Bank of America QuickDeposit via Android camera

-Update 9/2012 -

 The scan app for Bank of America is now there for iPhone, iPad, and Android! The limit is now set to $3000 and $15000 for business accounts.

 -Update 9/2012 -

Already Chase has created a application for the iPhone where you can use the smart phone camera to take a picture of the check you want to deposit. There is a $1000 limit on the check which makes it somewhat useless for paychecks.

Hopefully, Bank of America will follow suite and since they are proficient in the Android operating system we are hoping they will release it for Android first. This would be great on my HTC Evo 4G, I am sure they will convert a lot of users over. Increase the max deposit and wow Bank of America will be ahead of Chase and have a check deposit application.
I have emailed Bank of America with this suggestion and everyone else should as well. If enough people ask them for the application they will do it. The BOA IT department seems pretty good.

Chase app on iPhone demo:

Sprint 4G is really fast in Los Angeles, CA

This is on the EVO 4G, it is beating the iPhone 4 by a lot. This is actually faster then our DSL network at the office. This is using the FCC speed testing program from the Android market. You can download it on iPhone as well.

How to Put Roku Box in Development Mode

Here is the instruction to put the Roku Box in developer mode.

Before you are able to load a development application to your box, you must enable development mode on your Roku DVP. When you enter the special remote control sequence:

Home 3x, Up 2x, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right

After that you can install Roku Media server and stream videos off your computer by following the instructions at http://github.com/netguy204/roku_media_server/blob/master/README.textile

This is a good workaround for YouTube. All you do is encode and YouTube file you want to MP4 and you can stream it from the Roku.

ThinkOrSwim Application for Android

Diehard ThinkOrSwim fans will be unhappy to know that there is still no ThinkOrSwim application for the Android.

After emailing support they indicated sometime around March with no exact planned release date. I have seen no indication of anything coming out.

I am encouraging all Android users who want ThinkOrSwim to send them a email asking about it. It is really difficult to not have this trading ability for me.

I guess they want us to use the iPhone just like every other monkey.

Citcards fake offers

I just recently got a letter from CitiCards that I could transfer any balance over until 3/2011 for 1.99%. There was no indication of any expiration date on this letter. I read the letter carefully as I always do with all contracts.

When I called Citicards they said that the offer expired. Of course, they don't give care at all because its whatever the computer says.

I even faxed them the letter and they never even got back to me.

I don't understand these kinds of scams they try to run like this.

New ticket fees for California 2010

Unfortunately, the traffic violation amounts for Los Angeles and other California has changed to the updated list below. California is not doing well financially and the debt almost went to junk bond status. Therefore, the state is punishing bad drivers. The problem is in Los Angeles we must drive every day and every once in a while a person will make a mistake. An expensive mistake.

Traffic Tickets Fines (Effective 01/06/2010)

VC 12814.6 $214
Failure to obey license provisions.

VC 14600(A) $214
Failure to notify DMV of address change within 10 days
Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.

VC 16028(A) $796
Failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility (insurance)
Note: This fine may be reduced with proof of insurance on or after the violation date.

VC 21453(A) $436
Failure to stop at a red signal.

VC 22350 $214
VC 22349
Unsafe Speed, 1 to 15 miles over the limit.

VC 22350 $328
VC 22349
Unsafe Speed, 16 to 25 miles over the limit.

VC 22450 $214
Failure to stop at a stop sign.

VC 22454(A) $616
Passing a school bus with flashing red signals.

VC 23123(A) $148
Drive using wireless phone not hands free, First offense

VC 23123(A) $256
Drive using wireless phone not hands free, For each subsequent offense.

VC 23123.5(A) $148
Drive while wireless device to send, read or write text.

VC 23124(B) $148
Minor drive using wireless phone.

VC 22500(I) $976
Parking in a bus loading area.

VC 22507.8(A through C) $976
Violation of disabled parking provisions, first offense.

VC 22507.8(A through C) $1876
Violation of disabled parking provisions, second offense.

VC 26708(A) $178
Unlawful material on vehicle windows.

VC 27150(A and B) $178
Adequate muffler required

VC 27315(D and E) $148
Mandatory use of seat belts.

VC 27360(A and B) $436
Mandatory use of child passenger restraints
Note: This fine may be reduced by completing a court authorized child seat diversion program.

VC 27400 $178
Headsets/Earplugs over both ears.

VC 27803 (A through C) $178
Motorcycle safety helmet requirements.

