Category Archives: Finance

December 2, 2024 · 23:35

The version of a word

There is a word, it connects to the BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czeg2p3wjy1o) where we are treated to ‘Why so many games are failing right now – and why others are breakout hits’ the word in this is ‘game’ the definition is “an activity that one engages in for amusement or fun”. The problem is that most ‘game designers’ have no clue on games. The bulk of these ‘designers’ are setting the bar ridiculously low. Their version is to create some version that reflects a game and lace it with advertisements. You see 100K ‘customers’ implies that the designer gets 100K times a few cents. So that implies 100,000 times $0.04-$0.07 gives us $4000-$7000 per advertisement and take that 3 times then whomever downloads the game has handed their achievement towards the $7000. The world (Google, Apple et al) likes this, because they get their larger share of the cash, but that doesn’t make a game, it doesn’t even resemble a game. And mobiles and tablets are overgrown with that trash. In the years that I have seen these junk providers I have perhaps seen a dozen games at best and they are still around, the rest is easily forgotten. So the article gives us “There’s also evidence people have been spending less money on new games, choosing to stick with long-running online games like Fortnite or yearly franchises including Call of Duty and EA Sports FC. Despite that, more games than ever are getting released.” As such we see Fortnite, Call of Duty and EA sports. I like merely one of them, but these are all games. We don’t all like the same thing and as such the designers of an actual game get into a much larger predicament. 

I have met the greats Richard Garriott, Sid Meier and Peter Molyneux (and a few more). They have a different mindset and that shows. They created games that are close to timeless. Even now I could get my thrills from Ultimate 3-8, Alpha Centauri, Civilisation, Dungeon Keeper, Magic Carpet. These games let us enjoy actual gaming and they would still entice gamers today. That makes for a real game designer. There are more designers of course. As I personally see it game designer made Horizon Zero Dawn a game of near perfection. There are of course more designers. Yet as I see it, we are given “That’s not only affected premium releases – smaller studios, whose games tend to be more affordable, have also struggled to find an audience.

It’s often difficult to pinpoint why, but quality isn’t a guarantee of success.” In response I give you Hello Games, a smaller studio that game is all “No Man’s Sky”, they gave it to us in 2016 and is till debated, played and loved 8 years later. I do agree that quality is no guarantee of success. There have been these games going back to 1985. We had games like The Sentinel, Paradroid, Eye of the Beholder, Tower of Babel. The list goes on. Some become success, some do not. There is another cog in that wheel. In those days the press illuminated games that THEY liked, the game population was small. Now everyone calls themselves a gamer and that is where the plot thickens. It becomes about the advertisements and the fountain of replication. For example there are dozens of match 3 games and they all advertise. And as they all advertise to the same people the advertisers see their money bags fill up. That is not gaming. So now we get to another setting. We see it “As well as battling for player’s attention, new games are increasingly battling for their time. According to analytics firm Newzoo, annual series such as Call of Duty and online titles such as Fortnite took up 92% of gaming time, with just 8% remaining for new releases.” I have doubts about this data. I for one have never touched Fortnite and I know a few more people who did that. There will be an offset of course, like the platform in use. Tablet, Mobile, Consoles and PC/MAC. The final part I needed to look at is ““Factors like a strong IP, strong marketing campaign, community fostering, and timing can help, but the fact is that there is luck involved,” he says. Right place, right time is a big part of gaming’s surprise successes. “But gameplay matters, and innovation, so great games often stand out and find their market.”” I can agree in part with this. IP is essential, and in that setting the Horizon games stand out. A new IP is essential and Guerrilla has the goods. Still the IP was not enough. The first game gives us a storyline that is quite literally out of this world. And these two are essential to a success. Graphics snd sounds count, but without the first two graphics and sound don’t stand a chance. We can debate IP, but without it dozens will copy what you have or they will copy it as well. That sets your pool to a much smaller population. And as statistics go, consider that “14,000 games have been published on the platform this year, with 2024 already overtaking 2023’s tally” do you know what it takes to produce 14,000 games? It comes down to 39 games each day. Take the timeline and you get something unsustainable. A setting that Advertisers love, but do the gamers? And when you consider the number of games. It seems to me that the bulk of designers are set to appease advertisement funds. The red currency that dwindles on the gullibility of gamers and the BBC seemingly overlooked that small fact. They know statistics? They know the top-line of involved data? So why didn’t they see this? I know because I have been involved with games and gaming since 1985 and I have seen several iterations of gaming whilst taking the advertiser out of the loop. It is time for a better dimension of gaming and the BBC story merely confirms what I have known for several years. And in all this the BBC has been unaware of what they missed from the very beginning.

Have a lovely day.

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December 2, 2024 · 00:04

When it rains, it pours

That was the very first thought I had when I was confronted with the opinion piece in the Middle East Monitor (at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241129-saudi-arabia-abandons-pursuit-of-us-defence-treaty-over-israel-stalemate/) where we see ‘Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of US defence treaty over Israel stalemate’. I have said it before and I will say it again. The US needs to stop their stop gap resolution of “We can do this, if we can have….” That is a setting that is past tense. America needs to open all valves to get any revenue out of Saudi Arabia (and other nations there). Now that we see “Saudi Arabia is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement, two Saudi and four Western officials told Reuters” the US needs to stop its appeasement trajectory. On the plus side China is pretty happy with that flawed approach from America. There is every chance that China will open the flood gates and let Saudi Arabia go nuts on the Chengdu J-20. 

