important news of the week

[Bradley M. Kuhn]

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Sitaker, Kragen wrote:
 
> Perl 5.6 is out.

I saw this....*Sigh*....CPAN modules must be installed again.  :)

 
> VA Linux Systems' stock is down to $70 or so, a bit more than twice the
> IPO price.  This means the company's market capitalization is about $3
> billion; it is probably worth more than that if its chances of market
> success are as good as they appear.

I agree that $70 is undervalued.  Personally, I think the true value is
really around $100 (based solely on what I know about the earning potential
of who works there....there are same-sized companies with much higher stock
prices who don't have anything near the talent VA Linux has). 

But, for unrelated reasons, I am going to hold my IPO stock indefinitely
(unless I need the money to pay for food, clothing, shelter, debt, or
wedding expenses).  I already got my initial investment back, and I am sorry
enough for selling that when it was so over-valued (I screwed some poor sap
who bought 10 of my shares at $215...I am sorry, whoever you are!  If I can
make it up to you, let me know. :).  I will stick by the company.  The way I
see it: most every publicly-traded company is somewhat unethical, but VA
Linux is pretty darn ethically when compared to who else I could hold stock
in.   The only way that I could feel more ethically comfortable about where
the money is if it were given to charity or under my mattress.  Since I
don't have a real job yet, I won't  do the former.  As for why I don't do
the latter, I suppose I like some risk in my life when there is nothing
really to loose

(Heck, I could have been like someone I know who thought the VA Linux
Friends and Family IPO email was SPAM and didn't realize it until after the
IPO.  I won't name this person.  :)

And, since I have my investment back, the money is really a
no-strings-attached gift from VA Linux to me.  So, why not pay them back for
the gift by holding?

 
> Linux Weekly News says:
> 
> 	The return of reality can only be a good thing. Linux will not
> 	take over the world tomorrow. No one company will ever dominate
> 	the Linux market.

This is awfully speculative in the part of LWN.

> Maybe now Linux company CEO's can dream a little less about becoming
> instant billionaires and get on with the business of making their
> companies actually work.

Since I know of no company that is based solely on Linux, the kernel, I hope
that maybe now "Linux" company CEO's will read
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html start calling themselves
"GNU/Linux" company CEO's.  :)

> Subterfugue is being integrated into the mainline Linux kernel.

Saying  "the .. Linux kernel" is redundant.  There is one Linux, and it is a
kernel and only a kernel.

People always seem to do that in other places too: "the Emacs Editor", and
"the Mutt MUA".

It seems they are treating proper nouns as adjectives.

I suppose they should probably say: "the kernel, Linux", "the editor,
Emacs", "the MUA, Mutt".

-- 
Bradley M. Kuhn  -  http://www.ebb.org/bkuhn

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