VC 34506.3 $616
Commercial Driver - Log book violation

VC 4000(A) $256
No evidence of current registration.
Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.

VC 4159 $178
Notify DMV of change of address within 10 days.
Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.

VC 5200 $178
Display of license plates.
Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.

VC 9400 (A through C) $178
Commercial weight fees due.
Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.

Samsung Moment: Android goes against iPhone

I had a iPhone for about 3 weeks. The issue I had was there was no reception in my apartment for AT&T. I also soon realized that the Internet was slow with AT&T and that I wouldn't be able to browse the Internet so easily. Another problem was that I had to jailbreak the iPhone and this caused issues when I tried to update. It was a big hassle.

I ended up cancelling and going back to Sprint. Not wanting to keep my old Palm PDA phone I upgraded to the Samsung Moment.

I will have to say that about 95% of the useful apps from my iPhone are available on my new Samsung Moment.

I am also able to receive voice mails just like the iPhone and play them right on the phone.

The Samsung Moment works just as well. The only thing is that since I can run multiple applications, the Android operating system will slow down at times. I guess this is why Apple has blocked multiple applications from running on the iPhone.

Another plus is that there is a keyboard so I can type away as much as I want. I have to admit the keyboard is not as easy to use as the Palm that I had before but faster then typing on the iPhone.

Hopefully, Sprint will release the 2.1 OS update for the Samsung Moment as there are several missing items because of this.

The only problem is that there are about 10% of apps that are still not availible on the Android. I am sure this will continue to change and Google gets more market share.

Too bad Microsoft's platform was not able to take off. They haven't released a new version for a long time and they don't have a good app store.

I also saw the Palm Pre at the store but it was so small I didn't even want to bother with that.

iPhone, iPad, iBoard, iMat

Click on the image to see the timeline of new Apple products between 2008 to 2014

iPad Parody Funny Jokes

The iPad doesn't seem to be a hit with customers. Here is a nice compliation. Enjoy! IPad with bleeding edge technology:

Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman

Avatar Movie Symbolism and Interpretation Study

Based on the movie we see there are many references that can be interpreted:

1. The struggle between reality vs virtual machine world.

Example: Should I go outside and play tennis when I can play the virtual tennis game in my living room. Both are fun.

2. Human greed for money.

Example: In many countries workers are exploited to dig up diamonds or gold which are just wants and not needs.

3. How love and happiness is important in life. People are willing to give up anything. For example the main character was willing to forget about getting his legs back to be happy.

Example: If one falls in love in a chat room, it could be so fun that they are willing to just chat on there for the rest of their life. Sometimes, not meeting the person for years.

4. How humans are all connected together. Represented by the tree of life.

Example: If you meet someone in the street chances are that one of your Facebook friends will have them on their friends list and know them.

SHHH YES NO

Saw a strange advertisement that says SHHH YES NO with a picture of Santa Clause in the background standong behind a tree in the woods. if anyone has info on this please comment.

I will be researching it as well.

Los Angeles drivers and rain

It has been raining much in Los Angeles, California the past days. Everyone in LA will agree that LA drivers have no idea how to drive in this weather. People still tailgate, some drive too fast, while some will drive at excessively low speeds. Cant they just find a happy median and drive normally. Luckily today was MLK holiday so the traffic amount has been less.

Santa's IPhone Application

Santa recently decided to make his own iPhone Application:

AT&T and iPhone lowering the bar together

Recently, I decided that I wanted to switch to a iPhone. I borrowed a friends iPhone and started using the WIFI which was great. I loved the phone.

I was ready to activate with AT&T, but before I wanted to do a reception test at my work, home, etc. I popped in a international SIM card. Of course, the iPhone was already cracked.

The international SIM card allowed me to to select TMobile network or AT&T network.

To my disbelief, a lot of times the AT&T network did not have good receiption.

The biggest problem was that at home I got No Service receiption with AT&T. It wasn't even a weak signal. 100% no service all over the house.

Even when I have guests, if they are a AT&T customer they get no reception at my place. It is kindof like I have to drop all my AT&T friends. :( Constant conflict.

Sorry AT&T, but your commercials are misleading as the reception bars were not so high. The reception on my Sprint system is much better then AT&T in the Los Angeles area.

The annoying thing is that Apple has made a contract with AT&T which doesn't allow me to even use any other service provider.

Now I have to deal with the Sprint phones and I can't switch. The Palm Pre sucks and I wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole. Maybe, I will go the Android route.