Is this a given? Nope, but for others to see Saudi Arabia embracing the J-20 is the first sign that America is about to lose several contracts. Not all (it fits with the modest military cooperation agreement setting) I predicted a loss of 40% towards the US defense contracts and so far there are indications that 30 billion left American shores for Europe and China (unverified numbers). But the first stage has been reached. And the setting changes if this does happen. The American loans are set to a 90%-95% fulfilment of contracts and there are larger consideration that America will at best get 60%-65% restated for America. And it gets worse for the US, Saudi Arabia has stated to grow its national defense settings and if China makes that happen all whilst Antony Blinken remains in the appeasement setting, the losses will get worse. I speculate a lot worse, but I don’t have access to anything reliable for the numbers in that game. As such, I need to add the ‘speculation’ label as I haven’t been connected to defence parties for 42 years. 

We are also given “Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian State” I understand that setting, but I personally belief that this should be done after the eradication of Hamas. Saudi Arabia has been under attack through Iranian proxies for too long and as such the three terrorist organisations Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi their eradication becomes a near essential. You want to doubt this? That’s fair but the essential setting becomes that Iran wants to stop the achievements of Neom (including Sindalah, the Line, Trojena, Oxagon and Magna). At some point One of these three parties will be added to the work roster of them and they will introduce small flaws, flaws that might not be noticed now, but in a year or two when things start to go wrong, the costs will enormous. An Iran will be quiet for a larger share of the table that is how it starts and Saudi Arabia is too far ahead now. If we want to protect the achievements of Saudi Arabia eradicating Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah forces becomes the larger setting. All those weakhearted lefties will argue that these people are really sorry and should be forgiven. I say hell with that and eradicate them all. Or have you all forgotten how Saudi Arabia was on the verge of setting the larger stage to include Israel? Some will say that Hamas was brilliant and I say that this is the final straw setting the stage of eradication for these three puppets of Iran. And Iran knows that Israel is about to settle the attacks on the territory of Israel and that would escalate things even further. Now that will happen in two stages. In the first the attacks that Hezbollah will vie for and the threats from Iran takes it even further. The danger here is that Iran could ‘press’ Houthi forces further and that would force the hand of Saudi Arabia. In that stage China could proceed by handing Saudi Arabia a support setting of the Chengdu J-20 as well as the primary delivery of the speculated Xi’an H-20. I reckon that it is not completed yet, but they could hand 3 of these puppies to Saudi Arabia so that the Saudi Airforce could strike against the Houthi Forces. (I did say could, not will). Consider that these two planes would be readily sought by other Arabian nations (including Egypt, Jordan and Iraq) this is largely speculative, but it allows China to take more and more slices from American defence industries. And as this happens Iran needs to hide, because these choices would reduce the Houthi forces to next to nothing and at that point Iranian actions would fall flat and at that point Israel has options and Hamas should have none left. 

As such the Saudi war hammer will carve slices of Yemen to rubble. In all this there are two sides that matter. The first is that the west ignored that stages that China prepared for and now we see that Saudi Arabia has selected for “a more modest military cooperation agreement” with America, as scheduled the door opens for China to get more of towards America assigned spending. As I personally would speculate is that Saudi Arabia is now in a good place to negotiate and as Blinken seemingly trusted on “We can do this, if we can have….” We see that America endangered its position for defence spending. I believe that I am correct, but there are signs that it is based on a opinion piece. Not on reported facts.

What people need to realise is that this all started on October 7th 2023 when Hamas struck the Nova music festival massacre, overall 1,139 people were killed and 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. That started this mess but the media is extremely willing to avoid certain matters. And now we see a larger setting Saudi Arabia is (as I personally see it) ready to find a new defence partner and spend billions with that new partner. 

So when some will call this a mild rain, consider that thought because those billions would have paid for the loans which could now fall short of payment for the next few years.

As such appeasement becomes deadening. America made a massive booboo as I see it. Have a fun day.

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December 1, 2024 · 06:26

When the media uses the media

Yesterday I saw a message that threw me (at first). The BBC gave us (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7747l84xp1o) and we are given ‘Hitman offered $71,000 for Canadian reporter’s assassination’. As I see it, it doesn’t matter who or where, but anyone paying more than $25K for shortening the life-wire of the reporter in question is over-inflating the problem. We are given “Convicted killer Frédérick Silva confessed to La Presse that he had offered the contract to anyone willing to carry out the hit on Daniel Renaud, who was covering his trial for three murders and an attempted murder in 2021.” The first thought I had was how people could fall for this. A convicted killer handing out the job to anyone for $71K? As I personally see it who is Frédérick Silva trying to escape from? Then we get “The “contract” was in place for roughly two months, but was never carried out, La Presse reported. Silva eventually cancelled the order, he said, because he had “more important issues to deal with”.” As I see it, when a person sets up a contract, it tends to be ‘fulfilled’ within a few days. So I am weirded out by a $71K contract that stays open for about 2 months and then withdrawn? The setting does not fit as some would say. Consider the premise of anyone in the lower security tier. Day one, scope where he lives, or where he frequents. Set the stage and set up a sniping position on day two. Wait for day 3-5 for the mark to show up and end his career (with a 7.62mm prop). In case of ‘dubio’ you could set it up in week 2 as well. So all the effort in two weeks explained and a convicted killer can’t do it and no one wants a $71K job? America with its problems and everyone in that setting passes up on a $71K job? And no one sees this? I had all these doubts, so I decided to take a look at the Canadian side of things and the CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hit-man-wanted-to-kill-journalist-1.7397281) gave me ‘Notorious Quebec hit man wanted to have La Presse journalist killed for $100K’ with the byline “a threat recently made public revealed there could have been a third attempt three years ago, when a contract was put on the head of La Presse crime reporter Daniel Renaud. “I was shaken,” Renaud was quoted saying in La Presse. “I am always careful about what I write. For me, the best guarantee for my protection is my writing.”” I read two articles and the only thing dripping off the writing is ‘how considerate’ he pretended to be seen. You see, we get one additional thing. We are given “Quebec provincial police informed Renaud in the fall of 2022 that notorious hit man Frédérick Silva, whose trial Renaud covered the year before, had put out a $100,000 contract to have the journalist killed.” If that was true the journalist either had something no one has seen yet, or there is another personal setting. So when Radio Canada gives us “Frédérick Silva was arrested in 2019 after spending months in hiding. Three years later, he decided to become a police informant and was airlifted to a secure location from jail.” So he was in hiding for months? And decided to become a police informant? What a disgrace (to some). So consider that “notorious hit man” forks out a contract. I get it, that would be needed to create an alibi and if he was so notorious some would take the contract to gain favour and fame in certain circles. And it came with a $71K bonus? I have issues with this all and I am surprised that I might be the only one. It is not the person. I wonder if anyone outside of Canada knows Daniel Renaud? That is not an attack on Daniel Renaud, he might be very famous in Canada, perhaps even more famous in Quebec. But I (and many more) have never heard of him and that is fine in this world where there are more journalists than there are pools. If you add the self proclaimed journalists we get a pool of so many people that they can replace the population of a medium sized country. So when you realise these items in the equation. Consider what these articles were all about. About a failed attempt on a life where the slightly above average precision shooter could gain an easy $71K, or a reporter that has suddenly be pushed into the limelight. 

