Cutting one's nose to spite one's face

Are you yellow or red? Careful, the answer can make a difference between life and death! As protestors continue to cripple the Thai economy with their airport and building sit-ins, occasional grenade blasts and other forms of civil disobedience, little do they realise (or perhaps care) that they are spreading terror in their own capital. Something Mumbai reminded us we do not need.

The Thais are incapable of spending enough on their own to resuscitate their flailing economy and by punishing the current government, they are rejecting foreign spendings in their country. It is a pity since some, if not all, of them do know the economy is heading south, a contagion effect from the US credit crunch. Still, they needed to "tell the government something".

Well, they may get what they wanted as the government may soon be left with nothing to govern. Who wants to be in charge when there is too faint hope for recovery? The powers that be may want to rethink what they are doing before it is all too late. Be careful of what you wish for - you may get it, and live to regret.

Of tuxedos, soup queues and $1 salary

The guy walked up to me using his walking stick as a guide. He had a companion whom he hangs on to and who carries a stack of packets of tissue paper. He was obviously visually-impaired and he was hoping to raise funds from me with his tissue paper. I always gave... until one day I found him with a "boss" a block further away. I tailed this guy to his Lexus. The blind man's condition was being used to raise money as part of a syndicate.

I heard the American version on CNBC yesterday: People in tuxedos joining the soup line with a tin cup in hand - CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler. Congress gave it to them and refused bailout. When you fly to DC on private jet to ask for money to save your company, you simply don't get it. When AIG was granted bailout, the top brass had a strategic retreat on what to do with the money. It came with thousand dollar spas! Thanks to AIG, Congress gave auto CEOs the stick.

I remembered Apple was shedding jobs when Steve Jobs was recalled to the company he co-founded to turn it around. He stopped the retrenchment and asked for $1 annual salary. When Cisco had to cut cost post 911, John Chambers halved his 2002 pay as the first concrete action. These people have the moral authority to retrench staff or cut other people's expenses or ask for help. These people get it. So when they lead, people follow.

New caper at the airport

I've heard of people pick pocketing at the airport. I've heard of others duped into picking up luggages that don't belong to them (and getting arrested for it). And I've heard of blue-jacking too.

You probably have heard of many similar things at the airport too. Here's a new piece of news for you on something that has been proven. So you road warriors, watch what you do at the airport or in the plane, free wi-fi can be costly.

Happy Travels

Has DOW hit the bottom?

Well if I know the answer, I've told some of you before that I'd mortgage everything I own, borrow any amount I can, fork out all I have - and invest! Charts are just pretty pictures that tell us what has been. They don't tell us what will be. Just for kicks, below is the DJI trend since "beginning of time".

Even after accounting for time value of money (aka inflation), suddenly there's still a lot of "basement" left! So Mr Dow, how low will you go?

Let's go into the pillars of American economy, the source from which all things green flow. I believe they have accumulated several pillars over 23 decades: financial institutions and then at the turn of 20th century, real estate followed quickly by airlines. When John Kennedy was president, they added automotive. Since 911, airlines swiftly sank and has been struggling to raise its head again since. That leaves us with 3: finance, real estate and automotive.

Unless you've just returned from Mars after a 3-month vacation, we all know what happened to each of these 3, most recently, the automotive. Coincidentally, they all share something in common - the need for credit to survive. So today, the clock has been set back to 2003. Going further back will only mean we have to include the airline industry, which is a non-entity today.

I personally believe we are hovering close to the basement floor today but I'm not telling you to "mortgage everything you own, borrow any amount you can, fork out all you have". Use what you have between your ears.

$2 COE and beyond

The last time I recall a ludicrous COE price, it was $50. Somebody was trying his luck and as luck would have it, there were less bidders than COEs, so the certs went for a song. Yesterday's results of the November bidding exercise, showed an historic low of $2! 1,852 bids were received for a quota of 1,851..... It reminds me of the NBA where games were won or lost by the last attempt during overtime, something like 132-133!

Still, let's do some math - last month's COE for this category was priced at $12,577. This month's shortfall of $12,575 translates over 1,851 certs to some $23m less in the government's coffers, ouch! What will happen then? The typical Singaporean will say, "I want car!" Some will do their sums. Some won't and find out later that ERP, fuel, parking, road tax and insurance cost more than their monthly instalments. CapEx vs OpEx.