Also, I even tried getting the AT&T 3G MicroCell, but I found out its not offered in my area!

Fat person flys with US airline

We can't bring large bags anymore, but this fat ass can sit in this seat and take up all this space.

This is crazy. He should have been charged for two seats and had to have taken two seats.

Los Angeles County gives moving violations for the holidays

Los Angeles has been giving gifts this holiday season! Speeding and other citation tickets.

This is how the city has decided to help the residents of Los Angeles county by hitting their wallets with tickets from $200 to $500+!

We visited the courthouse in Santa Monica today and within 1 hr about 20 people were in line paying their citation tickets.

Of course, this doesn't include the hundreds of others that probably mailed their payment.

This is hard for residents in these bad times. While all other prices go down, the price of citations has been increasing.

Oprah figures out how to suck more money out of her viewers

Oprah has decided to move to cable and suck more money out of her loyal fans. You can watch some video clips on http://www.oprah.com/ but now you will need cable and the Oprah Network channel.

Everyone gets a new car, but only if you pay for cable. LOL.

I didn't care much for her show, but I am sure many people are upset about this situation.

Adventureland Movie

This movie is not like Superbad at all. It is much cleaner then Superbad. It is about a nice guy who goes back to his hometown. He starts to get cought up in different things with the ladies. It is more in a romantic way then sexually.

There aren't any sex scenes and there aren't many funny scenes either.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie.

There is insects like flies, maggots, and other bugs in many foods

I am so shocked by this article explaining how there is bugs in our food. At the same time I really don't care because I have probably already ate so many of these bugs throughout my lifetime. Sometimes its better to just not know. :)

I did some more research and most sites said that these foods are usually boiled (including chocolate and the mushrooms) therefore the insects are already dead and sterilized.

Enjoy the reading at: http://healthmad.com/health/is-your-food-bugged

Additional video:

5 terrifying things in food: http://www.cracked.com/article_15982_5-horrifying-food-additives-youve-probably-eaten-today.html

#5. Shellac

Most everyone is familiar with shellac as a wood-finishing product. It's often used to give furniture, guitars and even AK-47's that special shine. But did you know it is also commonly used as a food additive? Yep, that's why those jelly beans you gorge on every Easter are so shiny.

But what exactly is shellac?

Are you sure you want to know?

Shellac is derived from the excretions of the Kerria lacca insect, most commonly found in the forests of Thailand.

The Kerria lacca uses the sticky excretion as a means to stick to the trees on which it lives. Candy makers use it to make those treats you love so much shiny and beautiful. Then you eat them. The insects that is.

You see, the process used to harvest the Kerria lacca excretion is a pretty simple one. They just scrape that shit right off the tree. Unfortunately for you and your future enjoyment of shiny candies, this leaves little room for quality control measures to guarantee that the insects themselves aren't scooped up also.

Once that happens, and it almost always does, the insect simply becomes part of the shellac-making process. And the candy-making process. And the candy-eating process.

Before some health nut out there pipes up to tell us they don't eat candy, we'd like to point out that, during the cleaning process, apples lose their natural shine. Care to guess how it's restored?

If all of this is making you a bit queasy, we understand. It's not every day that you find out you've been celebrating the resurrection of Christ by consuming handfuls of insect-infused treats your entire life. But before you head to the medicine cabinet, consider this. That pill you want to take to quell your nausea? It didn't get shiny on its own. Alright, we swear, this is the last time we'll mention that you've been eating insects for a good majority of your life.

#4. Bone Char

Some things are not as they seem. Just like Keith Richards appears to be alive but has really been dead for years, that sugar you put on your cereal in the morning isn't really white. Or at least it doesn't start out that way.

When it starts its sweet, delicious life, sugar is brown--a color deemed to be "undesirable" by the sugar industry. Don't be such racialists, sugar industry! To make their product more acceptable to whitey, sugar companies use a filtering process to strip it of its color. In some cases, the process is a typically boring one, using ions and such. But sugar derived from sugar cane (about a quarter of the sugar in the United States) goes through a ... different process.

Domino, the largest sugar producer in America, uses bone char to filter impurities from its sugar. Bone char is delightfully produced using the bones of cows from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan that have died from "natural causes," like when cows forget to wear a helmet when riding their motorcycles.

The bones are bleached in the sun and sold to marketers who then sell them to the US sugar industry after they've been used by the gelatin industry. What the gelatin industry does with the bones, we don't want to know. The bones are then heated to the point that they become a perfect means of filtering sugar.