As I see it there are way to many debatable issues here for comfort. I will let you make up your own mind.

Have a great day.

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November 27, 2024 · 17:06

Saudi Fun craft

That is on the agenda. Most people are hauling what they can to see their name in COP29, but the others (or those who put their name down already) are trying to be seen as the anti-China voice in the middle east. Because that is what Trump wants, right?

That is the setting of the next wannabe, the next facilitator or the next service provider. Saudi Arabia, Aramco, the UAE and ADNOC’s next need, that is what their limited view states. I cannot agree. That was what the region needed, the next iteration however is as subtle as a maul to a shin.

You see, most are ‘reacting’ to ‘Better offer needed if the US wants to pull Saudi Arabia away from China’ (Amwaj media) or ‘Saudi Arabia seeks mining deals with Chinese, Indian and Canadian firms in industry push’ (AL-monitor). There are more headlines, but the cautious player notices that America (or USA) is in several instances no longer mentioned. That is the actual play. President  elect Trump has a problem. His library is not on the mind of those who need to have it on their minds and that is a plural issue. Microsoft might be ‘offering’ the world to the UAE in AI, but the critics who know a thing or two are skeptical. I cannot tell if there is a silence delay, or an actual disregard in play for the USA. You need to be in the know with China and a certain palace in Riyadh to know the actual setting. And in this Amwaj gives us “if Washington truly wants Riyadh to join the US camp, it should come up with a better offer—instead of a proposition with strings attached.” Funny that, I said something similar on March 11th 2020 in ‘Who is Miss Calculation?’ (At https://lawlordtobe.com/2020/03/11/who-is-miss-calculation/) the words are not the same, but the spirit was. As most would embrace Good business is where you find it, others went for Money talks, bullshit walks. So who was president then?

It does not matter, policies are always on a turntable, but the disc hits that direction 33 times a minute. Faster if you play a CD. No matter whose president when this matter resurfaces. China had a while to set his ducks in a row and he merely needs to watch the fallout whilst he takes shelter regarding the massive boink the Americas show when things turn sour.

America needs a positive hit and that implies being close friends with the Arabian allies UAE and Saudi Arabia. All whilst they know that they need to be friends with China as well. And that is a bitter pill to swallow for America. The tables turn even further as elemental deals (where America would have been the A-team for Arabia) we now see China, India and Canada taking slices of that pie as well. I send stern warnings in 2020 and now we see it happen. So consider that America had the biggest part of that pie until 2015, now we see that America (with $36,000,000,000,000 debt) ends up with a suspected mere 45% of that pie, 55% went into other directions. Add to that the deals Europe and Australia expects to make before Jan 1st 2025 and you see that Saudi Arabia is doing what it needs to do for its country. It might not look nice, but that is the reality of it all and I gave the people heads up for over 4 years. Now it all ‘looks like a crises’ that does not mean it is. It is merely a crises when you were unaware of it all and America was very aware. So seeks the sands with COP29 all whilst there are over 41000 flights each day and many are not needed. So how is that for “biologically formed organic matter”. Yes they will stop some of this all whilst a massive chunk of of these 41000 flight each day could be deleted. So where is COP29 now?

And it gets to be bad, or worse for America. The Tariff deal for Canada is seen as disastrous. But when it can deal with China and Saudi Arabia, what Canada loses on one side, it will gain more on the other side, America painted itself in a corner. And for the sweeter deal? It might be too late for that. China has gained about 15% of the pie that was meant for America, as such the bills will be pushed along forward and there is actual consideration that America would have to lease its land to others to make a shilling and it is not shillings that America needs. It needs a wheelbarrow of these coins. As I see it, America now has less than 4 turns until it can no longer make any moves. It wont be able to afford the entry fee to make a move. As such I personally believe that America has been playing the wrong game. They were playing chess whilst Chinese chess was needed. They never used the board optimal and now that they figured out the game, it is too late for that.

