caffeine was introduced, so was a sandbox, where people could play around with Caffeine based search results, and get a look at how rankings were altered (if at all), and try to get a feel for how it was going to go. Now that sandbox has closed up shop, it looks like the Caffeine update will be live in Google search before too long. It will start after the holidays at least though.
"I know that webmasters can get anxious around this time of year, so I wanted to reassure site owners that the full Caffeine roll out will happen after the holidays," says Cutts on his blog. "Caffeine will go live at one data center so that we can continue to collect data and improve the technology, but I don’t expect Caffeine to go live at additional data centers until after the holidays are over. Most searchers wouldn’t immediately notice any changes with Caffeine, but going slowly not only gives us time to collect feedback and improve, but will also minimize the stress on webmasters during the holidays."
The announcement at what used to be the Caffeine sandbox reads :
We appreciate all the feedback from people who searched on our Caffeine sandbox.
Based on the success we’ve seen, we believe Caffeine is ready for a larger audience. Soon we will activate Caffeine more widely, beginning with one data center. This sandbox is no longer necessary and has been retired, but we appreciate the testing and positive input that webmasters and publishers have given. blogged about their results and findings. The general consensus seemed to be that Caffeine is fast and utilizes real-time search a great deal. Given Google’s frequent announcements related to speed , and a recently announced deal with Twitter , speed and real-time search seem like logical updates to Google search results.
When SEOBook’s Aaron Wall tested Caffeine , he said he thought there was:
– an increased weighting on domain authority & some authoritative tag type pages ranking (like Technorati tag pages + Facebook tag pages), as well as pages on sites like Scribd ranking for some long tail queries based mostly on domain authority and sorta spammy on page text
– perhaps slightly more weight on exact match domain names
– perhaps a bit better understanding of related words / synonyms
– tuning down some of the exposure for video & some universal search results
This stuff should not necessarily be taken as gospel. These are just the results and speculations of individuals from tests of a product that was only introduced (for testing purposes ), let alone finalized. It is what it is.
As the Caffeine update rolls out, there will no doubt be more and more mystery unraveled as search industry professionals scramble to stay ahead of the game, and Google drops subtle hints from time to time. It’s going to be interesting to see where Caffeine takes the world’s most popular search engine.
Have you tested Caffeine? What do you think about the update? Share your findings here
Related Articles:
> Matt Cutts Talks Google Caffeine Update
> Where’s Bing’s Real-Time Search?
> Facebook/Twitter Use May Now Mean More for Google/Bing Rankings
The past week I’ve been in Bangalore, India visiting my team. The picture to the right was of my breakfast plate as it arrived one morning and it simply looked like a happy face, so, I’m christening it the “Indian Happy Meal.”
The food experience this trip was pretty interesting. Three people on the team (not me) were afflicted with food poisoning from two different hotels, we had a friendly roach at a non-hotel restaurant, and one person had a lively experience for breakfast speaking of happy meals……..
One of my colleagues decided to eat some bran cereal from the breakfast buffet of a five star hotel this week. He poured in the milk and saw in addition to the bran cereal, substance that looked like flax seeds. The thought was, people who like fiber will also like flax. But then he thought about the fact that things like raisins were separate and started looking a little more closely at the “flax.” Now, it’s important to say that he’s been eating the cereal at this point of the story…….upon further examination, the flax seemed to be moving. He consulted another colleague at the table “What does this look like?” and a “flax” was spooned on to a plate – it started crawling away. It wasn’t one, it was a whole colony.
The person in question handled the situation calmly and coolly informing the manager and asking them to remove the cereal from the buffet to prevent further “flax” mistakes from occurring. Later that day, the hotel called the colleague to inquire about his stay and he took the opportunity to share his experiences. The next morning when I arrived for breakfast met by the manager of the hotel asking what he could do to make things right (it seems someone mentioned that I was the “boss” and they ought to make me happy too……)
The long and the short of it is, the hotel took the matter seriously and addressed the situation promising it would never happen again and offered us a dinner, which we accepted and enjoyed at one of the nice restaurants on the property. Now, will we stay there again? I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure the people at the original breakfast table will not! I should say for clarity’s sake, the food I’ve had in Bangalore has been very, very good over my trips, this was just an anomaly I think.