I have a good friend who doesn't use the highway and doesn't bother with ERP timings and charges. His reasoning is simple, why bother with something that changes all the time? I never remember my age; I tell people who ask what year I was born. If it is necessary to use the highway, he will pay regardless of the charge. Like some pre-paid phone card users - they know the per minute is expensive but they call during emergencies and don't care about the rate.

After my meandering, all I really want to say is: do expect change, especially discussed in my previous posting, there is a need to attack the deficit.

S$2.5 billion poser

Channel News Asia reported the finance minister's comment that Singapore's FY08 budget deficit will swell to perhaps more than 3 times the S$800m estimated. So what are the implications?

We all know a deficit is when you spend more than you earn. We all know a deficit in Singapore must be fiercely addressed. It is logical, therefore, that the country now has to spend less or earn more or both.

The government can't morally spend less while encouraging the population to continue to spend (and spend more) to sustain the economy. We all (sorry, maybe some of us) know how the country earns.

The government can't morally increase the tax rates while announcing efforts to reduce them. But apart from taxation, the government has other avenues to earn. So do expect your fees to increase and what you have taken for granted in the past to be charged.

There is some S$2.5 billion to be addressed, at least.

Nokia's warning or prophecy?

Nokia warns mobile-device sales will fall next year
Forecast that consumers will forgo new purchases roils wireless stocks
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch Last update: 12:56 p.m. EST Nov. 14, 2008

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nokia Corp., the world's top mobile-phone maker, warned Friday that sales for the handset industry as a whole will fall next year as consumers pull back in the face of slumping economic conditions and limited credit availability. Nokia projected that fourth-quarter industry volumes will be roughly 20 million phones fewer than previously expected and that 2009 volumes will be lower than the 1.24 billion units it's forecast for this year.

"The company sees [2009] volumes down year-on-year. We had expected negative 1%, but considering Nokia is usually conservative in its guidance, the outlook could be some negative 5%," said analysts at Deutsche Bank. Nokia shares fell 6% in Helsinki, while the company's U.S.-listed shares surrendered nearly 14% as they touched a 52-week low of $12.22. Shares of Motorola Inc. also suffered, down 9%.

The warning is the latest to hit the high-tech sector. Over the past couple of weeks, industry bellwethers such as Intel have cut down their forecasts in the face of the slowing economy. On Friday, Sun Microsystems announced plans to lay off as many as 6,000 workers to cope with the slowdown. Nokia said that, in the last few weeks, the global economic slowdown, combined with unprecedented currency volatility, has resulted in consumers pulling back sharply on their spending.

The market for mobile devices "has also been negatively impacted by the more limited availability of credit, which has limited the purchasing ability of some of our trade customers," the Finnish company added. Nokia still expects market share in the fourth quarter to be at or slightly above third-quarter levels but warned sales and profit in its devices and services unit will be negatively impacted. The telecom-equipment industry wasn't spared either, with Nokia Siemens Networks forecasting both the mobile- and fixed-infrastructure markets will be down in euro terms next year. Nokia Siemens is the 50-50 equipment venture between Nokia and Germany's Siemens.

Western markets at the center of the storm
Developed markets have been most affected by the curb in spending, while emerging markets have held up better, Richard Simonson, Nokia's chief financial officer, said, "The same fundamentals are in place for 2009," he added. Simonson emphasized that the problems are being felt across the wireless industry and aren't confined to Nokia alone. "This is a market issue. This is broad-based and consumer-led," he said.

Currency fluctuations have an impact as well, he noted, as purchasing power fell in markets where there has been a sharp deterioration against the U.S. dollar. Against a backdrop of these challenging business conditions, Nokia said it's going to "significantly" reduce its cost base, curtailing the use of external contractors, consultants and professional services and cutting operating expenses. Carolina Milanesi, research director in the wireless and mobile-devices practice of technology specialists Gartner, said it's important to focus on the bigger picture rather than the specific numbers being floated.

"Whether the mobile-phone market contracts 2% or 4% next year is not the main issue, because it is in any case a far cry from the growth rates the industry had grown accustomed to," she noted. What is in danger now, she said, as operators put the latest phones on sale at bargain prices when tied to long contracts, is the whole notion that consumers will keep upgrading their handsets and will be willing to pay 400 euros for a device. "Will there be a way of going back to that once the economy recovers or do you kill that notion forever?" she asked.

Say Something!

Perhaps I was paranoid when I began with a caution on this blog. I was afraid of comments that will not only sully this place but also get me into trouble..... "oh ye of little faith!"