In my own view (optionally a wrong one), the friends of Trump are heading for the hills. They will not get away Scott free, but they will get away. The rest gets saddled with the biggest invoice in human history and they cannot foot the bill. And don’t think that this is not on you all. Your pensions are about to go the way of Lehman Brothers 2003. The loans that are still outgoing will be foreclosed by the banks foreclosing your banks and you end up having nothing to live upon. That too was blatantly obvious before the end of 2023. Now it matters to whom have the flexibility to make moves with whatever capital they have. Don’t rely on the stock markets. Have investments that are mobile, or optionally real estate. I feel certain that it will come to blows in 2025 when America shows that it has issues settling the bills they have. That is when panic goes global. And when you see this unfold those with a decent penny in Aramco and ADNOC will have a return on investment, the rest? Whatever of these rest players will be left alive in Q2 2025, because there is no reality that this will be true.

And when you ask how come? That would be fair and the answer wa staring you in the face. Country 1 gave payment to a debt of country 2 and Country 2 gave payment to a debt of country 1. So what is that called? And this had been going on for decades. I thought the barn was done away with when we learned of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic going south on the debit line. However, the worst was dealt with. This time around it might be worse. The USA would need to call themselves bankrupt and the impact of that is beyond my ability to see, but I am willing to place a bet that China knows exactly what to do. You see, when this comes to pass China and others can vie for the 6,278,000 billion barrels a day it imports. It might be cheaper then getting their own oil, but that is where it is headed. India and China will try to get the largest chunk of it. As such Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Colombia will need new customers and I reckon India and China will be chomping at the bits to get these slices of oil. It will impact global economy to a much larger extent. And that was merely the first part. Consider that Huawei is taking over another slice of technology and you have one country falling short on several fields, merely because they did not think things through. So wanna seen what happens when you owe a bank a massive amount of cash and you can only cover 60% of the monthly payments?

How long until this party is over?

Enjoy the day.

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November 25, 2024 · 18:22

Marketing sidestep

The day before yesterday I was given a mini-can of a Walovi tea as a trinket as well as a can of Walovi tea. The tea was slightly too sweet, but the taste was otherwise good. I liked it. I put the little knick knack on my keyring and that was it. Today I amended to the idea to make it a little more of a real device that people will like and put on their desk. A functioning thing that could be bought and people will pay for something that is good. Even if it costs a few dollars. 

Now consider it not merely a simple toy, but something functioning. Consider the following. The mini can is set with the following.

A battery so that wireless connections are possible it has a charge point at the bottom through USB-C and at the top

A switch looking like a soda can lid so you can switch the device off. When rotated on, there will be two connections. A SD card and a Micro SD card. Now you think that it is out there, but you would be wrong. I have looked and I cannot find anything like this and even as I set this as a Coca Cola can. It could just as easily be a Pepsi can. Bottle shaped like a soda brand or a beer can, the can could be a beer too and this would see a massive level of visibility. So why didn’t anyone grasp that option? There is enough out there to see the the futility of some marketing attempts. So why am I the one looking at this and are others not even close to this? Then there are the options. The battery and WiFi connector could be optional making it a simple SD card reader and none of those seem to be around either. So what are the marketing boffins doing? Why are they not ahead of me? I can think of Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Heineken, Vita Coco Company, Asahi Group Holdings, Anheuser-Busch InBev and no one with these billions of dollars thought of this? Perhaps they did and they rejected the idea. Yet nowadays, we have mobiles, laptops, netbooks, consoles and tablets. All relying on WiFi for connectivity. So what was keeping them?

Just a question to put out in the open. So have a wonderful day and don’t let creativity stop you from making a wild idea out in the open. Look at what is out there and see what could be in every living room and office for all to see. So what kept them in the first place?

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November 24, 2024 · 19:58

Bee, Bee, Bee, the Eye Pee

Yup, I am going off the simulated drive straight to the edge of what I consider wonky space (aka idea town). I have two reasons to do this. In the first there are a few indicators that LVMH is already on route to this and there is nothing more fun than to blow the surprise of the biggest baddest luxury brand on the planet, so that they know they are less ahead of the pack than they think they are. As for the second reason. It is always fun for a blogger to be able to say that I got there two years ahead of the rest and that is done by publishing the idea now and not when they want it to be published. Its al connected towards he said, she said and I merely show the published article to prove my point.

As such we get to the first hurdle. I was walking around in nowhere land and I got to mix what I designed two years ago after seeing malls impacted by COVID issues. At that point I designed a new technology for interacting retails and consumers. It was based on mobiles and glasses to give the people more. As such I had a thought today. To get you on board I need to take you on a mission of mercy (to protect your mind) to something that is 70 years old.

We get to so see two images, one red based (for the left eye) and one green based (for the right eye) these two images do not interfere, but with the glasses you get to see a 3D image of the image. One image for the left eye, the other for the right eye. Almost like a mono coloured view-master. We adapted the technology to use grey scaled glasses and that is how I saw Gravity in 3D in the IMAX theatre. A movie by Alfonso Cuarón with George the Nespresso man Clooney and Sandra Speedster Bullock. Gravity was the most impactful movie in my life and I still think of that movie has had the most impact on me. The technology employed that is, it was a great movie all around. You see, I thought of another ploy. The grey screen with glasses can give us an additional privacy filter. We have a mobile screen where we can filter what people see and only if you are directly facing the screen can you see the information. On an angle you can not. So this already exists, so what the beef? Well, I reckoned that a screen with ‘intelligence’ could interface with the grey glasses.

Now consider that the glasses could be given a setting that gives any wearer of these glasses individual privacy and in the second setting 3D capabilities. And with the interactions you get a new level of 3D interactions (and privacy) to new tablets (and mobiles). 