Ah the joys of business travel………
Last night the OWASP project published the 2010 issue of their Top 10 Web Application Security Risks. The list is still in Release Candidate status, so it may change. The difference from the previous lists according to the statement by OWASP
A significant change for this update will be that the OWASP Top 10 will be focused on the Top 10 Risks to Web Applications, not just the most common vulnerabilities. At the conference will be the debut of the release candidate of the new Top 10, which will open up a 60 day comment period.
As a summary, the top 10 risks to your Web Apps are:
Injection flaws
Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
Broken Authentication and Session Management
Insecure Direct Object References
Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Security Misconfiguration
Failure to Restrict URL Access
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards
Insecure Cryptographic Storage
Insufficient Transport Layer Protection
It is evident that OWASP hasn’t invented the wheel all over again, and that this list has already been discussed for years. Yet it still falls on deaf ear for many developers – even large development companies.
You can download the full list document here, with detailed explanation of each risk.
Related postsSANS Announced Top 25 Programming Errors
The Biggest Loser for the DS and Wii is now out, thanks to Blitz Games and THQ. The famous TV show that advocates a healthier lifestyle in both …
(NaturalNews) A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Diego found that adult women who drink at least two diet sodas a day experience a 30 percent drop in kidney function over the course of a decade. Findings indicate that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose are the culprits in the rapid degeneration of glomerular filtration rates in the kidneys of those consuming excessive amounts of artificially-sweetened diet sodas.
Dr. Julie Lin of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and her colleague Dr. Gary Curhan conducted the research correlating artificial sweetener intake to kidney degradation, highlighting one of the many dangers of artificial sweeteners.
A 2005 study conducted by Dr. Morando Soffritti of the esteemed European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences and the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center confirmed once again what independent scientists discovered over thirty years ago; aspartame consumption leads to all sorts of illness and disease including cancerous tumors, lymphomas, leukemias, lesions in various organs, transitional cell carcinomas, nerve damage, seizures, and premature death.
Original approval of aspartame by the FDA involved questionable studies that were later investigated by the drug enforcement division of the Bureau of Foods. Though found to be faulty and ridden with errors, the FDA ignored both these reports and the slew of adverse event data that surfaced following aspartame’s approval. Between 1974 when aspartame was approved and 1990, the number of brain tumors in people over the age of 65 had increased by 67 percent.
Similarly sucralose, a chlorocarbon popularly marketed as the artificial sweetener derived from sugar, has been implicated in severe chronic illnesses including brain and nervous system disorders, migraine headaches, cancers, and immune-system debilitation.
Though touted as safe, the chlorocarbon components of sucralose are verifiable toxins. Those who have experienced negative symptoms from sucralose often recover following the discontinuation of its consumption. Among other results, laboratory tests have concluded that long-term sucralose consumption shrinks the thymus gland, the biological source of the immune system.
According to Dr. Soffritti’s research group, most studies alleging the safety of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose fail to use internationally-recognized “Good Laboratory Practices” for conducting carcinogenicity bioassays and thus arrive at faulty, corporate-controlled outcomes. Rather than objectively seek results, the studies used to allege safety are often funded by the companies producing the additive in question.
Preferable options include natural foods like raw honey and raw agave nectar which are healthy, enzyme-rich sweeteners that work great in moderation. Natural stevia extract is another excellent option as it contains no sugar and no calories, and it is completely safe and suitable for those with a diabetic condition or for those who are looking to cut sugar intake.