We don't know by what alchemy this method purifies the sugar, we're certainly no scientists. But when you tell us that your purification method involves the ground-up bones of a sacrificed animal, well, we're just going to assume Satan is involved.

#3. Carmine

Carmine can also be identified on food labels as Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120. We mention that because we're guessing you'll want to check for it in the future after reading this.

Oh, and that thing we said about how we'd stop mentioning that you eat bugs? We totally lied. If you're eating something red right now, or if you have recently, have a gander at the label.

There is a strong chance it was made with carmine. And what's that? Are you sitting down?

Carmine is made, literally, from ground-up cochineal insects, which is just a more harrowing way of saying mashed red beetles. Because you're dying to know more, the insects are killed by exposure to heat or immersion in hot water and then dried. Because the abdomen region that houses the fertilized eggs contains the most carmine, it is separated from the rest of the body, ground into a powder and cooked at high temperatures to extract the maximum amount of color.

Then, it's added to that yogurt you ate this morning while lording your health consciousness over the guy in the cubicle next to you who had an Egg McMuffin.

Carmine: Like a bucket of blood, except more disgusting.

But the carmine terror doesn't end there. Food manufacturers are well aware that word has gotten out about exactly what carmine is and that people are less than impressed about it. So a number of crafty manufacturers have resorted to labeling it not as carmine, but instead as "natural color," thereby guaranteeing you'll never really know for sure if your cherry ice cream contains the USDA recommended amount of creepy crawlers.

Nice. Hey, speaking of that ...

#2. Natural Flavor

When it comes to food, most of us get nervous when people are intentionally vague. We steer clear of that street vendor selling "Meat Soup" and "Food Burritos."

So when you see that a label has included "natural flavor," you should be equally alarmed. If you're thinking the "natural flavor" in your orange candy must obviously come from oranges, think again. If it was from oranges, they would say so, right on the can. It would be a selling point.

The problem is, natural flavor can, literally, be anything that isn't man made. Cat urine could be a natural flavor. If someone discovered that goat jizz added a special zing to ice cream and they could prove that eating it wouldn't make you sick ... natural flavor. We're not saying either of these are in your foods, but you get the idea.

One potentially disturbing example of natural flavor gone bad comes from, where else, McDonald's. Back in 1990, amid constant public outcry about the amount of cholesterol in their french fries, McDonald's started using pure vegetable oil in their fryers.

Wait, what were they using before? Why, beef lard. When they stopped using it, and McDonald's realized fried potatoes don't taste as good without some molten beef added, it was "natural flavor" to the rescue.

When vegetarian groups demanded to know what the mystery flavor was, company reps would only say it was "animal derived."

They wouldn't say what animal. According to the book Fast Food Nation, "Beef is the probable source, although other meats cannot be ruled out. In France, for example, fries are sometimes cooked in duck fat or horse tallow." Horse. Tallow.

Hey, nothing unnatural about that!

#1. Bacteriophages

In 2006, the FDA approved the use of bacteriophages to fight listeria microbes on lunch meat, wieners and sausages. If you're unfamiliar with the term "bacteriophages," let us put it in a layman's term for you. Viruses.

In this case, six viruses, to be exact. There is an excellent chance that ham sandwich you had for lunch this afternoon was sprayed with a mixture of six different viruses in an effort to fight a microbe that kills hundreds of people a year. Hundreds. Approximately the same number of people that die in plane crashes. Because of this clear and present danger, your lunch meat is slathered with a buffet of viruses.

This probably sounds bad enough already, but wait until you hear Intralytix, the company that developed the bacteriophage mixture, explain exactly how the virus works. "Typical phages have hollow heads that store their viral DNA and tunnel tails with tips that bind to specific molecules on the surface of their target bacteria. The viral DNA is injected through the tail into the host cell, where it directs the production of progeny phages."

We'll take it from here. The battlefield on which this virus vs. microbe war plays out is the bologna that you used this morning to prepare your afternoon lunch. Around the same time the hollow headed bacteriophages were storming the beach at listeria, you were lifting that bologna sandwich to your mouth. Just as the phages were thrusting their hollow, viral DNA-filled tails into the host cells (also living on your sandwich), you were jamming the whole nasty battle right down your oblivious gullet.

If you've ever tried the Subway diet without success, this might be a good time to give it another shot. If thinking about the rampant virus vs. microbe violence you're about to ingest doesn't put you off eating for the rest of the day then nothing will, tubby.