The main event
Yup, now we get to the main event. You see as I stated, I was there over 2 years ago and I wrote about it in ‘The mind it continues regardless’ on June 6th 2022 (and before that) where I saw a new application to augmented reality. Eaton Centre was the first application where I saw it, but it would be highly regarded in places like the Dubai centre. I also wrote ‘A Promise kept’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/04/05/a-promise-kept/) that is more up to date to this story. You see what people fail to see is that malls rely on engagement and these times (the COVID era) are bringing that need to the surface. As such I also I got to an idea that would offer a lot more to jewellers (see A promise kept). You see, there are two phases. The first is a QR code.

This code could be outside any jeweller, but in my view I saw the jewellers in Monaco and the millions of tourists they have to ‘appease’ to. As such I formed the idea that we would add the code to the image of a hand and the image of your hand (your finger) will be placed inside of the image of the ring you wanted and there we have an approximation of Deeper Machine Learning in use with a mobile and the retail industry. I worked out parts of it and I gather that LVMH has even gotten further with this. Well, you gotta admit that they are are being paid to work on it every day and I thought that android systems (iOS too) and by next week Huawei could implement this using HarmonyOS, this could have an interesting setting where everyone could have an image of an unaffordable ring on their finger, without LVHM endangering their stock and this would be an eye catching ability in Monaco to say the least. And this could be pushed even further when we consider the privacy shield with 3D capabilities and glasses. The Deeper Machine Learning options we now have could design an image from the 3D stage and the ring (as a QR code) and create a perfect fitting ring where a $26,500 ring might merely be owned by a few, but in this setting millions could see themselves graced with such a ring and when LVMH does this every quarter you get more than a return population, you create a global wave. And that is what I saw and now with the alternative idea we could see our hand graced (in 3D) with rings we could never image ever holding (I reckon that gets 98.3433% of the female population eager to try it).

Just my sneaky sneaky sense of humour. Because I wanted to state (for some kind of record) that I got there first, well kinda anyway. So all those people making claims, I have 3288 articles in my blog showing for over 10 years a few ideas that others dream of (or so I hope). It was a stage of innovation, which is why I can call Microsoft as the masters of mediocrity. I am ahead of them by miles.

You all have a great day, I am now 4 hours from Monday and perhaps another new idea.

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November 22, 2024 · 20:41

The end is nigh

Yup, it is. And not in a normal way. There is no demon sprouting on the land. You see Lucifer Morningstar has greed driven politicians doing his dirty work and what is more satisfying than any person digging his own grave? So how did this setting deploy? Well as the DoJ decided that there agenda matters most they are about to force Google its Chrome browser. (At https://www.itnews.com.au/news/google-must-sell-chrome-us-doj-argues-613298) We see “Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with rivals and take other measures – including possibly selling Android – to end its monopoly on online search, prosecutors argued to a judge” Its always the stupid and greedy that redefines the borders of hell. Anyway, whatever his ‘personal’ reasons are the game is literally afoot. In this instance whist that is considered Europe and the Middle East will select the dollars for donuts option and in this we need to consider the second cog in this wheel. It is given to us by Politico (at https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-china-huawei-ban-2029-5g-networks-government-greens-lawmaker-4g-strand/) which they gave us in July. There we are given ‘Germany goes soft on China, dragging out Huawei ban until 2029’ and this ban will be delayed again and again. Lets not forget that American anti-Chinese actions led to this. And no matter how we feel about it. The Americans NEVER gave ample evidence for any of it. So as one start to ferment the sentiments of how stupid this American administration is, Huawei will add to this. You see Huawei now has HarmonyOS and it has a few other arrows in its quiver. The larger setting for the internet of things was ignored for too long. And as Germany delays, so will France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and the Nordic regions. Like domino stones they will tumble each other. All whilst this administration will find another person to take a metal briefcase to the European leaders like a pop star and we saw that before. So the evidence better be real this time around. Still that will take time and in the meantime we are given by Huawei Central (at https://www.huaweicentral.com/huawei-matepad-pro-13-2-2025-will-reshape-office-experience-ceo/) We are “shown” ‘Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 2025 will reshape office experience: CEO’ and this is the larger setting. For when Google loses market share, in that same instance Microsoft loses market share as well. The Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 2025 is now only 4 days away. With HarmonyOS it will be able to connect nearly all other devices. As we are shown that the “Multi-Window enables users to open several apps in split-screen mode for multitasking. One can also swipe an app inward from the left/right edge to bring up the Multi-Window dock. It’s a useful tool for office work, meetings, and more.” That is precisely why politicians should stay away from technology decisions. Basically they are too stupid to see the forest through the trees and in this instance there will be a massive jolt to Google, Microsoft and I reckon that Apple will also see a dip in revenue. Or as some will say “It sucks to be you” to the Attorney General. 

So am I right or am I wrong?
That remains to be seen, but as I see it, the demand for the Google ‘simplification’ will open the doors of HarmonyOS to Europe and for a much stronger setting to the Middle East. And with the uncertainty of the Google stage. Huawei and their data centres. The setting of Google will make a lot of people nervous and that works for Huawei. We were given last year “The launch of the Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region was announced at the Huawei Cloud Summit Saudi Arabia 2023. The new cloud region, located in an STC/Center3 data centre in Riyadh, offers three availability zones. It is the company’s first region in the Middle East.” How long will it take for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to follow suit? And how happy do you think Microsoft will be to do their ‘AI’ work in a Huawei data centre? All this will come to pass (unless someone muzzles the AG). There is a setting to it all and one brick will stumble the next one and the next one. It is the result of the internet of things. And with the Huawei MatePad Pro there is more than just the connectivity. It will slow iPad sales and from there Microsoft will find themselves in more hot waters (some they did to themselves) and the UAE will demand that Microsoft will do its AI work wherever it needs to be and as such Microsoft will enable Huawei even more. All this because someone has anti-Google feelings. For 15 years Google found and created an innovative road. It is not up to the DoJ to reward stupidity to the competitors of Google. They forgot the basics and these settings will now work for China as well. 