Soda alternatives include stevia or fruit-juice sweetened soda water. Some stevia extracts are available in various flavors including root beer and vanilla, offering multitudinous options in creating quick, healthy beverages. Fruit juices mixed in soda water also offer a refreshing thirst quencher for those who don’t mind a little natural fruit sugar every now and then.
There are plenty of alternatives to artificial chemical sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin but they are often difficult to find in processed foods. Chalk this up as another great motivation to pursue whole, healthy foods that are as close to their natural states as possible.
Sources:
Diet Sodas May Be Hard on the Kidneys – WebMD
Diet Soda, Sodium Tied to Kidney Trouble: Studies – Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First Experimental Demonstration of the Multipotential Carcinogenic Effects of Aspartame Administered in the Feed to Sprague-Dawley Rats – Environmental Health Perspectives
Bella Italia: The Soffritti Aspartame Study – Dr. Janet Starr Hull
Aspartame Dangers – NaturoDoc
Sucralose Toxicity Information Center
Aspartame Toxicity Information Center About the author
(NaturalNews) Ah, America. Land of the free. Home of the brave. Baseball and apple pie. It’s all so irresistibly attractive that it’s begging for a list of 26 awesome things about America.
So I asked the NaturalNews Facebook team to come up with an A-to-Z list of what’s right with America. You’ll find the complete list below.
In case you’re feeling more pessimistic, by the way, we’ve also published an A-to-Z of what’s wrong with America. You can find that list at: www.NaturalNews.com
A to Z of what’s right with America – The list A is for Alternative medicine – Although the Associated Press hasn’t figured it out yet, alternative medicine is cheaper, safer and more effective than pharmaceuticals and surgery.
B is for Breastfeeding – Because the best milk is mother’s milk.
C is for the Constitution – Without it, this website wouldn’t even exist and free speech would be stifled.
D is for Democracy – Despite all its shortcomings, Democracy is still the best form of government the world has come up with.
E is for Education – Although it’s not perfect, we still have some outstanding schools and teachers teaching our nation’s youth some important skills and knowledge.
F is for Farmer’s Markets – The last place in the country where you can still buy real food grown by real people.
G is for home Gardening – Turn your lawn into a garden and you’ll have your own food supply!
H is for Herbs – The best medicine, made by Mother Nature.
I is for Internet – The last medium of freedom. Without it, we’d all still be plugged into the Matrix.
J is for Juicing – Because drinking raw, living vegetable juices is perhaps the single best thing you can do for your own health.
K is for Kayaking – And all the other stuff you can do in the great outdoors across America’s amazing national and state parks.
L is for Liberty – While we still have some left, it might be a good idea to protect it.
M is for Meditation and Massage therapy – Both are really healthy, relaxing activities available all across America.
N is for Nutritional supplements – Even though the FDA has tried to destroy the industry, you can still find an amazing assortment of nutritional supplements across the USA.
O is for Organics – Thank God we have chemical-free foods and personal care products available — and an organization working to protect them (www.OrganicConsumers.org).
P is for the People – Without whom this nation would not exist. The American People have amazing diversity, creativity and resilience.
Q is for Quantum shift in consciousness – It’s happening right now, and it could help uplift the nation into a whole new paradigm soon.
R is for Random acts of kindness – Despite all its problems, America is still a place where you can find kind, compassionate people who are willing to lend a helping hand.
S is for Superfoods – America offers a huge, diverse assortment of medicinal superfoods. Just visit any health food store!
T is for Traditional Chinese Medicine – Okay, it doesn’t sound truly American, but the fact is that TCM is achieving wild success across the country, and now many American TCM practitioners are helping people heal with the power of medicinal herbs and acupuncture.
V is for Voting – Although it isn’t perfect, it’s still the best way we have going for people to exercise some control over the laws of the land.
W is for Wilderness – It’s one of the most impressive things about America: The vast expanses of diverse, gorgeous wilderness.
X is for Xenodochial – It’s a word you’ve probably never heard of, but it means being friendly to strangers. Lou Dobbs is eXcluded.
