7 Reasons Apple Shareholders Should Be Cautious

by Brett Arends
Friday, April 23, 2010

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Apple (NYSE: AAPL - News) investors could be excused for feeling on top of the world. Another blowout quarter has sent the stock booming to another all-time high. The iPad seems to be a success. Everything the company touches seems to turn to gold.

Savor the moment, by all means. But don't get complacent. If you're an Apple shareholder, here are seven things to be concerned about—and one thing you can do about it.

Hate speech corrodes online video game experiences

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — It's not just cyberbullets that are exchanged during firefights on the XBox Live version of "Call of Duty."

Many gamers also exchange hate speech over their headsets as they stalk each other across the virtual battlefields. Players trade racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic insults so frequently that game makers are taking steps to tone down the rhetoric.

The comments would shock parents who may not realize their children are constantly exposed to language that might make a sailor blush. Most parental concerns have focused on violence, not language.

One gamer told an opponent he presumed to be Jewish that he wished Hitler had succeeded in his mission. Many exchanges involve talk of rape or exult over the atomic bombing of Japan. There are frequent slurs on homosexuals, Asians, Hispanics and women.

Such comments can be heard on all online video gaming systems, including PlayStation Network, Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft) and others.

"Personally, I don't do a lot of online gaming for that reason," said Flynn DeMarco, founder of the Web site GayGamer.net, which has worked with Microsoft and other companies on steps to clean up online gaming. "I don't play with anybody I don't already know."

DeMarco said hate speech has been a problem for years. Game makers, despite some serious efforts, can only seek to limit the amount.

Apple iPad Banned In Israel

By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, Associated Press Writer Karoun Demirjian, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 15, 4:07 pm ET

In JERUSALEM – Israel has banned imports of Apple Inc.'s hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns the powerful gadget's wireless signals could disrupt other devices.

Customs officials said Thursday they have already confiscated about 10 of the lightweight tablet computers since Israel announced the new regulations this week. The ban prevents anyone — even tourists — from bringing iPads into Israel until officials certify that they comply with local transmitter standards.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission allows devices with Wi-Fi capability to broadcast at higher power levels than are allowed in Europe and Israel — meaning that the iPad's stronger signal could throw off others' wireless connections, Schubert said.

"If you operate equipment in a frequency band which is different from the others that operate on that frequency band, then there will be interference," said Nati Schubert, a senior deputy director for the Communications Ministry. "We don't care where people buy their equipment. ... But without regulation, you would have chaos."

Some Israelis successfully got the popular devices into Israel before the ban.

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Intel Atom System On A Chip Processor For Tablets

Intel has declared a new type of Atom processor that is designed to be used in Tablet computers. The new processor is called Tunnel Creek and it is a system on a chip version of their Intel Atom processor.

This new system on a chip is designed for working out with home users in mind, in addition to as tablets it could be used in home media and phones, as well as in cars.

via geeky-gadgets

Mac Book Upgrade's

At last, the long-rumored revamp of Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks has arrived, with the 15- and 17-inch models getting bleeding-edge Intel Core i5 and i7 processors while the 13-inch version sees graphics and battery-life improvements. Also new: a $100 price hike for one of the MacBook Pro configurations, plus $100 and $200 price cuts for two others.

The biggest news, of course, is the replacement of the older Intel Core 2 Duo processors on the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro models (starting at $1,799 for the 15-incher — a $100 price hike over last year's model — and $2,299 for the 17-inch MBP, a $200 price drop) with Intel's next-generation Core i5 and i7 processors, good for a performance boost of "up to 50 percent" over last year's lineup, Apple claims.

Apple iPad - Hot Gadget

Market researcher Gartner calculates worldwide tablet PC sales of 10.5 million units in 2010, up from 1.06 million last year. It does not break out iPad figures, but expects the device to account for a huge bulk of sales. Another researcher, iSuppli, expects worldwide iPad sales of 7.1 million units in 2010, 14.4 million in 2011 and 20.1 million in 2012.

“This will be a huge driver in the market,” says Leslie Fiering, an analyst at Gartner. “The Apple mystique revolutionized the MP3 and smartphone markets. It will do the same with tablets.”