And as we see that Politico gives us “Under the agreement, components manufactured by Huawei, China’s leading 5G equipment maker, are to be banned from sensitive core network infrastructure by the end of 2026, rather than by the end of 2025 as previously envisaged, as reported by POLITICO. When it comes to the radio access networks (RAN) such as antenna masts, Huawei components would have to be removed by the end of 2029 instead of the end of 2026. This is a satisfactory outcome for German operators, who were in the process of upgrading these networks anyway, thus limiting extra costs.” You see one thing, but I see that there is no real America by 2027, as such the ban becomes moot. Add to this the expansions that Saudi Arabia is making with the STC. The Saudi Telecom Company is already making waves in Egypt and now it seems Portugal as well all this enables Huawei more and more growth and as Google starts to falter the European politicians will try to divert whatever they can as to not be eaten by their ‘allies’. As the west falls to Huawei and the STC the more hardship America will face. It all started by attacking its own base and by attacking Google they basically drowned their own livestock and  from there the business opportunities they had. Funny for me, not so much for Microsoft who basically let it happen and now that the office suite is under attack (from next week) we will see all kinds of spin by one player on how hard it will be for the shifters. The overt setting was that (an oversimplified setting) the Department of Justice should have stayed out of matters. They hide behind ‘monopoly’ but that game states that all players are equal whilst that setting hasn’t been true for decades. The world had Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Google and Oracle. The others are spinning, making presumptuous presentations on whatever wasn’t real yet and now there will be a tap on the door. How will it end?

I honestly have no idea. The only thing I foresee is that with the breaking up of Google the end will be nigh for those relying on ‘scripted’ settings for the better things that it will bring. Because that just ain’t so. For things to become better true innovators are needed. And the bigger part of those are not in America. The 5 I mentioned has them, but when the For each of those China might have an alternative. Huawei could now replace Google (in part), Tencent with Huawei will be able to replace parts of Apple. As I see it only Oracle has a steady foundation and it all depends on the DoJ waking up what they are about to unleash and still if they do not Credibility towards Google will wane, that much the DoJ already achieved. I wonder if they realise what they are about to achieve. 

The world seems to become more and more Chinese oriented. Well, that is what this administration seemingly wanted.

Have fun with the fallout.

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November 21, 2024 · 15:27

Tweety and the mariposa

That is the setting. It is a small nod towards the Master and Margarita written by Mikhail Bulgakov. The story is set towards a professor named Woland (aka Lucifer Morningstar). There is more to this, but I will let you figure this out. Today I saw a CNN report (at https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/02/business/elon-musk-twitter-x-fidelity/index.html) where we are given ‘Elon Musk’s X is worth nearly 80% less than when he bought it, Fidelity estimates’. Well I could have told you that as the report of October 2nd did. Actually I did on August 20th 2022 in the article ‘Is it intentional ignorance?’ (At https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/08/20/is-it-intentional-ignorance/). I came to the conclusion that Twitter was highly overvalued, a firm named Trollrensics had even more compelling data then I had. It was my view that Twitter was overvalued by at least 10-20 billion dollars. And we were given “Mr Musk is currently in dispute with Twitter, after trying to pull out of a deal to purchase the company for $44bn (£36.6bn).” There was nothing noble at my approach. I reckoned that if my data was accepted and proven validly that even a 1% commission of the saving would hand me $50,000,000 – $200,000,000, which makes for a lovely retirement parachute. Alas Elon Musk never responded to me (as far as I know Trollrensics never got a call either). This matter as we see now in October 2024 “That new estimate marks a 24% drop in value from what Fidelity estimated as of the end of July. And it represents a staggering decline of 79% from the $19.66 million that Fidelity estimated the shares were worth in October 2022 when Musk acquired Twitter. The new valuation from Fidelity implies that it believes X is now worth just $9.4 billion — a far cry from the $44 billion that Musk paid. Other investors could value X differently.” Some will shrug, some will smile and others will just think ‘whatever’. The issue becomes that we are given ““Musk clearly overpaid for this asset,” Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, told CNN in an email. Ives said that he believes Twitter was really worth around $30 billion when Musk bought it, and today it’s worth closer to $15 billion. He said that while engagement on X is “strong,” ad pressure has persisted.” There are two elements here. One is the overpaying of the system, the other is that Elon Musk is no dummy. He had a larger setting from the start and as I see it, he got Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud to foot nearly 2 billion of that money. As I personally see it he is about to lose around 1.6 billion buy the end of the year. It is not just the devaluation of Twitter (and Advertisement loss). 

You see BlueSky is now at 21 million users and in the upcoming month it should increase rather dramatically. With the concerns given many will push their advertisement to BlueSky. And with that the decreased interest in Twitter (say: X) will grow, the value of that solution goes down more. In a stage where all wars are based on deception, there is every chance that the wool was pushed over the eyes of Elon Musk (a small speculation). And in this there is every chance that the investment by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud and Kingdom Holding will turn up daisies by the end of the year. 

In the article we are also given “X had 73.5 million monthly active users on iOS and Android combined in the United States in August, according to Similarweb data shared with CNN. That represents a drop of nearly 11% year over year and a 20% decline from October 2022” which would be fair was it not for the stage that BlueSky is now life and that will drain a lot more traffic from Twitter (say: X) And that gives rise to the considerable chance that X will end up being a troll-farm nexus to the simple minded greedy. As such the Social media platform will rise from social media to a simple danger to national security in the simple form of form. You see, at this time Russian and Chinese troll-farms are having a go at X. However, should Bluesky get the larger setting of bouncing those, there would be a new stage. Because advertisers see no hail in marketing to empty accounts and that is what would most likely happen, as such advertisers will have to move to BlueSky, just for the hell of getting any engagement traction.

