So I am trying to to get a new Dell through my work's PC purchase program. You can't beat interest free!

However, I have come to realize that Dell is ripping off big business. I am comparing a Dell Dimension 9150 to an identical Dell XPS 400. The only difference is the model number and the XPS has what looks like brushed aluminum on the side.

The specs:
Intel Dual Core 2.8 ghz cpu.
1 gig 533mhz DDR2
160 Gig Hard Drive
256 meg ATI x600 Video Card
19 inch Ultra Sharp Monitor
CD-RW and DVD-ROM
APC ES 725 Backup-UPS ($95)
DVI-VGA Adapter ($10)

The price difference? The 9150 is $1,099.42 after tax and shipping and rebate(8.25% sales tax).
The XPS 400 is $1,412.07. That is a $312.65 difference or in increase of over 28%. Keep in mind that this includes a 6% discount on the XPS 400.

Checking further into it, it seems that the case is magnified even further when you look at items such as laptops (60-70% difference from what I saw).

I like Dell's product, but it seems that all of their profits come from gouging their enterprise customers.

Apple's Fiscal first quarter revenue was estimated to be $5.04 billion. It was just recently shown that their revenue was actually $5.7 billion a 13% difference. Apples stock is up 6.25%. With the release of more new Apple products pending, there is still a lot of room to jump into Apple right this minute and make 5% profit or more. I got in for a few dollars at $77.15. I currently have a limit sell at $85. A little whimsical, but not entirely farfetched.

I was trying to find what time Steve Jobs was going to speak at today. So I went to http://www.macworldexpo.com and searched for "jobs". (Yeah I know, not the most efficient way, but it is what I did.)

Any way I got the following error.

msxml4.dll error '80072efd'
A connection with the server could not be established
/include/main.asp, line 363

It strikes me as odd that not only is this Mac site using Windows/ASP but it is also using server side includes which in my book is a poor way to program anything modern.

So I sold my Google Stock for $467.93 and used it all to buy Apple at $77.15. It is a whimsical (some may say fickle) dealing. Rumours abound that Steve Jobs is going to announce some big news at the Mac World Expo today. I decided to take a chance and see if I could ride the "rumour coaster" to make a few extra coins. I suspect that I will eventually be putting my money back into Google as that is a company that I am more familar with.

I bought 2 more shares of Google yesterday at $442.69 making the average cost of my Google Shares $436.92. With the current price of nearly $467 I have already made enough to cover my $14 in commissions (2 sales at ~$7).

A few analysts are going on record stating that Google will hit $600 a share. So, with it still being priced very high it is still, possibly, a very good buy.

Well, now their photo proof. Here the whole time everybody was scared of Microsoft while Apple was secretly trying to take over the known world with this begginer borg set.

Some major analysts are predicting Google to reach $600 by year end. This made my purchase at $431 worth it. Currently the stock is trading at around $446.

Inovation is the driving force behind Google, but they are going to have make one notable change going forward. They need to apply this invigoration to past inovations. The best example is the Google API. I'm not the only one that thinks so. If Google can keep inovating while they constantly tweak their past inovations, things are going to go very well indeed.

SOX SUX! While Sarbanes Oxley doesn't really cause me any more direct work, it is going to kill the US economy. The whole purpose of SOX is to prevent fraud and scandals such as Enron and MCI-Worldcom. To fully comply with SOX publicly traded companies need to spend millions a year to comply. Not only does that make a huge cost, but it also prevents a great number of private companies from becoming public.

Wouldn't it just be simpler to offer a reward to whistle blowers? Can you tell me that no Enron underling knew what was going on. If whistle blowers where protected and rewarded, then you could easily be MORE effective in preventing these scandals.

A highly un-noticed multi-billion dollar study done in October 1998, proved (with 83% certainty) that not only am I great, but that you suck.

I have purchased a miniscule amount of Google stock. Why so small? It is because it is so expensive. I bough it at $431.15. This was a little too much as it will almost certain fluctuate down a few dollars before going up.

Why did I buy this without caring about saving a few dollars? The reason is because they are making some very smart moves. I am willing to bet that Google does not want to own AOL entirely. However, they do not want anybody else to buy them. A 5% stake in AOL will most likely prohibit anybody else like Microsoft (a very undervalued stock) from buying it.

Now what I am betting on is Google's ability to grow AND their ability to lobby. Google may be the least "Evil" company out there but they are not stupid. It is better to get your political side in line with your business side.

If Google can increase the releases (and upgrades) of their APIs and products. I can see Google's price doubling in a year to 18 months down the road. I have put my money where my mouth is.