Well, I hope to hear from you at least. I know a blog is more of a soliloquy but I'm hoping for some brave souls to register with Google and comment. Come on it's not that difficult to register (comes with a free Google account).

the Quixote

Sands deeper in the sand

I was reading a recent CNA article reporting that Sands managed to raise some US$2 bil to ease it's financial pains. While I'm not exactly sure how that was done (through bonds or capital injection or other means), this just came in.

Moody's cuts Las Vegas Sands further into junk
Associated Press, 11.12.08, 01:53 PM EST

Moody's Investors Service cut credit rating on casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. two notches further into junk territory Wednesday, citing its high debt load and negative trends in Las Vegas, while praising plans to raise capital and trim development spending. At the corporate level, the agency cut several ratings, including the probability of default, to "B2" from "Ba3." Some $5 billion in credit facilities issued to the company's Las Vegas subsidiary were cut to "B2" from "Ba3," while $3.3 billion in facilities issued to operations in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau were cut one notch to "B2" from "B1."

The agency said the ratings are on review for possible further downgrade, especially if a $2.1 billion capital raising program the company announced Monday did not come to fruition. It is set to close Friday. "Failure to successfully raise adequate new capital, even with the significant reduction in capital spending plans, would likely result in a covenant default and could jeopardize the company's ability to continue as a going concern," analyst Keith Foley said. If the capital raising program succeeds, it is "expected to alleviate concerns related to liquidity and covenant compliance."
Along with the capital raising plan, the company said Monday it would halt the development of three casinos and two hotel towers in Macau, a condo tower in Las Vegas and the non-casino portions of a complex in Bethlehem, Pa.

A simple tribute to Amos

A week after my birthday this year, Amos Joel passed away. Amos who? Now that I'm walking away from the cellphone industry particularly, it is a good time to pay tribute to the man who gave us the cellphone. While he did not exactly invent the cellphone, he did invent the device that allowed phones to shake wireless hands with different stations as they wander around. I researched about Amos for material to write and beheld this apt article on my search engine.

Thank you Amos; you changed the world yet they know you not. God bless you, now that you have returned home to Him.

The father of switching who connected the world
Friday Nov 7 2008 13:55 By Phil Davison Financial Times

When you make a call on your mobile phone today, tip your hat to Amos E. Joel Jr, the American electrical engineer who patented the idea of a cellular phone system in 1972 and who has died at the age of 90. It was he who invented the electronic switching device that allowed phone users to move from one "cell area" to another without losing their connection.

Although another American, Martin Cooper, is widely credited with "inventing" the mobile phone for Motorola in 1973, his first wireless handset relied on a single base tower, linked up with the landline system, and had limited range. Wireless phones would eventually work "on the move" as a result of the technology detailed in Joel's invention of the previous year, US patent number 3,663,762, titled "Mobile Communication System".

"Without his invention, there wouldn't be all these people walking around with cellphones," according to Frank Vigilante, who worked with Joel at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Bell initially hoped Joel's breakthrough might lead to 200,000 mobile phone users worldwide, something of an underestimate given the hundreds of millions of users today.

Although he was most renowned among his peers for that and other switching technology - he delighted in the label, "the father of switching" - it was only one of more than 70 patents held by Joel, a recent inductee into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame. His designs for early digital computers and "cryptanalysis" machines played an important role for the allies during the second world war as part of what was codenamed Project X. After visiting Bell Labs, then in New York City, British computer pioneer Alan Turing incorporated some of Joel's ideas into the digital computer, Colossus, which helped crack Nazi codes.

Joel and his colleagues at Bell also designed a scrambler codenamed Sigsaly, which allowed Winston Churchill, from the Cabinet War Rooms in London, to have vital encrypted conversations with Franklin D. Roosevelt, the US president, in Washington. The system's main terminal was so big that it had to be installed elsewhere, in the basement of Selfridge's department store on London's Oxford Street. Joel's role in the cryptography team is commemorated on a wall at the Bletchley Park museum, Buckinghamshire, the wartime code-breaking centre.

Half a century on, in 1994, the producers of the television mini-series, World War II: When Lions Roared, enlisted Joel to help design their reconstruction of the room where Churchill, played in the series by Bob Hoskins, co-ordinated the war effort with Roosevelt. "Dad was extremely proud of his contribution during world war two. He was quite aware of the impact his cryptography team had on the outcome of the war," said Stephanie, one of his twin daughters.

