AMD backtracks on 65 nano promises

1997 - HP buys VeriFone in a $1.29 billion stock swap.

2001 - Verifone sales decline, HP gifts what's left of Verifone to Gores Technology holdings for an amount so low that HP forbids Gores to even disclose it, for fear of embarrassment.

It is later disclosed that GTCR acquires 88%t of VeriFone for $164.6 million, probably not even cash.

HP's guy behind the shipwreck and the giveaway, Rick Belluzo, goes on to become Microsoft President. (Researchers: fill in disaster material here)

Gores.

Gores today only holds 28% of the shares in Verifone and has received $350 million for selling shares along the way in reducing its holdings from 88% to 28%.

This is not your father's HP, kids. It's a corporate cartoon show.

Gene Mosher

Dear INQ,

Re: AMD says 65 nm due next month

It would be helpful if you could make the small change (below) to your original article.

"AMD is committed to shipping 65nm products to customers by the end of the year [2006]. Our plans are to be substantially converted to 65nm by mid 2007."

Jan Gutter, PR manager, AMD(EMEA)

Tony Dennis writes, Well that makes things a lot clearer, then.

HP probed by snoops

It's not just journalists that get pre-texted

I have been struggling with this issues of ID theft, pretexting, and illegal procurance of my phone records since discovering, in Jan. 2004, that an UnumProvident field representative conspired with a Delaware County PA private investigation firm, impersonated me [through ID theft] and obtained on several occasions from AT & T Wireless [now owned by Cingular] my cell phone records re outgoing calls.

This was especially outrageous since it was done as part of a disability claim investigation within months of my being disabled as a psychiatrist after I was almost killed by one of my patients in my home office. The UnumProvident representative clearly understood that I was a psychiatrist and that my cell phone was used as part of that business.

Besides both the UnumProvident field representative and private investigators both using reverse directories on many of the obtained phone numbers, the private investigators called several of the names obtained including making multiple calls to one of these parties. [Proof available in private investigators' reports and the under oath testimony in the investigators' and field claims representative's deposition].

I am in possession of AT & T 's customer service logs that prove, on at least 3 occasions, someone used customer service by phone to obtain my out going cell phone records. To enter the AT & T customer service system by phone, one needs to know the cell phone number, the billing address, and the last 4 digits of the customer's social security number AS WELL AS TO VERBALLY IDENTIFY THEMSELF AS THE CUSTOMER TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKER.

To do so by what some are calling "pretexting" is a criminal activity called IDENTITY THEFT. I think that the field representative was caught off guard during his deposition, even though he was represented by counsel, and just answered that he ordered cell phone records to be obtained "5 to 100 times previously," used reverse directories to determine the owners of such phone numbers, and personally used such records as part of his work. I must also note that my cell phone records were obtained for possible financial gains by the field representative's employer, UnumProvident.

Since I was unable to get anywhere with UnumProvident, I initially filed and later ended a Pennsylvania legal action. Upon obtaining more experienced legal counsel, I then filed the Federal suit. This case is still in litigation.

In 2004, I attempted to get the Privacy Officer from AT & T [Cingular] interested in these issues. After initially being cooperative, they refused to respond to my eMails [noting this was months before I filed the initial Pennsylvania state legal action].

Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn, M.D.
[Full name, address, email, phone number supplied]

Subject: Yahoo Message board fiasco

I couldn't agree more; Yahoo totally F***ed up their message board with the topic-oriented display.

SURE - you could follow a thread easier

BUT - it's all screwed up if you don't want to read in thread, but in sequential post order; can't be done easily.

Sometimes you don't need to FIX what WORKS.

Fat Panels

Subject: Flat panel prices set to slump

Dear INQers,

Yeah, I know. It's a constant struggle between the conflicting forces, "I want it now!", and "Wait, it'll be bigger, cheaper, more efficient and better, later!".

I used to think 24" would be the maximum optimum for an LCD, and now it looks like 30". And if the price falls within my view of affordability, I guess I'll be forced to snatch one up.

Frustratingly yours,
Peter Chan

Ebay

Hello Mike.

I have been on Ebay since 1998.

First as a buyer and then as a seller.

It was ok at first when you could still resell and make money but soon it became over crowded with the me too crowd who just wanted to increase their feedback with no regard to making a profit.

Then a couple of years back Ebay started the Ebay store experience.

What a great concept.

I could list an item for 30 days for a fair price. It took a little longer to sell but I made a lot more money per item.

Then last Feb Ebay changed the search scheme and overnight my sales more than doubled. WOW! Things were going so good I quit my day job, hired another employee and really went to town.

Of coarse my Ebay fee's also doubled. But, so what, I was reaping glut profit.

Then after only 6 weeks Ebay changes the search feature back claiming that it was confusing buyers. How could this be? Buyers were finding my items and buying them at an incredible rate.

Ok, I got ripped but decided that I would list twice as many items and I would maintain the level of sales I needed.

Last Ebay raises the rates claiming that stores cost them too much to maintain because it took too long to sell the items.

Hmmmm. It sounds like someone has his or her Cranium inserted in a rectal orifice.

I need another outlet for my wares. Can you please use your massive pull to get Google to open a Storefront with reasonable rates and better policies?

I would be forever grateful.

Ticked

Biased Rag

Way to go! Your endless highly AMD biased articles and Intel bashing is gonna cost the economies.

Do you think AMD can afford to hire those 10K workers? Oh I forgot! AMD's fab is in Germany! Subsidised by the Deutsche government, means only Germans prefered. Heil AMD!

The NY fab is 3 years away. Many Oregon folks are gonna be jobless soon. 10K is a huge number.

Please think of the consequences the next time you simply pull one bashing out.

Teapot