Rodney Avilla on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'My Take: “I stopped when it asked me to open Terminal.” I know just how you feel. I have used the Terminal a few times, but each time I find myself holding my breath, even when the command I am typing makes sense. Just knowing that the Terminal is taking me into the dark unknown crevises of software engineering gives me pause. My software training ended with beginning BASIC. The warning “Don’t use the Terminal unless you know what you’re doing” is like the sign “Don’t go on this ride if you have back problems, get dizzy, or are pregnant.” My 1st thought is- this must be a fun ride!'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Just a tidbit the think about over your morning coffee, AAPL’s 200 DMA, while rising nicely for the past couple of months, is going to start rising at a faster rate starting tomorrow, that rate is going to accelerate even more starting around May 1.'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'Bill, Upvoted. Usually some proof is given when making a statement like this, like some kind of poll result. Unless they don’t want to show their hand in how they are doing their bean counting. It would seem odd that they would make such a comment without substantiation. I asked DuckDuckGo search assist the best computers to run Iron Claw and the top 6 on the list, in order Acer Aspire 3 HP 15 laptop Dell Optiplex M4 MacMini Beelink SER5 Kamrui Pinova P2 According to the search assistant, PCs seem to be good choices as well as the Mini. For whatever that is worth.'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'The unified memory makes Mac’s the default choice.'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'Anecdotally, people I know who work in and/or play around with AI have bought Macs first to run local LLM’s and now more to run OpenClaw. Do not install OpenClaw without considering all of the security ramifications (which is why people get dedicated hardware to run it). Security vendors are behind offering turn-key and affordable solutions to address all of the vulnerabilities created by AI.'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'Without seeing evidence of an actual connection of sales to Moltbot and on the background of the very large percentage of consumers not caring at all about AI when it comes to smartphone purchases, I have trouble believing this.'
on At this point, war with Iran seems inevitable - 'It’s unfortunate but Apple’s fortunes are often tied to the whims of that guy in the White House. It also seems that the AI chaos is starting to set in. IBM dropped ~11% on the rumor that AI could takeover some management of COBOL upgrades. COBOL is used to run the banking system. What could possibly go wrong?'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'Interesting that it’s available for both Mac and PC, but the PC side shows no increase in sales, only Mac’s. Maybe the PC side is just too spread out to reflect a spike. (Or people just like Macs better? 🙂'
on Can Tim Cook claw back the $3.3 billion Apple paid on Trump's tariffs? - 'Of the $3.3B that Apple paid in tariffs to through the end of December, only a portion was due to IEEPA or “reciprocal” tariffs. Those were the tariffs struck down by the US Supreme Court. Another portion of Apple’s bill was due to tariffs on non-exempt items shipped from China that were under the 20% “Fentanyl” tariffs. This likely included repair parts and accessories. Some portion was likely due to the steel and aluminum tariffs which are also still in place. So the overall hit from IEEPA tariffs is uncertain, including any potential rebates; but it is not all the tariffs that Apple has paid to date. My guess is that Apple will not sue for any rebate. The company will wait until an administrative process is in place for companies to recoup tariffs paid under IEEPA. No need to incite the ire of the current administration that has for the moment exempted most of Apple’s end products from the former IEEPA tariffs and now the global 15% section 122 tariffs.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Today the S&P 500 dropped 1.04%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.13%, the Russell 2000 small cap index declined 1.61% and the DJIA skidded 1.66%. On the DJIA, Procter & Gamble won the day advancing 2.73% to $165.17 while Walmart advanced 2.29% to $125.81. This puts Walmart’s market cap at $1 trillion. In the broader market 65% of S&P 500 components ended in the red on this challenging trading day. Apple supplier Corning did rise, in contrast to much of the market, by 4.11% to end the session at $145.25. The shares set yet another new all-time high. Apple closed up $1.60 or 0.60% at $266.18.'
on On Friday night, Apple lit up the sky above Hollywood with monster drones (video) - '“I wonder how they manage the communication? WiFi? 3,000 simultaneous connections?” Perplexity says… A ground control station (laptop/server) runs “drone show” software that has the entire choreography pre‑computed: where each drone should be at each point in time and what color its LEDs should display. • This station talks to all drones over wireless radio, usually in the 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz bands, using a proprietary protocol optimized for low latency and broadcast to thousands of units. • Each drone has GPS (often RTK GPS for centimeter‑level accuracy) and an ID; it receives high‑level position updates and timing sync, then its flight controller handles the fine‑grained motion. How thousands stay in sync • The show software sends time‑synchronized commands, often as global “scene states” instead of micro‑commands per drone, which keeps bandwidth manageable. • The wireless network is often hierarchical or meshed: multiple ground transmitters or relays, frequency‑hopping, and redundant channels to reduce packet loss and interference. • Each drone continuously returns telemetry (battery, GPS lock, signal strength), and the controller can issue global abort or return‑to‑home commands if something looks off. Centralized control vs “true swarms” • Drone light shows (including the big Chinese 3,000–10,000‑drone displays) are centrally choreographed; if you jam the control link, the show essentially collapses. • A “true” autonomous swarm would use simple local rules and peer‑to‑peer communication so that each drone reacts to neighbors; that’s the direction of military research, but entertainment shows today are mainly broadcast‑controlled formations.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'The conventional wisdom says that Apple will suffer from memory shortages. There are two problems with this line, (1) The way it’s expressed, it’s as if Apple is the only company in its markets that buy memory. Even with Samsung as both supplier and phone OEM, that seems bogus. (2) It ignores the likely long term contract terms Apple has with its suppliers. Supplies for the iPhone 18 are probably already on contract. And Apple likely has “most favored buyer” terms that give it first dibs on memory (or other products). Me, I think Apple can use its Trump Tariff refund to subsidize memory purchases. 🙂'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'What an interesting demand vector for at least some AI enthusiasts. iOS may not be so easily amenable to bypassing of the walled garden, but the Mac is a whole other story.'
on Morgan Stanley: Here's why demand for Macs has spiked - 'More amazing considering that Mac Mini M4 and MBP M4 have been around since October 2024. They should be due for an upgrade. Besides OpenClaw, developers might be motivated by memory price increase concerns, especially since they buy more memory. BTW, I just bought an MB Air 15″, replacing an Intel-based clunker. They gave me $155 for it. For an “air” it ain’t light. It is a beauty and a beast.'
on On Friday night, Apple lit up the sky above Hollywood with monster drones (video) - 'Hi, Rodney, I’m wondering if the whole series is available in 3d and surround-sound for viewing on the Vision Pro….'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'I doubt it Gregg. China has putting in these huge drone shows for a while now. Nothing new by Apple. I think it’s traders rotating out of AI stocks and in to ‘stable’ companies slike the ones Robert highlighted above – Walmart, P&G, Apple, etc.'
on On Friday night, Apple lit up the sky above Hollywood with monster drones (video) - 'Here is a much longer video of the whole thing. I agree it would be so much fun to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II6WQPHl7H4'