After the war, Joel designed technology that allowed direct long-distance dialling, without the traditional operator, and designed the world's first computerised billing system, known as AMA. His patent for the latter was the longest document ever registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, running to more than 500 pages. His switching technology would later help create such advances as the call waiting service, caller ID and the locking code for touch-tone phones.

Amos Edward Joel Jr was born in Philadelphia on March 12 1918, the only child of a travelling menswear salesman and his wife. When he was 11, the family moved to New York City, where he lived on West 86th Street, Manhattan, and commuted to the DeWitt Clinton boys' high school in the Bronx. He learnt to read music and play clarinet and saxophone but was, he said, "always curious how things worked", such as the signals on his electric train set. When his parents got their first dial phone, he wrote to the local telephone company to ask how it worked. Receiving an inadequate answer, he worked it out himself and, aged 14, invented his own "Joel All-Relay Dial System" - connecting all his friends on West 86th Street with lines he put up between apartments.

He graduated in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in 1940 and master's in 1942, joining Bell after getting his BSc (He would remain there for 43 years, until his retirement in 1983, after which he was kept on as a consultant).

As a student, he developed a fascination for patents, collecting copies of them and using them as "wallpaper" on his dormitory wall. During an "open house" day, when visitors were allowed, he invited a fellow student, Rhoda Fenton, up to his dorm on a blind date "to see my patents". She assumed this was code for "something more interesting" but he was too engrossed in his patents to make any amorous move. He spent the evening explaining to her that "it takes all of that to give you a dial tone". Back at home, she told her father ,"this guy's crazy" but they were wed in 1942 and remained so for 58 years.

With the explosion of mobile phones in recent years, Joel was modest but proud, according to his daughters. "Especially after 9/11. He felt extremely proud that his creation was able to link people with their loved ones during the last moments of their lives," says Stephanie. He never felt the need to get a modern model but kept one of his prototypes, the size of a brick, in his car, using it mostly to order a pizza on his way home from work.

Joel never earned significant money from his cellular or other breakthroughs. "He invented not for the money, but for the betterment of humanity," says Stephanie. "He always wanted to use his mind to make the world a better place."

Joel died of heart failure at his home in Maplewood, New Jersey, on October 25. His wife died in 2000 and their son Jeffrey in 2003. He is survived by his daughters, Stephanie and Andrea.

Changing of guards

UIQ Technology Staff Put On "Notice Of Dismissal"
Tuesday November 11, 7:53 am ET By Dianne See Morrison paidContent.org

This wasn't entirely unexpected, given Nokia's purchase of Symbian. Staff at UIQ Technology, the Symbian-based mobile application development platform and graphical interface, were warned that they were facing layoffs following the decision by its co-owners Sony Ericsson and Motorola to stop using its software. Allaboutsymbian.com reports that following the company's board meeting last Wednesday, it was feared that UIQ would have to cease operations immediately. Sony Ericsson, however, has stepped in and will fund the company on a month-by-month basis to allow the company to figure out its options. The Symbian Foundation is supposed to take the best pieces from the various interfaces UIQ, MOAP, and S60 and combine them into a single interface layer, but as the Register notes, what this really means is "co-opting interesting features into the next version of S60 - leaving MOAP and UIQ developers in the cold."

RAZR Burned
Posted at 3:08 PM PT on November 10, 2008 Digital Daily by John Paczkowski

The Motorola Razr’s 12-quarter streak as the No. 1-ranked handset in the United States has finally been broken–by Apple, of all companies. According to a survey by NPD, the Razr V3 slipped to second place behind Apple’s iPhone 3G in the third quarter, apparently a victim of its own outdated design. “The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD. “Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features.” An interesting trend. Especially, since smartphones tend to be quite a bit pricier than their dumbphone counterparts. Indeed, AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive carrier in the U.S., offers the device for $200 with a two-year contract, while it offers Motorola’s RAZR V3xx Platinum for $0.01. Seems $200 beats free, or essentially free, even in the ugliest of economic times–as long as it’s emblazoned with an Apple logo.

Sands not in trouble?

Companies don't file with the SEC just for kicks, so let's read the article below with a pinch of salt. In fact, as a preamble, read THIS so that you understand the background of why Stanley has to issue a vague denial, which in PR-speak smacks of "there's sh**, there's a fan and both are on a collision course".