Y is for Yoga – America has become a hub for yoga activity. No matter what kind of yoga you’re interested in, you can find it in a major American city.
Z is for Zoos and MuZeums – America has lots of fantastic zoos and museums where you can learn a wealth of information about the world around you.
(NaturalNews) America has some major challenges. Lots of things could use some improvement. To help create this A-to-Z list of what’s “wrong” with America, we tapped into the collective wisdom of our Facebook fans (http://facebook.naturalnews.com) who came up with a nice collection of both serious and funny answers to this question. (I added the descriptions.)
By the way, just in case you’re feeling more optimistic today (or want some inspiration), we also have an A to Z list of what’s right with America! www.NaturalNews.com
A to Z of what’s wrong with America – The list A is for Aspartame – The magic powder that turns diet soda into brain poison.
B is for Bailout money – Because all we really need is another trillion dollars.
C is for Codex Alimentarius – Because we all need to be protected from dangerous vitamins, right?
D is for Dumbing Down – No matter how uneducated the kids are, there’s always a public school willing to compromise its standards just enough to let them pass.
E is for Environmental Policy – Because treating the rivers and waterways like America’s toilet makes for fascinating beach swimming.
F is for FDA (or Foreclosures) – Just what we need: A Big Pharma tyranny enforcement branch in Washington D.C.
G is for Genetically Modified Organisms – Because playing God with the food supply sounded like such a great idea, we just couldn’t resist.
H is for Health insurance (or lack thereof) – Just another financial scam to enslave Americans in a medical police state while denying them access to real health services.
I is for Intellectual Property laws – Corporations already own patents on 20% of the human genome, including your genes.
J is for Junk food – Is it junk? Or is it food? It looks like food, but nourishes like junk. Let’s all eat some more…
K is for Krispy Kreme doughnuts – Because as long as we’re all gonna be clinically obese, we might as well die with a smile on our faces and donut powder on our lips.
L is for corporate Lies – Just when you thought they ran out of ’em, they miraculously come up with new ones. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027483_SIGA_Technologies_vaccines.html)
M is for Mainstream Media and Mammograms – The Mainstream Media pushes mammograms, a brilliant technology for causing breast cancer and heart damage.
N is for National debt – It’ll never be paid off, but it’s fun to watch it expand. I wonder what happens when it gets too high?
O is for Oil – Why build wind farms when you can just buy more oil from the Arab states or drill in the Amazon?
P is for Pharmaceuticals – Because you were all born deficient in patented chemicals, and Big Pharma is determined to “correct your imbalances.” There’s a fee involved, of course.
Q is for Quacks – Oncologists, vaccine pushers, c-section surgeons and nutritionally-illiterate physicians who push patented chemicals instead of real health solutions.
R is for Real Estate Bubbles – Because buying a home is the best investment you can ever make… until suddenly it isn’t.
S is for SSRI drugs – Need a little violence in your school? Psychiatric drugs are standing by, ready to help unleash a few flying bullets.
T is for Tyranny – Whether we’re talking about the FTC, FDA, DEA, CDC, IRS or DHS, a little tyranny goes a long way towards keeping the sheeple in line.
U is for Unemployment – It’s the worst since 1945, and that’s if you believe the official government numbers that don’t even count people who gave up looking for work.
V is for Vaccines – The greatest quackery yet cooked up by drug pushers. See “Q” above.
W is for Wall Street – A place where crooks can turn greed and aggression into insane profits.
X is for X-rays and medical imaging – You’re in luck: Just when you were hoping for a little DNA mutation, your doctor orders another CT scan. (http://www.naturalnews.com/023582.html)
Y is for Yard sales – Because what we really want to see when driving around the neighborhood is all our neighbors’ junk strewn across their front lawns.
Z is for Zillions – Which is how much fiat money will soon be printed by the Federal Reserve when other nations stop buying worthless U.S. debt.