Since ‘Is it intentional ignorance?’ I have written close to a dozen articles on the setting. And now (recently) we see that I was right all along. Even without BlueSky I saw this evolve the way it is. So all these high paid analysts are only now showing their faces. So where were they when I already foresaw the events merely through fake accounts. Why were they not on their pages updating it all? Makes you think doesn’t it.

Have a great day and if you have no stock in X, rejoice. You are lucky to not have diminished your retirement capital by 80%.

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November 20, 2024 · 18:43

Puzzlement

That happens and it does not matter how bright you are. At times you get the message and it makes no sense (at that moment). I had that yesterday with an article by Fortune (at https://fortune.com/2024/11/17/luxury-goods-lvmh-kering-bain-broken-promises/) we get ‘50 million people have stopped buying luxury brands like Dior and Burberry after ‘broken promises’ to customers’. The first question that pops into my head was ‘How do they get to these numbers?’, lets be clear I am not accusing anyone of anything. Yet that gives us the 100% of Tokyo and Sao Paulo together. To collect that amount of data requires a mind boggling amount of data. I lost track to the article as Fortune hides behind a paywall and I am not that stupid to fall for the ‘disaster’ sales technique. The article gives us brands like Burberry and Dior. As such Simple questions become apparent. 

What form of verification was used?
Data in itself is the biggest liar of all. A simple mistake of cleaning and verifying the data is essential. Example is the question ‘Are you pregnant?’ Is a nice one, when the men are not cleaned out of this setting we get an astounding 50% offset (if we are lucky). The man (always trying to be funny) will answer no, because it is the truth. 

Then we get the broken promises. 

What evidence is there?
I get that Fortune gives us “On some level, brands have broken their promises to consumers” the voice (read: writing) of Marie Driscoll an equity partner. So what evidence are we given. The to some degree aggregated setting gives us LVMH, Burberry and Kering. There is a mention that they missed revenue targets. And suddenly we see that they are surpassed by Ozempic (a Pharma solution). We see not mention of any broken promises. We see all kinds of excuses and no actual mention of broken promises. At best we get the term brand fatigue. Actually I made mention of this in an article in January 2024 called ‘That one sided conversation’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/27/that-one-sided-conversation/) my issue is that malls (and brands) need to set their focus to engagement. I even created the setting to do just that And I had the Toronto Eaton Centre as an example as well as the Dubai Mall (and a few other places in Dubai). I never considered broken promises, and as I see it Fortune has no real setting for that either. If you have 50,000,000 consumers. You have data. Whether the consumer told a porky pie (read: lie) or there is another reason like they ran out of cash. The simple setting is data and the article does not give us any. The article is (as I personally see it) a sham. We are given “an equity Analyst told Fortune” the name appears later. Yet, if I had this to say you mention that name EVERYWHERE. And the article goes one step further “Now 50 million luxury consumers have either ditched buying designer bag, scarves, watches and more — or have been priced out, Bain & company’s new annual luxury report warns”

I personally believe that LVMH, Burberry, Gucci (et all) need to demand that data from Fortune. I wonder how long I need to shift through that data to see an astounding amount of gaps that could get Fortune into hot waters? 

I got to see the article in my mobile, but not my laptop (another fine mess I got myself into). 

In these troubled times I have no issue with missed revenue targets and I feel certain that their investors do not have that issue either. The very rich know how they are doing and for the most they also know that of their peers. So if only 2 get their numbers that quarter, they are certain that about 80% will not go shopping everywhere. Optionally they will push back their Burberry suit or dress. There is no shame as I personally see it (and for the record I have never had enough money for a Burberry suit). 

As such my puzzlement. Fortune was always seen by me as a straight error in ‘reporting’ and this article basically threw their credibility in the trashcan.

The Second sight
That comes from the reference to Bain and Company and the stage that was referred to. The headline there was ‘Global luxury spending to land near €1.5 trillion in 2024, remaining relatively flat as consumers prioritise experiences over products amid uncertainty’ an article by Claudia D’Arpizio and Federica Levato. There we see “And yet, 50 million luxury consumers have either opted out of the luxury goods market or been forced out of it in the last two years. This is a signal for brands that it’s time to readjust their value propositions. To win back customers, particularly the younger ones, brands will need to lead with creativity and expand conversation topics. Simultaneously, they must keep their top customers front and center, surprising and delighting them while rediscovering one-to-one human interactions. For all customers, it will be critical to double down on personalisation, leveraging technology to achieve it at scale.” That is a view I can get behind and there is no mention at all of ‘Broken Promises’ (anywhere in the article). These two youthful young sprouts basically confirms my believes that it is about engagement. It does not matter how (I personally chose a generic setting) to engage the consumers in a much larger setting of a place and not a specific brand. I do not disagree with “rediscovering one-to-one human interactions” but as a technologist I prefer my Chicken Shawarma in a one to many configuration. And I do get that to address the very wealthy (aka filthy rich), a one on one setting is likely preferable. But that was never the reason for the IP I created in that setting.

And I for one personally believe that you can ditch the Fortune story and go straight for Bain & Company (at https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2024/global-luxury-spending-to-land-near-1.5-trillion-in-2024-remaining-relatively-flat-as-consumers-prioritize-experiences-over-products-amid-uncertainty/) the article is quite remarkable. And it was a pleasure to read too. I get that the numbers game can be nerdy and dry, but this story is uplifting and a good thought to address, for anyone in retail that is.