No indication of default from Las Vegas Sands, says DBS Group
Posted: 07 November 2008 1604 hrs ChannelNewsAsia

SINGAPORE - US gaming firm Las Vegas Sands intends to finish a casino project it is building in Singapore and there are no indications it will default on loans, lender DBS Group said Friday. DBS is one of 40 banks that formed a syndicate to fund the Marina Bay Sands casino development, which is estimated to cost more than four billion US dollars.

"All signals I'm getting from the management of Las Vegas Sands is that they intend to finish the project and move on," DBS chief executive Richard Stanley said at a news conference on the bank's third-quarter earnings. "I have to accept what they say and I have seen in recent days a strong commitment to the project from Las Vegas Sands... There's been no default, there's been no indication of default," he said, adding there was no need to provide for loan provisions.

"As of now, all the equity commitments have been made, the project is proceeding in pace." Stanley's comments followed a filing by Las Vegas Sands on Thursday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in which it sounded out a warning about its financial situation. In the filing, the gaming giant said it may have to stop or ease up the pace of its global projects should it fail to secure the necessary funding or obtain favourable credit terms.

"If the company is not able to obtain the requisite financing or the terms are not as favourable as it anticipates, the company may be required to slow or suspend its global development activities... until such financing or other sources of funds become available," Las Vegas Sands said. "These factors raise a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern."

It said Las Vegas Sands' projects in Macau's Cotai Strip will be among those affected. The company, headed by billionaire gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson, operates the Sands Macao and The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau. Last month, a Singapore local newspaper reported that Marina Bay Sands may not open fully as scheduled at the end of next year due to construction problems, rising costs and a labour shortage.

However, Marina Bay Sands general manager George Tanasijevich told AFP at the time that the project was on target to open as scheduled.

- AFP/ir

It usually gets worse before it gets better

Motorola's Turnaround Plans Meet with Skepticism
BusinessWeek Telecom October 31, 2008, 12:01AM EST By Olga Kharif and Roger O. Crockett
Analysts see a tough battle for the handset maker to increase sales amid a global economic downturn. Motorola's own expectations for the current quarter are low

The latest flurry of turnaround plans for Motorola is being met with about as much enthusiasm as previous attempts to revive the company's foundering mobile-phone business: not much.

During an Oct. 30 conference call discussing the third-quarter results that included falling sales and a wider loss, Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha outlined plans to reduce costs, streamline the way the company makes products, and delay a spin-off of the handset business. Along with a dour warning that sales will continue to slump, the announcements did little to shore up confidence. Motorola's already embattled shares tumbled 5.3% to 5.17. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue cut his 12-month Motorola price target to 7 a share from 8.

To trim losses and help eliminate $600 million in expenses, Motorola plans to cut about 3,000 jobs, two-thirds of them in the handset division. The company will also reduce its focus on certain markets, such as Europe, while stepping up emphasis on the Americas and China. Motorola also plans to retool products so that it makes low-end phones based on its own software and high-end phones that only run Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system and the Android software developed by the Google-led Open Handset Alliance.

Grim Outlook
The moves are aimed at restoring the company's dwindling fortunes. In the third quarter, the operating loss at Motorola's handset division widened to $840 million from $248 million a year earlier. Unit sales dropped 32%, to 25.4 million from a year earlier, and the company's market share plummeted to 8.4% globally, down from 9.5% in the second quarter and 22.4% in 2006, when Motorola's Razr handset was all the rage. In the period, Motorola lost its No. 3 place among the world's largest handset makers to Sony Ericsson, according to Strategy Analytics.

Prospects have only worsened this quarter—traditionally the most crucial for cell-phone makers because it includes yearend holiday purchases. Jha expects unit sales to be lower than in the third quarter. That's in contrast to industry trends. Global cell-phone shipments should rise 10.5% to 11% in the quarter, according to research firm ABI Research.

Will revival efforts by Jha and co-CEO Greg Brown work? Not immediately. Motorola's market share is likely to keep falling in the coming year, say analysts including Matt Thornton of Avian Securities and Ken Hyers of Technology Business Research. Thornton says the company's share could dip to as low as 6% next year.

As Motorola focuses on making its phones more profitable, analysts say it may sacrifice the scale that makes it able to compete with bigger rivals including Nokia. The company currently sells about 100 million units a year; as the number drops, the cost of making each phone may increase.

"They are getting dangerously close to losing that valuable scale," says Neil Mawston, director of mobile wireless practice at Strategy Analytics in London. Once production slips below 100 million annually, per-unit costs could rise by 10% to 20%, he estimates. These higher costs could, in turn, make winning new, profitable deals with carriers harder. "No one wants to catch a falling knife," Mawston says.