Are Hybrids Fuel Efficent? Watch Hybrid Prius vs. BMW Gasoline Engine

Watch the BMW 5 series vs the Toyota Prius. Note that this BMW is Diesel Engine car which is usually not purchased in the US. The main point is that the Prius is actually very inefficient for a Hybrid car.

Here is another video where they floor a Prius and then the M3 keeps up behind the Prius with the same miles per gallon. Next time you see a Prius speeding ahead of you, you will know the driver is flooring the car and probably wasting the same or more gas then the car you are in.

Bomb Scare in Hollywood, California

An arson investigation started at 1pm today. A bomb scare in East Hollywood (Los Feliz area) had residents locked out of their homes until 10pm+ near the Russel Street block.

The SWAT team has arrived and is planning to get the man out. The man is locked in his home and he is refusing to come out. He claims he has active bombs in his home which he may detnate.

We had it before KTLA, but here is the link for their "report" ktla Los Feliz Barricade

Shooting at Kress / Opera Hollywood Club

On 7/18/2009 there was a shooting in the parking lot of Kress Hollywood next to Opera.

There are a lot of ghetto people at these two clubs now. The crowd sucks and now to top it off there was a shooting. The security also pepper sprayed someone and it went into the crowd.

Stay away from this place.

Palm Pre Dipping Keyboard Review Typing

I just visited the Sprint store to check out the Palm Pre. Even after a friend told me they had returned theirs, I still had to check it out.

The main issue I had with the product was the dipping keyboard. I have pretty small hands and I was uncomfortable typing in the little dipping keyboard.

Not only are the buttons small, but the keyboard dips into the plastic case making it even harder to type.

It looks pretty similar to the old HTC's. Very small tiny screen which for me was hard to read even though I don't wear glasses. Plus the 320x480 low resolution sucks.

I think I will stick to my current HTC Touch Pro.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Keenan Farms California Pistachios Red Dye Review

These naturally opened pistachios are the worse idea ever. I think that these are like trick pistachios. I hate red pistachios!

Availible from Keenan Pistachio (but not sold online), these pistachios will make you hands pink/red. It has artifical coloring Red #3 in the ingridients.

Even after washing my hands the color doesn't come out.

My issue with these pistachios is that the red coloring doesn't give any special taste to the product at all. It is just for looks and to make the customers hands red.

Unless you want to play a prank on your friend I suggest you don't buy this product.

NFL Player is Killed - Was it the Iranian girlfriend or the wife?

Famous NFL football player Steve McNair was found dead next to his Persian girlfriend Sahel Kazemi. Investigators are looking into what happened.

He was shot multiple times, and she was shot once. The gun was found under the side of her body.

Could it be that the girlfriend killed him and then herself? Could it be that the wife Michelle McNair had both of them killed because of their love affair?

Everyone is waiting for the investigation results and updates.

In the mean time TMZ has been kind enough to somehow find photos of the NFL star and Sahel Kazemi love affair.

Also, we have just recieved the DUI stop video of his girlfriend:

American Apparel is Producing Goods in China, Not So American After All

American Apparel is not that American anymore. They are producing goods in China. According to CNBC's Made in China, American Apparel will produce goods for Chinese retail stores in China instead of USA.

This is a low blow to US consumers who thought they were supporting an all American company. Many consumers were purchasing American Apparel because it was not only made in the USA, but it was made by American workers treated right. This is not so true anymore if the products are made outside of the United States.

Before, American Apparel gave the impression that they were supporting America, but now it is clear that they aren't that brand. The company has said on CNBC that they stand for "The American Dream". This basically means nothing in terms of supporting America and American workers. It seems more like a marketing gimmik to us.

If American Apparel really wanted to be American, they would produce the clothing for the Chinese market in the United States.

Reviewer wasn't able to pick up any ladies with the Palm Pre

This reviewer wasn't able to pick up any girls with his Palm Pre. He said it didn't turn any heads. Maybe if he would have picked up a new Apple 3GS?

Supreme Leader: How the Iranian government really works

In Iran the Supreme Leader is Khamenei and he has more power then the President and the 12 clergy.

The Supreme Leader has the final say on everything because he is supposedly the messenger of god. Even if people disagree with what he says, it makes no difference. It is believed that Khamenei, the messenger of God, knows better and is wiser.

For example, Khamenei has decided that "Street challenges [to the election] are not acceptable". It doesn't matter if thousands of people are questioning the vote count because Khamenei's word is the final word. It prevails over everything else.