If you’re feeling strapped for cash this past couple of weeks, particularly because of your latest purchases, Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2, too ba…
Palm and Sprint have taken a very different approach to the launch of the Pixi than they did with its slightly older and slightly brawnier brother, the Palm Pre. In the days leading up to the Pre, both parties were on full attack mode; keynotes were held, massive tradeshow booths were built, full page newspaper ads were run, and countdowns ticked away. With the Pixi? They’ve got a commercial .
Compared to Palm’s last run, the marketing campaign surrounding the Pixi is decidedly more average – and after spending a few days with the phone, I’d say they made the right decision there.
Read the rest of this entry at MobileCrunch >>
Well here’s the pretty much final version, I still want to rework the dust but for now I’m pretty happy with it, especially considering its my first time working with boujou.
The President looks back at a week where we honored those who serve on Veterans Day, and mourned those we lost at Fort Hood. He discusses the review he has ordered into the Fort Hood incident, and pledges to stand by our servicemen and women, as well as our veterans, as his most profound responsibility.
Just Cause 2 developer, Avalanche, made a special announcement at their London event earlier today, and it’s special indeed for PS3 gamers. New featur…
Amanda Love demonstrates the preparation of dairy kefir.
This morning started off excitedly – a bleary-eyed awakening, a rush, quick registration and a charming, nourishing breakfast of faintly, but pleasantly, salty soaked oats, apples and raisins. The day was a whirlwind – and worthwhile – from Scott Gryzbek’s quick and dirty tutorial on how to ferment anything, to Beverly Rubik’s fascinating pilot study analyzing the blood of adherents to the Weston A Price diet and Jennette Turner’s take on the intricate details of food and its effects on the mood and temperament of children. My head’s still spinning – but one thing remained constant through this series: the importance of maximizing nutrient intake whether through the time-honored traditions of classic lactic acid fermentation or through consuming sacred foods dense in vitamins and minerals. In essence, good food yields good health.
Highlights of the first day of the Wise Traditions Conference:
Beverly Rubik, PHD – a experienced researcher in biophysics and microscopy – delivered a fascinating slide show comparing the live blood analyses of persons adhering to the diet advocated by the Weston A Price Foundation and those following a modern, conventional which included organic foods and supplements:
Cholesterol is the bandaid the body puts on an arterial injury. The culprit is not the cholesterol … it’s the body’s way of trying to heal damaged arteries … Less blood coagulation is clear in WAP diet subjects compared to modern diet … Reduced red blood cell clumping may be associated with improved blood circulation. Longer blood coagulation time is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. [The Weston A Price] diet gives you the protection without the drugs.
Jennette Turner – a nutritional consultant who provides healthy workplace education – spoke at length about the intricate ways in which nutrients, or lack thereof, affect the cognitive and emotional health of our children:
Healthy brains come from healthy foods … Liver is one of the most nourishing foods we can eat – helps kids manage stress effectively, helps with moodiness and best source of vitamin A necessary for growth. Liver and pork ft is a source of vitamin D … crucial for everyone, especially teenagers .
In eloquent simplicity, Amanda Love – a nutrition educator and natural foods chef – defined traditional foods and just how they play a role in our health:
Ever since we’ve been eating food that’s far away from nature, our health has been in decline. The root of health issues really is in the gut … the gut is the center of our health.
Tomorrow brings discussions on cod liver oil, raw milk, grass-based farming and honoring sacred foods. Check out twitter (#wapfconf ) for today’s updates, videos and pictures.
More from Nourished Kitchen
Looking for grass-finished beef or wild-caught fish? What about that exotic sourdough starter you’ve been after? Or water kefir grains? Check out the Nourished Kitchen Where to Buy List that outlines great companies that sell or support real and traditional foods.
Don’t forget: I’m not a doctor, I’m a mom who loves preparing wholesome, natural foods for her family and I enjoy sharing our reasons in choosing these nourishing foods. Read the disclaimer and advertising/link policy and the privacy policy .
