J. Clarke wrote:
Dan Espen wrote:
"HeyBub" writes:

Dan Espen wrote:
"HeyBub" writes:
I also own a bag full of Microsoft stock, but that in no way
influences my opinion. No sir.
Wow, you admit to owning MSFT?
How have the last 8 years been treating you?
Not so good huh?
Everything is relative. Last week I got a little quarterly dividend
checkie-poo for $2,200.00.
Holy crap. The yield on MSFT is 1.6%. That's a pretty big bagful.
You're not keeping up with the rate of inflation. That's pretty
painful.

If a broker got you into that, you should sue him.

MSFT is trying to prop up their stock with buybacks and
dividends. You make 1.6% not counting the steady downward
trend of the price.

The AAPL I bought in 2005 is showing an unrealized capital gain
of 360%. I'll hold as long as Steve Jobs is around.

Seriously, MSFT? Were you expecting them to increase their market
share? It doesn't pay to buy evil.
At 90+% of the desktop, it would be hard. Microsoft has more cash
in
the bank (some 50-odd billion dollars) than the budget of
California.
None of that sounds like a good reason to buy MSFT.
AAPL is also cash rich. That's not a good reason to buy AAPL
either.
IMO.

Look at what MSFT does with that cash. One money losing effort
after
another.

Not too late to grab some AAPL.
I got some in 2005. Sure wish I have a bag full.
Why take sloppy-seconds? Much of the software running on the Mac is
written by Microsoft.
Yes, the Office suite is written by MSFT.
Smart users will go for Open Office unless it's for business
purposes.

Dump that MSFT. You can easily do a LOT better than 1.6%.
For example:

PCU, BGF, EGLE, SFL, FDG, COSWF, PWE, HTE, IAF, FRO.

Do your own due diligence.
The bonus is, none of those companies are evil.

I'm hereby adding "MSFT", "AAPL", "Open Office", "Linux", and
everybody participating in this thread to the killfile.

One of these days you'll all discover sex and wonder why you ever gave
a damn about software companies.

Nicely said!