This is the problem with this government setup is that they constantly pretend that they run as a democracy. The truth is that Khamenei has the final say over the President who is elected. This means the Supreme Leader Khamenei can do whatever he wants.

Apple Says: No iTunes Sync to Palm Pre

Apple has announced that they will not let the iTune sync compatibility to Palm Pre continue. This means that everyone will love their iPhone and stay with it. Anyway, I don't see why anybody would want to switch from a iPhone with 50,000 application to a crappy Palm Pe with only a few applications.

If Apple releases iPhone to Verizon or Sprint the sales for all other phones including Palm will decline. Imagine having the fast eVDO network on the iPhone! WOW!

Flash Player 10 64-bit Version IE8

How can one run Flash Player 10 on a 64 bit version of IE8?? You can't!!! Macromedia sucks and they have been aware of this issue since 10/2008 according to their own website. This is almost a year of non-support. As a result of this matter, we have sold all shares of the Adobe stock in our portfolio. This company obviously doesn't care about anyone and the profit was not justifying their greed.

We hope all Flash becomes Silverlight at this point. I can't believe Adobe.

I am posting this from IE8 64-bit which is much faster, but most of the time I have to shut it down because of the Flash Player problem.

We hope that Macromedia will come to their senses and figure out a 64-bit version. Atleast make a fake 64-bit version that just emulates the 32-bit on a 64-bit. That should be easy.

After searching everywhere, we have given up. We welcome any workaround comments on the Flash Player 64-bit issue.

2 photos of Collision before Death on Air France crash

We have recently received an email stating that they have pictures from the Air France flight. Some state that these images are a hoax but we weren't able to find enough information on the web. Please give comments on if this is a hoax or not.

Details of the email:

Yesterday the world saw the disappearance of an A330 Air Frane during a trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris. Very ironic that a day before I got a mail of the photos taken a a passenger on a flight mins after a mid air collision, and mins before the crash of the said aircraft Two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed. Unbelievable! Photos taken inside the GOL B 737 aircraft that was involved in a mid air collision and crashed..... A B737 had a mid air collision with the Embraer Legacy while cruising at 35,000 feet over South America. The Embraer Legacy, though seriously damaged with the winglet ripped off, managed to make a landing at a nearby airstrip in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The crew and passengers of the Embraer Legacy had no idea what they had hit. The B737however crashed, killing all crew and passengers on board.The two photos attached were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the B737, just after the collision and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo, one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole.

These photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the remains in Serra do Cachimbo. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera, the owner was identified as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre. It can be imagined that he was standing during the impact with the Embraer Legacy and during the turbulence, he managed to take these photos, just seconds after the tail loss the aircraft plunged. So the camera was found near the cockpit. The structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but not unfortunately the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz.

FYI: We discovered it is fake photos. They are actually from the TV show Lost.

Palm Pre vs All the Other Big Guys

With Palm stock at $14.82, a lot of questions arise. Why is a company that has around a -6 P/E with a 52-week low of $1.14 trading so high? What is so special about the new Palm Pre?

I have been researching the Palm Pre for the last week now and the more I look at it the more I want to short the Palm stock. My short sell comes from the fact that even if they do a good job, I don't see the price to be higher then $6 to $8. The product has to do stellar for the price to be justified at $14.

Here is a device with a very nice interface and features. But the problem for Palm is that there is a lot of competition. iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile devices, Symbian, and other devices.

If we look at the market share at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Market_share_of_mobile_os_s_2008.JPG we see that Palm's market share is very little.


One thing that I saw on all the reviews was the ranting and raving about the multi-tasking. This is where the Pre user can open one program, such as Pandora, to play music and still run other programs at the same time. This isn't such a new hot feature as the Windows Mobile phones have had this feature since before the dark ages. For example, check out the HTC Touch/HTC Diamond phones or Palm's own Palm Pro (which runs Windows Mobile) and does the same exact thing.

This seems to be a lot of hype created the Palm company, Palm marketers, or company investors. I don't understand how they are justifying the $14 share price.

I was passing by the Apple store the other day where I see kids and adults looking at iPods and iPhones as if they are on the Its a Small World ride at Disneyland. With over 50k applications, how will the 18 application Palm compete? Its not going to be easy year for Palm.

Google, Apple, RIMM, and Microsoft are definitely not going to back down from the Smartphone market. Especially with their deep pockets, there is no way they are going to let "little" Palm take them down.