© Jenny for The Nourished Kitchen , 2009. |Permalink |5 comments |del.icio.us
Step 1: Make your theme assets.
Design your icons, backgrounds and other theme images in your favorite design tool – Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, BlackBerry® Composer etc.
For fun, I’ve designed a new background image for my theme:
Step 2: Import your assets into the right spot in Theme Builder.
Jump into Theme Builder.
Click the Home Screen button in the Inspector.
Click the Background button.
Step 3: Put your theme on a BlackBerry® smartphone.
Once you have the Theme looking the way that you want, it’s time to put it on a real BlackBerry smartphone:
Click File -> Export. This pops up the export dialog.
Select Install To BlackBerry.
Enter a Theme Name and your BlackBerry password.
Plug in your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer using a USB cable.
Click OK.
In future posts, we’ll introduce a series of tips and tricks to aid your BlackBerry theme creation. For now, post a comment below of what type of BlackBerry theme you’d like to make and what you think of the new BlackBerry Theme Studio v5.0.
Could there be a DLC coming our way this holidays for the futuristic shooter, Section 8 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)? That’s the vibe we’re getting, based on S…
By Joe Wilcox , Betanews
For days, I’ve read blogs and news stories misstating Apple’s cell phone profitability compared to Nokia. Headlines range from the AppleBlog’s “Apple Surpasses Nokia as Most Profitable Cell Phone Maker ” to Reuters’ “Apple tops phone chart as Nokia, Samsung step up ” to Silicon Alley Insider’s “Apple’s iPhone Operating Profit Beats Nokia For The First Time ,” among, many, many others. As good as this feat sounds for Apple — profit share beating market share — every one of these stories is wrong . Right, everyone is wrong.
Three days ago, Strategy Analytics released report “Apple Becomes World’s Most Profitable Handset Vendor in Q3 2009 ,” written by Alexander Spektor. I contacted Spektor this morning for clarification on the report or for an actual copy. He hasn’t yet responded. So I have to go by all the misreporting.
According to Telephony Online : “The firm estimates that Apple’s iPhone operating profit came in at $1.6 billion in Q3, while Nokia recorded only $1.1 billion in operating profit.” Reuters: “Apple does not unveil profits per business line, but Strategy Analytics estimated Apple’s operating profit for its iPhone handset unit stood at $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with Nokia’s $1.1 billion.”
Well, hell, that sounds reasonable enough, right? Wrong. Apple and Nokia SEC filings tell a different story. Both companies announced third calendar quarter results a few days apart in mid October. For devices and services, Nokia reported profits of $785 million euros , which is about US $1.1 billion. Apple reported total profits — that is for all products — of $1.67 billion in its earnings press release , and later the 10-K filing . I searched the 10-K, and, as I expected, Apple doesn’t breakout iPhone profits.
But it doesn’t have to for purposes of this discussion. I don’t doubt that Apple is more profitable per handset, since iPhone is a smartphone, than Nokia. But the numbers don’t add up to Apple’s overall handset profitability exceeding Nokia’s during third quarter, unless someone is making the bold assumption that all, or nearly all, Apple profits came from iPhone. They surely do not. What? Apple made only $70 million on iPod, Macintosh, retail and software — $1.6 billion — on iPhone. No way.
The disturbing lack of fact checking seems to be a trend when it comes to Apple these days. One headline today about Gartner Q3 phone sales data claimed that Apple had closed in on Research in Motion. The reporter later changed the headline after I tweeted that the numbers show RIM extended its lead over Apple (see second chart).
Gartner reported that cell phone manufacturers sold 41 million smartphones during third quarter. Earlier this week, IDC reported that manufacturers shipped 43.3 million smartphones during the same time period. The nearly 2.4 million difference shows still historically low inventory levels — even for Apple. Based on Gartner’s numbers, Apple only had about 400,000 units unsold at the end of the quarter. During its October earnings call, Apple acknowledged that it couldn’t ship enough iPhones to meet demand during third quarter.