In the end what did Fortune do? Very little, all praise to Bain & Company here.

Have a great day all.

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November 19, 2024 · 22:36

The Christmas sphere

Yup, we all go there, there is no holding us. Still it is not a setting that I would have guessed that the Republicans would enter (perhaps a small oversight on my part). It started on the October 9th 2024 when I wrote ‘Personal Perception’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/10/09/personal-perception/). Today, one of the coolest dudes I know from Uni (Thanks Yoshi) brought this to my attention (at https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/18/24300033/doj-google-monopoly-remedies-search-chrome-android-ai) where the Verge are giving us: ‘US lawyers will reportedly try to force Google to sell Chrome and unbundle Android’. Let me give you a small education. It happens in sports and n business. In uncertain times you keep your strongest players strong (example the Toronto Maple Leafs) and your businesses in pretty much the same order. As such there is an upside to all this (sort of). For Huawei Christmas comes early, as such, I personally believe It is up to Ren Zhengfei to get Merrick Garland (Attorney General of the United States) the hamper of all hampers this Christmas. (See below)

Fair is fair I think. With this sentiment the DoJ will hand mobile supremacy to Huawei and SymphonyOS on pretty much a global level. We are given (in the Verge) “Bloomberg reports that DOJ lawyers will try to break up Google’s search monopoly by targeting Chrome, Android, and AI Overviews.” And the supporting text “The Department of Justice is planning to ask for Google’s antitrust trial judge to force the company to sell off its Chrome browser after the judge ruled the company has maintained an illegal search monopoly, reports Bloomberg.”. It comes down to “Don’t underestimate the woke opponent population to destroy your their own army for you” It is the one reason Sun Tsu forgot to teach his generals among him (the silly bunny). 

As Google gets slammed left, right and in front of them by self centred greedy minded people We need to come to an understanding that Merrick Garland gave China the best Christmas present ever. In the first they took a slippery situation in 2019 to take resources and create Harmony OS and now it is its own solution away from Android and at present is available in 77 language for all 64-bit ARM, x86-64, RISC-V, LinxiISA systems. It is about the solution for smart systems and now as Google is about to be hobbled by its own justice system, the one global solution for nearly all parties. It is the one system that Apple feared, and it was partially secure knowing that Google could counter whatever Huawei could bring. That advantage is about to be gone. Ren Zhengfei had nothing to do but to await the American woke powers to be to become this stupid. And in the end the only America basically cut its own wrists right before the price fight. And that is merely part of it. You see our protection was “Finally, they will reportedly push for “a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of the case against Google.”” You see it was not for Google, it was for the consumer who relied on stability and protection from the dangers in the mobile worlds, the scammers. I reckon that by 2026 the world needs to become aware of the scammer danger and by 2026 they get more easy access to mobile users all over the world. Google was our protection and I reckon that 2026 will become the year of Huawei (2025 might be a little too soon). And that also reverberates all over the Middle East. A more clear example is given by “In total, we estimate Google’s products support between 4.3 and 10.5 SAR billion a year in economic activity. Over the last five years, the economic activity driven by Google Search and Ads has grown by 189% in nominal terms” (source: anonymous, the mouse we all adore). With this as well as “Google launched a cloud region in Saudi Arabia in November 2023, located in Dammam. The company had been in discussions with Saudi oil firm Aramco about a data center joint venture since early 2018, and plans for a GCP region in Saudi were officially announced in late 2020” If Huawei gets to show pockets of inconsistency (something the DoJ is about to deliver) Google will have a much harder time and with that part out in the open Huawei will get almost easy access to the United Arab Emirates as well. Yup, that was what the DoJ accomplished, all for the good of Huawei. Suck to be radical and woke, doesn’t it?

In addition Bloomberg gave us “Google’s regulatory affairs VP, Lee-Anne Mulholland, said that the DOJ “continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,”” gives me the sentiment that Lee-Anne Mulholland underestimated the ego of any woke mind to fumble a technology war. In other news, today I made a desperate attempt to something else and it brought me to the Canadian Consulate (in Sydny, a joke the Canadians will get). It was the most awesome experience ever. Never ever was I so happy to go to any Consulate, I actually left that place with the Christmas cheer in my heart. It took hours to make that feeling fade. 

So don’t think that I am all business (OK, I am all business at present). 

What does one have to do with the other? Nothing really, I just wanted to give you that Christmas cheer can be found in the most uncommon corners of the Universe (In this case in Australia).

So when you consider that the DoJ is pushing a radical agenda you need to consider why and more precise who does it profit. Because it is not the consumer and it is not Google. So consider that these actions are not seen in 2000 with Microsoft and with “the Circuit Court did not overturn Jackson’s findings of fact, and held that traditional antitrust analysis was not equipped to consider software-related practices like browser tie-ins”, now the setting changes. With this they enable Huawei to grab supremacy in all kinds of legal ways and it seemingly will hurt Google. So at that point what do you think will happen to Merrick Garland and his minions?  In those years Microsoft could play the games they did and now They are faced with Huawei and Tencent Holdings Ltd. And in this Pony Ma (Tencent) and Ren Zhengfei (Huawei) are about to get access to 1.8 billion consumers in a move that Google was unable to get. How is that for competitive laws? 

I reckon that the dust will settle around 2028 and the American ago will have to lick its wounds from that. Stupidity is about to end technological supremacy. I reckon they would have called me crazy around 2000. We only have to wait for the political ego to crush their own marbles. What a day.

Have a great day.

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