Fewer Operating Systems
Jha argues that some smaller handset makers are doing just fine. "Scale in wireless is important," he tells BusinessWeek. "But there are meaningful [companies], namely Apple and Research In Motion, who have much less scale than we do." Each sells about 10 million phones a year. "We are fortunate to have the scale," he adds. "But as we move forward we have to make a trade-off. It's not by design that we want to lower volume, but as we migrate the business to a place it needs to be,, this is part of the trade-off that happens in that transition period."

Part of Motorola's transition is cutting fat. After trimming $474 million in operating expenses this year, the handset division has earmarked another $600 million in expense reductions for 2009. The company hopes to reduce costs partly by building phones out of parts from fewer vendors. To that end, Motorola has already ended contracts with chipmaker Freescale.

Motorola also wants to use fewer operating systems. But what happens if a wireless carrier wants Motorola to build phones using a system other than the handful it has chosen? "There's very much an addiction to winning big chunks of business," says Bill Hughes, who formerly worked at Motorola and is now principal analyst at In-Stat. "If you give them a big enough order, they'll build it. The fact of the matter is, they've talked about [reducing the types of software they support] several times in the past couple of years. But it all comes back to their addiction to big orders."

Investing in a Comeback
This time around will be different, co-CEO Brown tells BusinessWeek. Jha's predecessors lacked his mobile-industry experience and technical expertise. The former COO at mobile chip maker Qualcomm is credited with helping turn Qualcomm's chip division into the largest mobile chip business in the world, with $5.7 billion in sales last year. He burnished Qualcomm's reputation as a nimble, innovative competitor. And he was the point person for developing the company's road maps and plotting forays into new wireless technologies. "There has never been [a leader] with the caliber of software and technical leadership of Sanjay at Motorola before," Brown says. "He is taking it to next level swiftly."

Taking Motorola to the next level will require investing, however. To collaborate with Microsoft more closely on Windows Mobile devices, Motorola will open an office in Seattle. Motorola is also beefing up its software team that works on the Android operating system. Jha will also spearhead efforts to bulk up the services that would come standard on Motorola handsets. "Services and [user experience] will become very important," Jha said during the earnings call. Motorola may develop a way to help consumers to easily find the nearest hair salon or a coffee shop, for example. "We want to solve the problems that consumers want solved."

Adding to the challenges facing Jha, who joined Motorola in August, is orchestrating a comeback amid a global economic downturn and slowed cell-phone sales growth. The last time Motorola suffered massive market share losses, its share dropped from 27% in 1996 to 13.9% in 2002, before its legendary Razr phone launched, according to Strategy Analytics. Even after the Razr became a bestseller, Motorola's market share never rose to its former glory. "Motorola has recovered from a slump before, but it took them a full 10 years," Mawston says. "That gives some idea of how big a task Motorola still faces."

Yes We Can

I was mesmerised by Lincoln's Gettysburg address and considered it a literary gem. I thought Martin Luther King, Jr's I Have A Dream came close. I thought Yes We Can comes just as close if not closer. Since it is a speech I've decided on a larger font to make it easier for your eyes. Read it and treasure it.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends, though passion may have strained it, it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:Yes We Can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

A test of character

Abraham Lincoln said that if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. I just had a glimpse of someone who went through such a test. He did not have the nicest of things to do or say but he certainly had the power to do many other things which felt good or made him oblivious to issues and concerns at hand. But he did something else.

My boss and ex-boss and soon to be ex-boss….. wait, I’m not sure he’s my current boss in the first place! Let me provide some perspective – he was my boss when he left. He returned presumably to be my boss but perhaps was beaten to the tape by circumstances that led to the above test. I’ll never know if he ever became my boss again then, but if he did, it will be my shortest-lived relationship.

He had the unenviable task of telling some of his friends they are no longer needed, 2 weeks after returning to a pretty rousing “welcome back”. While the corporation is trying to make and execute all the “right decisions”, he showed a heart. One that shares pains and misgivings. One that cares. One that says more than the letters he handed out. I’ve never seen the emotional side of him and it was unforgettable.

He showed humility to be compassionate in the face of someone’s adversity, real or perceived. And that’s what makes him real. Neil, thanks for all the humour, guidance and leading, and for being the person you can become. While it lasted, it was good.

Shalom,
the quixote