Gartner and IDC put Apple smartphone market share the same — 17.1 percent — but RIM’s share was much higher based on actual sales: 20.8 percent compared to 19 percent as accounted by shipments. That made RIM’s real-time market share even greater than Apple’s during Q3.
As for Apple’s overall phone profits being higher than Nokia’s, don’t believe it. Just because dozens of Websites report something as true doesn’t make it so. Because of the extent of misreporting, I can’t say where the fault lies. The Strategic Analytics report, which again I haven’t seen, might have gone no further than present numbers showing that Apple makes more profit per phone than Nokia. That absolutely makes sense. But to assert that iPhone generated $1.6 billion profit during a quarter when all Apple products generated $1.67 billion is simple stupidity.
[Update: : That rascal (I’m being polite) John Gruber has flamed my analysis. Since Gruber doesn’t take comments on his site, I’m put in position of defending the analysis here. Gruber uses Apple’s non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) like a club. I quite purposely did this analysis based on GAAP figures, because that’s how Apple is required to report them. Of course, I was well aware of the non-GAAP figures, which would add more than $1 billion to Apple profit during third calendar quarter. But like it or not, that money is deferred over eight quarters.
I chose to use the GAAP figures because a) Again, that’s what Apple is supposed to report; b) It made for a simpler analysis; c) Apple recognizes previously deferred revenue with the quarterly results; d) According to Apple SEC filings, deferred revenue is for more than just iPhone and Apple TV. The last two points are paramount.
The non-GAAP figure can include previously deferred revenue, which mixes monies taken in during the one quarter with revenue held back from an earlier time. Additionally, not all Apple’s deferred revenue is from iPhone or Apple TV. For example, according to the October 2009 10-K filing: “For online sales to individuals, for some sales to education customers in the U.S., and for certain other sales, the Company defers recognition of revenue until the customer receives the product.” The third quarter was a big one for Apple educational sales, which presumably includes accounting for rebates offered for iPod touch. Apple doesn’t say how much non-iPhone revenue it deferred from third quarter, although that should become clearer when future results are announced.
The point, deferred revenue — the non-GAAP results Gruber so gleefully trumpeted — is not so cut-and-dried about iPhone or as explained by his simple math. Lots of companies defer subscription revenue, and that money is counted over time, whether or not Gruber or anyone else likes it. Contractual licensing accounts for 55 percent of Microsoft server software revenue, which must be deferred over 24 or 36 months. No reputable analyst firm compares Microsoft non-GAAP server profits to competitors’ profits. But Mac enthusiasts and investors treat Apple differently, for reasons that should be obvious regarding the company’s high-flying shares.
I stand by my GAAP analysis. It’s the proper way to look at iPhone revenues/profits, for as long as Apple defers a portion of the product’s revenue.]
[Update 2: On November 16th, I finally heard back from Strategy Analytics. As I expected, the figures stated for Apple were based on non-GAAP iPhone sales. Strategy Analytics calculated for operating profit, which would be higher than the net profit figures I used.]
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
In the recent debate in the UK about copyright extension for performances, one of the key points raised by many who were against the proposal was that economic studies suggested that it would really only help a few big superstars (who probably were well enough off already) while harming up-and-coming artists greatly. Christian Zimmerman points us to a recent economics paper by Francisco Alcala and Miguel Gonzalez-Maestre that models why this happens, and points out that copyright extension actually serves to decrease incentives for the creation of new content . The full paper (pdf) basically points out that extending copyright really only helps the superstar performers, since, for everyone else, the economic value of the content is exhausted by the time the extension would matter. That’s pretty obvious. But the more troubling part is that this also then negatively impacts the market for new artists, because money and attention that might have gone towards new works end up going instead to those older works.
Nice to see more economists recognizing the problems of the current copyright system.
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The Russians are angry. Apparently, they did not like how the controversial airport massacre level in Activision’s blockbuster game was named the “No …